The Bears and the 49ers bring top play-callers into key NFC showdown

SANTA CLARA, Calif. (AP) — The best play-callers in the NFL always take time to watch some of the other offenses in the league in order to steal ideas or see new wrinkles that can help their own team.

San Francisco's Kyle Shanahan has long been viewed as one of the best play-callers in the NFL, with Chicago's Ben Johnson quickly moving up on that list, making Sunday night's key NFC showdown between the Bears (11-4) and the 49ers (11-4) a must-watch game.

“I think Shanahan is one of the best, if not the best in the business, in terms of doing this, calling plays at a high level for as long as he has,” Johnson said. “He’s probably the first to truly marry that run game and pass game as well as you see some of these other teams doing it now, he was kind of the front-runner on all that stuff. You always like to turn on that San Francisco tape each week, whether you’re playing them or not, just to look at some of the stuff that they’re doing.”

The 49ers have evolved from a run-first team early in his tenure to one that relies more on passing since the emergence of Brock Purdy. That has been evident during a five-game winning streak that featured Purdy's five-TD performance last week against Indianapolis.

The Bears (11-4) have engineered one of the best turnarounds in the NFL this season in Johnson's first year as coach. He helped build a strong offensive line that has fueled one of the NFL's best running attacks and helped Caleb Williams develop.

“I’ve got so much respect for Ben just in terms of how they run the ball,” said Shanahan, who matched up the past two seasons against Johnson when he was offensive coordinator in Detroit. “It starts with the run always with Ben and the things off of it, which he’s a very balanced play-caller and makes teams defend everything.”

The two offenses are a big reason why the Bears and 49ers are still in the running for division titles and the top seed in the NFC playoffs headed into Week 17.

Chicago can clinch the NFC North for the first time since 2018 with one more win or a loss by Green Bay and can earn the top seed with two wins and one loss by Seattle.

San Francisco would win the NFC West and earn the top seed by beating the Bears this weekend followed by a home win against Seattle in the finale. That would give the 49ers home-field advantage in the NFC playoffs and a chance to win the Super Bowl at Levi's Stadium on Feb. 8 without having to leave home again.

Williams has shown a knack for some late-game magic in his second season.

He has led Chicago to six wins this season in games where the team trailed in the final two minutes of regulation, setting a record for the most late-game comebacks in NFL history. Williams has a 113.2 passer rating when the game is tied or he's trailing by eight points or fewer in the fourth quarter or overtime, and he has led the team to scores on 10 of 15 drives in that situation, with two TD drives in the comeback win against Green Bay last week.

“The mindset just changes,” Williams said. "A play happens and the spark becomes a fire and we’re ignited at that point.”

The Niners offense has been clicking on such a high level that the team hasn't needed to punt once in the past two games. San Francisco is just the sixth team ever to go back-to-back games in the regular season or playoffs without punting. The 49ers have gone 22 straight possessions since the last punt for Thomas Morstead in the fourth quarter on Nov. 30 at Cleveland.

“That’s pretty rare,” running back Christian McCaffrey said. “So that’s cool to be a part of and hopefully we do it again.”

San Francisco has struggled to generate a pass rush ever since Nick Bosa went down with a season-ending knee injury in Week 3, with the team having a league-low 18 sacks on the season. But two rookie defensive tackles stepped up last week against Indianapolis, with Alfred Collins and C.J. West each getting their first career sacks.

It was the first time the Niners got sacks from two rookies in the same game since 2016.

"I think they’re only going to get better, but it’s good to see them surging, especially as rookies here in the second half of the year,” defensive coordinator Robert Saleh said.

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San Francisco 49ers quarterback Brock Purdy (13) passes against the Indianapolis Colts during the second half of an NFL football game, Monday, Dec. 22, 2025, in Indianapolis. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)

Chicago Bears' Caleb Williams gets away from Green Bay Packers' Lukas van Ness during the second half of an NFL football game Saturday, Dec. 20, 2025, in Chicago. (AP Photo/Nam Huh)

Chicago Bears head coach Ben Johnson watches during the first half of an NFL football game against the Green Bay Packers Saturday, Dec. 20, 2025, in Chicago. (AP Photo/Nam Huh)

San Francisco 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan walks near the sideline during the second half of an NFL football game against the Indianapolis Colts, Monday, Dec. 22, 2025, in Indianapolis. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)

Chicago (11-4) at San Francisco (11-4)

Sunday, 8:15 p.m. EST, NBC.

BetMGM NFL Odds: 49ers by 3.

Against the spread: Bears 9-5-1; 49ers 10-5.

Series record: 49ers lead 36-33-1.

Last meeting: 49ers beat Bears 38-13 Dec. 8, 2025, in Santa Clara, Calif.

Last week: Bears beat the Packers 22-16 in OT; 49ers beat the Colts 48-27.

Bears offense: overall (5), rush (2), pass (14), scoring (10).

Bears defense: overall (24), rush (27), pass (18), scoring (19).

49ers offense: overall (9), rush (24), pass (5), scoring (9).

49ers defense: overall (18), rush (8), pass (23), scoring (11).

Turnover differential: Bears plus-21; 49ers minus-4.

DB Nahshon Wright forced a fumble last week and has 5 INTs, three fumble recoveries and two forced fumbles on the season. The only other player to hit those marks in the past 17 seasons was Minkah Fitzpatrick in 2019.

QB Brock Purdy became the first Niners QB to throw at least five TDs in a game last week since Steve Young did it in Super Bowl 29 a little more than 30 years ago. Purdy has thrown eight TD passes and only one INT the past two weeks and has multiple TD passes in five of his seven starts this season. Purdy leads the NFL with a 130 passer rating on third down this season.

Bears running game against 49ers defense. Chicago ranks second in the NFL in rushing and has had at least 138 yards in seven of the past eight games. The Niners rank third best in the NFL in allowing 87.4 yards per game since Week 11 and held Jonathan Taylor to 46 yards last week.

Bears: WR Luther Burden III (ankle) returned to practice after missing last week's game and will play this week. ... WR Rome Odunze (foot) remains sidelined. ... LB T.J. Edwards (glute), CB Nahshon Wright (hamstring) and CB Chauncey Gardner-Johnson are all questionable.

49ers: TE George Kittle (ankle) left last week's game with an ankle injury and is questionable this week. ... WR Ricky Pearsall (knee) also is listed as questionable after missing last week's game. ... CB Renardo Green (neck) will miss his second straight game.

The teams have alternated wins and losses in the past nine meetings. ... The Bears are 2-1 all time at Levi's Stadium. ... The 49ers are 3-2 against the Bears under coach Kyle Shanahan. ... This marks the first time these teams are playing in a season when both made the playoffs since 2001 when Chicago beat San Francisco 37-31 in Week 7.

The Bears clinched a playoff spot last week and can clinch their first division title since 2018 with either a win or a loss by Green Bay. ... Chicago's plus-21 turnover margin is the second best for any team through 15 games in the past 13 seasons, behind only the plus-23 for the 2019 Patriots. ... The previous time the Bears finished a season plus-21 or better came in 1985 when they were plus-23 on the way to winning the franchise's only Super Bowl title. ... Chicago is the first team in NFL history to win six games after trailing in the final two minutes of the fourth quarter. ... Bears TE Colston Loveland has at least three catches in 10 straight games for the fifth-longest streak by a rookie TE since the merger. ... Chicago QB Caleb Williams has nine TD passes and a 100.1 passer rating on third down. ... Pro Bowl DB Kevin Byard III leads the NFL with six INTs, the most by any Bears defender since 2018. ... The Bears haven't allowed an opening-drive score in seven straight games and have given an NFL-low 10 points on opening drives this season. San Francisco has five TDs and one FG on seven opening drives with Purdy at QB. ... The 49ers clinched their fourth playoff spot in the past five seasons last week and will earn the No. 1 seed in the NFC with wins in their final two games. ... San Francisco is 4-0 in prime-time games this season. ... The 48 points for the Niners last week were their most in a game since they also scored 48 against New Orleans on Dec. 8, 2019. ... San Francisco has gone back-to-back games without punting for the first time in franchise history. ... Christian McCaffrey's 92 catches this season are tied with Roger Craig in 1985 for the most by any running back in 49ers history. ... McCaffrey is second in the NFL with 1,888 yards from scrimmage and ranks third with 16 TDs. ... WR Jauan Jennings has at least one TD catch in four straight games, tied for the longest streak for a Niners player since Vernon Davis did it five games in a row in 2013. ... Jennings' seven TD catches since Week 9 are one off the NFL lead held by Davante Adams. ... Rookies Alfred Collins and C.J. West had their first career sacks last week, marking the first time San Francisco got sacks from two rookies in the same game since 2016. ... The 49ers rank second in the NFL converting 50% of third down opportunities.

Bears WR D.J. Moore is coming off a season-high 97 yards receiving last week, including the game-winning TD in overtime. He has three touchdown catches the past two games and five in the past five games and could be a good option with Chicago short-handed at receiver.

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San Francisco 49ers running back Christian McCaffrey (23) runs against Indianapolis Colts outside linebacker Zaire Franklin (44) during the first half of an NFL football game, Monday, Dec. 22, 2025, in Indianapolis. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)

Chicago Bears' Caleb Williams gets away from Green Bay Packers' Lukas van Ness during the second half of an NFL football game Saturday, Dec. 20, 2025, in Chicago. (AP Photo/Nam Huh)

San Francisco 49ers quarterback Brock Purdy (13) passes against the Indianapolis Colts during the second half of an NFL football game, Monday, Dec. 22, 2025, in Indianapolis. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)