49ers’ defense bends and bends, and finally breaks the Bears

SANTA CLARA — Logic and common sense suggest the 49ers can’t win their sixth Lombardi Trophy playing the kind of defense they did Sunday night.

But logic and common sense went out the window a long time ago, not coincidentally at about the same time as Nick Bosa and Fred Warner were lost to injury.

The 49ers have a 12-4 record after a 42-38 win over the Chicago Bears at Levi’s Stadium. One more win Saturday night against Seattle and it’s a home-field yellow brick road all the way to the Super Bowl, and the wicked way they held off the comeback-prone Bears shows they’re something more than the statistics suggest.

“They stepped it up huge, man. I think they had more fourth-quarter comebacks than anyone in the history of the NFL,” coach Kyle Shanahan said about Chicago’s six late wins. “They were at their best when their best was needed and stopped them on the last drive.”

The win wasn’t secured until Caleb Williams, with comeback win No. 7 just two yards away, was forced into an incomplete pass with a group-effort pass rush that included Yetur Gross-Matos and others. Game over.

Defensive coordinator Robert Saleh said this week he quit worrying about stats long ago, and he’ll definitely want to avert his eyes at the final box score Sunday night.

Williams, matching the 49ers’ unflappable Brock Purdy pass for pass and scramble for scramble, was 25 of 42 for 330 yards and two touchdowns, including strikes of 35 yards to Luther Burden III (nine receptions, 138 yards) and rookie Colston Loveland, the 10th overall pick in the draft (six receptions, 94 yards).

Chicago running backs D’Andre Swift (nine carries, 54 yards, two touchdowns) and Kyle Monangai (eight carries, 38 yards) led a running game that averaged 5.0 yards per carry. The Bears gained 6.9 yards per snap, had 26 first downs and were 6-for-12 on third down.

The 49ers had no sacks and didn’t force a turnover. It wasn’t championship football by any stretch.

The 49ers led 21-14 and the Bears came back and tied it. The 49ers went up 28-21 and the Bears came back and tied it. The 49ers went up 35-28 and the Bears came back and tied it, then went up 38-35 on a Cairo Santos field goal with 5:22 to play.

The 49ers came back to score on Purdy’s 38-yard touchdown pass to Jauan Jennings, and rest assured every fan at Levi’s Stadium was convinced they’d scored too soon with 2:15 left on the clock.

They were almost right.

Williams worked the Bears in position, and with 21 seconds to play Chicago coach Ben Johnson might have gotten a little too bold. They’d been working the 49ers over with basic plays, and then resorted to trickery. Williams threw to Loveland, who lateraled to Swift. But Swift was stopped at the 2 by an alert Deommodore Lenoir. After a spike to stop the clock, Williams was forced into a game-ending incompletion.

Lenoir said he remembered from film study the Lions running the same play last year when Johnson was the Detroit offensive coordinator.

“It was a good gain that hit us out of nowhere,” Lenoir said. “I was thinking it might be a good time for them to run that play right there. Once I saw the running back creeping out, and he threw the ball to the tight end, I was like, ‘Oh, yeah.'”

Oh yeah indeed.

Lenoir and his teammates, despite getting sliced, diced and shredded all night except for a couple of early possessions, said they never lost faith.

“It was a sellout moment,” Lenoir said. “We follow the same and play together.”

Chase Lucas, who played much of the night at nickel back after Upton Stout left with a concussion, got turned around by Burden more than once. And it never stopped him from fighting either.

“I think it’s just resiliency and grit, bro,” Lucas said. “We’ve got a lot of gritty dudes on this team. No matter how many yards, no matter how many first downs, you’ve got to score. There were some plays I wanted back, but you’ve got to stay in the moment. And when it mattered most, we did the right thing. I’m just thankful we got the job done.”

Middle linebacker Tatum Bethune, whose personal foul on the Bears’ last drive looked costly, gave the Bears — who clinched the NFC North Saturday — their due.

“We’re all in the NFL for a reason,” Bethune said. “You obviously don’t want to give up that many points, but it’s a hard-fought game. We knew what type of game it was going to be. Caleb Williams is having a great season. He’s got playmakers on his offense and we knew it was going to come all the way to the end. And it literally did.”

The 49ers have Seattle up next, with quarterback Sam Darnold and wide receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba. Win and they get a bye week. Lose and they’re on the road someplace and facing offenses good enough for the postseason.

Is this really a defense that can shut someone down when it matters most?

“Teams have good schemes,” Lenoir said. “But I believe every game we go into, we’re going to shut them out, stop the offense from scoring points. That’s the goal.”

Safety Malik Mustapha believes there will be a carryover from getting off the field when it mattered against Chicago — even if the clock was at zero when it finally happened for good.

“Everybody’s got to be bought in. It’s not a one-man army, you know?” Mustapha said. “There’s a lot to learn from that game. We’re going to rally up going into Saturday and we’re all focused on that right now.”

Purdy looked to a higher power as the Bears inched closer to the winning touchdown.

“I was praying that whole drive,” Purdy said. “Not only that, pulling for our guys. It’s been a crazy year for all those guys on defense. For them to finish out the game, I was so happy for them.”

Christian McCaffrey, who like Purdy came up huge, agreed.

“I’m so proud of our defense and the way they stepped up,” McCaffrey said. “It took every play for them.