The Bears and the 49ers bring top
play-callers into key NFC showdown
[December 27, 2025]
By JOSH DUBOW
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.
Bears' late-game magic
Williams has shown a knack for some late-game magic in his second
season.
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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)
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.”
No punts for San Francisco
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.”
49ers rookie linemen step up
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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