The Chicago Bears walked off the field Sunday night with a 42-38 loss to the San Francisco 49ers. But they also walked away with something they haven’t had in years: national validation.
ESPN analyst Dan Orlovsky didn’t sugarcoat it when breaking down Chicago’s performance:
“It’s a championship-caliber offense, and it wasn’t eight weeks ago,” Orlovsky said. “It was a championship-caliber run game, but the way that Caleb has finished this season, you sit there and say ‘yes, this passing game is now good enough.’”
The Bears have been able to run the football all year. What changed is everything built off of it. Caleb Williams threw for a season high 330 yards, led five scoring drives, and went punch for punch with Brock Purdy in a game that produced 936 total yards and 11 touchdowns.
However, while the Bears have a “championship-caliber offense,” Orlovsky also delivered the counterpunch, saying “the defense is totally predicated on takeaways”… “Championship-caliber offense, defense that can get you beat by anybody.”
The Things That Cost Chicago the Game
GettyChicago Bears v San Francisco 49ers
The night couldn’t have started better for the Chicago Bears’ defense. Brock Purdy’s first pass was intercepted and returned for a touchdown, immediately flipping momentum…. It didn’t last.
That early mistake became the lone mistake on an otherwise dominant night for San Francisco’s offense. The Niners went a perfect 5 for 5 in the red zone and averaged 7.3 yards per play. Purdy threw for 303 yards and accounted for five total touchdowns, rarely looking rushed or uncomfortable.
But while the defense unraveled, the Bears’ offense told a very different story. Orlovsky specifically pointed to two young weapons who have reshaped how defenses have to prepare for Chicago.
“Colston Loveland has become an absolute reliable player,” Orlovsky said. “Luther Burden has become their gadget guy, get the football to guy, sudden twitch guy.”
Loveland’s emergence has given Williams a dependable middle of the field target, a security blanket who can win on third down and punish defenses that sell out against the run. Burden, on the other hand adds a level of explosiveness that Chicago simply didn’t have earlier in the season.
Put it all together and the Bears suddenly look complete on offense. They can run it. They can create explosive plays. And they can trust their quarterback to make the right decision when it matters.
The Loss That Answered a Big Question
GettyChicago Bears v San Francisco 49ers
For years, the Bears’ biggest question was “Do we have an offense that can matter in January?” Sunday night answered that question clearly, even in defeat.
Chicago lost because San Francisco generated touchdowns on six of its next nine possessions after the opening interception, converted nearly every high-leverage down, and exposed a unit that lives on getting turnovers. That’s exactly what Orlovsky meant by “a defense that can get you beat by anybody.”
But here’s the thing: The Bears no longer need to imagine what their ceiling looks like. They just saw it under the brightest lights against one of the NFC’s best teams.
The Chicago Bears have a championship-caliber offense. Now they know exactly what’s standing in the way of becoming something more.
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