It ended up being one of the best Sunday Night Football games in recent memory. These Chicago Bears just don't know how to quit, and they proved it again, going down to the wire with the San Francisco 49ers.
In a contest where the outcome depended on the last play of the game, quarterback Caleb Williams couldn't quite finish the job as the Bears fell to San Francisco, 42-38. As the final seconds ticked off the clock and players swarmed the field for postgame handshakes, though, one Bears player remained down.
It was one of the heroes of the night, rookie wide receiver Luther Burden III, who was having trouble putting weight on a leg. From the looks of the replay, Burden might have been in position to make a game-winning grab had he not gone down with an injury. Eventually, the cart came out and took him off the field.
This wound up being Burden's best game to date, as he finished with eight receptions on nine targets for 138 yards and a touchdown. But, the injury put an even more significant damper on the heartbreaking loss.
Luther Burden's injury is going to put even more pressure on Caleb Williams and Ben Johnson
Depending on the severity, Burden could be out a while. From the initial glimpse of it, things don't look good for the Mizzou product. This comes at a difficult time for the Bears, too, who just experienced what life was like without both Burden and fellow wideout Rome Odunze.
Last week against the Green Bay Packers, D.J. Moore showed out on a night where he was the only top-tier target while both Burden and Odunze were out. At the moment, Odunze is nursing a foot injury and his status for Week 18 is still up in the air.
If the Bears don't get him back next week, it'll once again be the D.J. Moore show in a game where the Bears are out for revenge against the Detroit Lions, who gave them a 52-21 beating back in Week 2.
Of course, now, the Bears are playoff-bound while the Lions have been eliminated. Still, Chicago wants to head into the postseason with some momentum. And, don't think this game is meaningless in respect to the revenge factor.
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Obviously, a win over Detroit is more than just revenge. It could still influence playoff seeding and first-round matchups. But, the Bears will now very likely have to do it without Burden and Odunze.