The Chicago Bears went into their Week 17 game against the San Francisco 49ers with the NFC North title secured. A win on the road would maintain their chance at the No. 1 playoff seed and the Wild Card Round bye that comes with it, but it was not to be as the Bears' defense allowed 42 points and nearly 500 yards to one of the hottest offenses in the league in a 42-38 loss.
As the Bears head toward the postseason in Ben Johnson's first year as head coach, there's no doubt that quarterback Caleb Williams' performance will be pivotal to any success that is had. And if there's any blame for a playoff loss to be had, it will be centered on Williams, as it usually does when it comes to the quarterback,
When it came down to it, with everything at stake in the NFC seeding, the game against the 49ers was practically a playoff game. So all the Bears' players who have yet to play in an actual playoff game got a good taste of what it will be like come January.
Caleb Williams showed he has playoff mettle in Bears' loss to the 49ers
As the Bears drove for what they hoped would be the game-winning touchdown against the 49ers late in the fourth quarter, the final sequence could've been managed better. After the game, Williams openly acknowledged the general chaos of the final play and where he fell short in that moment.
Otherwise, the Bears' offense did everything it needed to beat San Francisco. The 49ers' offense has been rolling like few others in the league lately, though, and quarterback Brock Purdy in particular is on a heater.
Not winning the game and the failure of the final play are about the only negatives Williams had in the loss. With that in mind, Bleacher Report's Brent Sobleski gave the Bears' signal caller a B+ grade for his performance against the 49ers.
"Chicago had three chances to win the game from San Francisco's 13-yard line. Williams threw an incompletion, the subsequent hook-and-lateral came up short of the goal line and the Bears quarterback couldn't create anything during the game's final play with a pass that fell harmlessly to the ground in the endzone."
"The loss can be a learning experience for last year's No. 1 overall draft pick. Williams can communicate better and be more consistent. Even so, he played well enough overall for his team to win. The Bears were simply bested by an opponent playing better at the moment."
Read more: Caleb Williams did not hold back his frustration after Bears loss to 49ers
Williams needs to show his detractors he can perform well when the lights are brightest, on a playoff (or playoff-level) stage. Even in a disappointing loss to another of the NFC's top teams, he absolutely stepped up to the moment and took a big step toward shutting down those naysayers.