SANTA CLARA, Calif. — In the near future, Sunday night’s shootout at Levi’s Stadium might be recalled as one of the real launching points for young offensive players who can help carry the Chicago Bears into a bright future.
Rookie Luther Burden III, a week after missing a game with an ankle injury, stepped up with eight receptions for 138 yards and a 35-yard touchdown. Rookie tight end Colston Loveland added six catches for 94 yards and a 36-yard score.
Rookie left tackle Ozzy Trapilo made his sixth start in what amounts to an early tryout for the job in 2026. Rookie running back Kyle Monangai ran for 38 yards, nothing exceptional, but look back at the 18-yard run he had early in the second quarter. If he doesn’t try to run through San Francisco 49ers safety Ji’Ayir Brown, it’s probably a 65-yard touchdown.
The Bears ran out of magic in the final seconds and lost 42-38, the same spot Williams and the offense had helped pull out so many games already this season. A night after clinching the NFC North crown with a loss by the Green Bay Packers, the Bears came up short — but this isn’t the kind of ballgame this franchise has been equipped to play in for a long, long time.
Understanding that San Francisco’s defense is a mess without linebacker Fred Warner and edge rusher Nick Bosa, it’s time to move to 10 thoughts, with the Bears headed to Week 18 knowing they will host a playoff game at Soldier Field in the wild-card round. What’s yet to be determined is if they will be the No. 2 or No. 3 seed.
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1. A jarring thing that needs to be fixed quickly? The 49ers finished what the Packers couldn’t in Week 16, and that creates questions with one game remaining before the playoffs.
Bears cornerback Josh Blackwell heads to the locker room after a 42-38 loss to the 49ers at Levi’s Stadium on Dec. 28, 2025, in Santa Clara. (John J. Kim/Chicago Tribune)
The Bears pulled off a miraculous comeback to topple Green Bay and seize control of the division a week ago when the Packers — even with backup quarterback Malik Willis playing 2 1/2 quarters — went up and down the field on them. Green Bay just couldn’t punch the ball into the end zone, going 0-for-5 in the red zone (really 0-for-5 in the low red zone).
San Francisco moved the ball at will and scored, going 5-for-5 in the red zone and blitzing the Bears for 496 total yards, 200 rushing yards and 32 first downs, tied for the second-most ever allowed by the franchise. The 49ers were 7-for-10 on third down and 1-for-1 on fourth down, for good measure, and the Bears simply couldn’t get a stop when they needed it. It was all downhill after Jaylon Johnson did a great job of driving on wide receiver Jauan Jennings to break up Brock Purdy’s pass on the first play of the game from scrimmage. Linebacker T.J. Edwards intercepted and raced 34 yards for a touchdown and a 7-0 lead just 15 seconds into the game.
The 49ers scored touchdowns on four of their next five possessions. For the game, they had TD drives of 65, 66, 75, 72, 65 and 75 yards. There weren’t any short fields where the defense was in a bad spot. The Bears simply had no answers for Purdy, who completed 24 of 33 passes for 303 yards and three touchdowns and ran for two more scores. Even with star tight end George Kittle missing the game with an ankle injury, Purdy feasted on open windows in the middle of the field and diced up zone coverage.
“That wasn’t us,” Pro Bowl free safety Kevin Byard III said. “That wasn’t our brand of football whatsoever on defense. Obviously, credit to them. Those guys have been playing lights out for the last few weeks. We just didn’t do enough on defense at any level, whether it’s run defense, pass defense. Just enough.
“We’re still a good team. That’s a really good team over there too. Still had a chance to win at the end. Obviously, Caleb (Williams) driving the ball down there with our offense. It’s going to be truth-telling as far as just the film. Like I said, it was just a lot of mistakes out there on defense on all levels. We gotta make sure we tighten up. We might see this team again.”
The 49ers gashed the Bears running the ball in the first half, as Christian McCaffrey had 121 of his 140 yards rushing in the first 30 minutes when the 49ers ran 47 offensive plays to the Bears’ 19. But San Francisco led only 28-21 thanks to Edwards’ touchdown, and the Bears opened the third quarter of the seesaw battle with a game-tying touchdown drive.
“It’s a two-headed problem there,” coach Ben Johnson said. “Because we weren’t able to stay on the field on offense, and then on defense, we weren’t able to get off the field on third downs (in the first half). That’s really how I saw it. It came down to the third downs.”
Bears defensive tackle Chris Williams chases 49ers quarterback Brock Purdy during the second quarter at Levi’s Stadium on Dec. 28, 2025 in Santa Clara. (Armando L. Sanchez/Chicago Tribune)
Considering a team runs, on average, about 65 plays a game, having to defend 47 in the first half was unusual.
“So what,” nose tackle Andrew Billings said when asked if the defense got tired. “That’s football. That’s what we’re paid to do. That’s not a reason for anything, honestly. That’s just more opportunities.
“I can only speak for myself. I think for me, I can hold my gap even longer. They got a talented running back, a very talented guy. We gotta limit mistakes. No game is going to be perfect, but if we can limit those mistakes … that’s how you tighten it up.”
Explosive plays were another issue. San Francisco had six plays that went for 20 or more yards, including Purdy’s 38-yard game-winning touchdown pass to Jauan Jennings with 2:15 remaining.
49ers coach Kyle Shanahan, who calls the offensive plays, had the Bears on their heels most of the night. Sure, Johnson put San Francisco’s defense in the same position, but the Bears have surrendered 880 yards over the last two games — not a trend the team wants with the postseason so near. The run defense, which was iffy at the start of the season, has been hit for 392 yards in the two games. All that means the defense is living in a lot of second-and-short situations, and if it can get to third down, too often it’s a short-yardage situation.
‘We’re always in the game’: Chicago Bears have become battle-tested against the NFC’s best
“Their run game was something we were having problems with,” Edwards said. “With that, it kind of opens up the playbook (where) they can kind of do whatever. I thought our offense as a whole was dealing all night and keeping us in the game.”
It’s hard to imagine defensive coordinator Dennis Allen making major changes at this point in the season. The Bears have to get off blocks, finish plays and swarm to the football. What hasn’t been mentioned is a lackluster pass rush against an offensive line that lost Pro Bowl left tackle Trent Williams to a hamstring injury in the first quarter.
A leaky run defense that struggles to rush the quarterback is not something any team wants to carry into the playoffs, even if the offense looks like it can trade blows and keep things close.
“We gotta find a way to fight,” cornerback Johnson said. “They whipped our ass. We’ve got to get back to the drawing board and figure out a way to never let that happen again.
“It’s always surprising to get dominated like that. It’s not something you expect to happen.”
Before Ben Johnson arrived, you also didn’t figure the Bears would be in a back-and-forth shootout like this in Week 17 with playoff seeding at stake.
2. San Francisco hosts Seattle this coming Sunday — and the winner of the game will clinch the No. 1 seed in the NFC and a first-round bye.
Bears quarterback Caleb Williams warms up during a media timeout in the second quarter against the 49ers at Levi’s Stadium on Dec. 28, 2025, in Santa Clara. (John J. Kim/Chicago Tribune)
The Bears don’t have as much at stake in Week 18, but it’s worth at least wondering how Ben Johnson will approach the season finale.
The Bears (11-5) clinch the No. 2 seed with a victory over the Detroit Lions or a loss by the Philadelphia Eagles (11-5), who host the Washington Commanders. Both games are at 3:25 p.m. Sunday.
The No. 2 seed will host the Packers (9-6-1) in the wild-card round and the No. 3 seed will host an NFC West opponent —either the 49ers, Seahawks or Los Angeles Rams.
It stands to reason the Bears would probably prefer the No. 2 seed. Green Bay is beat up with injuries. The status of quarterback Jordan Love, who hasn’t returned from a concussion suffered in Week 16 at Soldier Field, is up in the air. The team is without edge rusher Micah Parsons and the Baltimore Ravens just trampled the Packers defense for 307 rushing yards Saturday night in a 41-24 win at Lambeau Field.
Green Bay has lost three straight games. But you can make a strong case that the Packers outplayed the Bears for six of eight quarters in their two meetings and it took a whole series of wild plays for the Bears to engineer a miraculous rally last week.
“I’d rather play Green Bay because they’re beat up,” a pro scout for another club said Sunday night. “No Micah Parsons. Is Love going to be back? They were in tatters against Baltimore. Those NFC West clubs, especially L.A. and San Francisco, they’ve got quarterbacks (Matthew Stafford and Brock Purdy) plus Sean McVay and Kyle Shanahan. I wouldn’t want to see either one of them right off the bat.”
NFL playoff picture: San Francisco 49ers and Seattle Seahawks will play for No. 1 seed in NFC
Had the Bears defeated the 49ers, they would have been alive for the No. 1 pick, needing a San Francisco victory over the Seahawks. But in that scenario, San Francisco would have been locked into the No. 6 seed and with nothing to play for, Shanahan might have opted to rest key players like Christian McCaffrey and others, maybe even Purdy.
The Bears want to be smart about ramping up for the playoffs. The Eagles will be a decided favorite over the Commanders. My hunch is Johnson wants to enter the playoffs on the upswing with a victory over his former team.
In the locker room, they don’t care. Most of the players haven’t stopped to consider the outcomes required to face a particular Round 1 opponent.
“Line that (crap) up,” nickel cornerback C.J. Gardner-Johnson said when I asked if he had a preference between seeing the Packers for a third time in six weeks or an NFC West foe. “Line that (crap) up. We’ll play anywhere they tell us we can play. We gotta do better. For us to go to the next level and win a championship, we gotta do better. And we gotta match the team’s intensity and outplay them and stick to Bears’ football and not other team’s football.”
The other benefit to securing the No. 2 seed would be hosting a divisional round game, provided the team advances.
3. I liked the hook-and-ladder call Ben Johnson made with 21 seconds remaining with the Bears on the San Francisco 13-yard line.
Bears running back D’Andre Swift runs after a reception for a first down in the final drive of the fourth quarter against the 49ers at Levi’s Stadium on Dec. 28, 2025, in Santa Clara. (John J. Kim/Chicago Tribune)
He burned the 49ers defense with it in Week 17 here at Levi’s Stadium last year. So maybe the play was a little too fresh in the minds of some defenders. But it came close to reaching the end zone.
Caleb Williams connected with Colston Loveland for a short 2-yard gain, who then lateraled to D’Andre Swift, who tried to get around the right edge and cut it upfield to the 2-yard line where cornerback Deommodore Lenoir tackled the running back. The Bears had to rush to the line and Williams spiked the ball with four seconds remaining, giving them one more shot for the win.
“There’s plenty of time,” Johnson said of the sequence. “And we have plenty of good plays.”
Swift said he thought the 49ers were in zone defense and that the play might have given him more room if they were in man coverage.
“(Lenoir) stayed out so there was kind of nowhere for me to go (outside),” Swift said. “So I was trying to get vertical and get as much as I (could). Good call by Ben in that situation.”
Said right guard Jonah Jackson: “That one seemed to be a hit in practice. We practiced it.”
The Niners were not surprised by the call. Cornerback Chase Lucas, who was drafted by the Lions in 2022 and joined the 49ers practice squad last year, said the play was discussed in meetings during the week.
“That’s Ben Johnson’s baby,” Lucas said. “If you look back last year, he ran it against the Cardinals and us last year. He hit us for like 50 or 60 yards too. It was like a third-and-15 or something like that. We weren’t expecting it but we were (really) expecting it this time.”
A short pass to Amon-Ra St. Brown and lateral to Jameson Williams turned into a 42-yard touchdown here last year when Detroit won 40-34. It came on third-and-12, so Lucas’ memory was pretty sharp.
“I told these boys because I played with the Lions when Ben was in Detroit, and I said, ‘He likes a lot of trickery, especially when it comes to the strike zone.’ They hit that strike zone and they called the hook and ladder.”
Bears coach Ben Johnson, center, watches the second quarter against the 49ers at Levi’s Stadium on Dec. 28, 2025, in Santa Clara. (John J. Kim/Chicago Tribune)
Lenoir did a good job and didn’t allow Swift to get to the sideline in that moment. If Swift did try to go to the sideline, Lenoir could tackle him inbounds. But when the Bear cut inside, Lenoir folded in to make the tackle. It was a disciplined play.
The flip side here is that Williams would have to throw into the end zone. It’s hard to throw to the end zone nearing the low red zone. The field shrinks. The final play of the game, 49ers defensive coordinator Robert Saleh rushed two, and it looked like he had a spy, so eight were dropped in coverage. Williams had to buy time. There weren’t any windows open. You can’t throw deep balls there on the field. You can’t get over the head of a defensive back. It’s hard. I get Johnson trying to sneak one into the end zone with a creative play. It didn’t get there but they had another play after that.
Lucas was impressed all the way around.
“That offense, bro, that head coach, they’ve got a good system there,” he said. “Ben Johnson is no regular coach. I am glad we got the dub against them. Dramatically. Drastically. They have improved. He’s the NFC North champion and, I mean, (shoot) they were what, 5-12 last year? (Shoot), they’re 11-5. Ben Johnson is the real deal.”
4. When Jauan Jennings scored with 2:15 remaining to put the 49ers ahead by four, it sure looked like San Francisco had left Caleb Williams and the Bears with entirely too much time.
49ers wide receiver Jauan Jennings scores a touchdown during the fourth quarter against the Bears at Levi’s Stadium on Dec. 28, 2025 in Santa Clara. (Armando L. Sanchez/Chicago Tribune)
The Bears last week became the first team in NFL history to win six games in a season in which they trailed inside the final two minutes. When they took possession on their own 35-yard with all three timeouts, they were just 65 yards away from making it seven games.
The 49ers, after they held the Bears to a 29-yard field goal by Cairo Santos with 5:22 to play, trailed 38-35 and were extra methodical to begin their possession. They let the game clock run down before snaps and reached the Bears’ 38-yard line with three minutes to play. That’s when Brock Purdy hooked up with Jennings for the score.
“We’d rather score the last second,” 49ers coach Kyle Shanahan said. “It was so nice to score from far out too. Just was a hell of a read by Brock recognizing Tampa Two and the mike (linebacker T.J. Edwards) jumped over (on tight end Jake Tonges) and opened up (Jennings) over the top. Ended up all right though. Wish it was that last second.
“That’s such a hard needle to thread, trying to score the game-winning touchdown at the very end. Is it even more nerve-racking to try and get down the field but you’re also looking at the clock and trying to make sure you don’t screw yourself in the process.
“I didn’t think we were going to score on that play. So we didn’t have much time to think about it. We were trying to figure out how to go down the field and score a touchdown to win and a field goal to tie. So, we were expecting that to be a big play, but I didn’t think it was going to be a house call.”
Jennings eluded safeties Jaquan Brisker and Kevin Byard III — and that put the Bears back on offense.
“In those situations, (Williams) has been the best in the NFL,” 49ers fullback Kyle Juszczyk said. “When you have the opportunity to score, you take the score.”
Just like he’s been all season in late-game moments, Williams was poised. He converted a third-and-4 with a scramble to get out of bounds. He connected with Luther Burden III for 14 yards on third-and-10. A fourth-and-5 throw to Colston Loveland went for 13 yards, two plays before the hook-and-ladder.
Bears quarterback Caleb Williams throws in the fourth quarter against the 49ers at Levi’s Stadium on Dec. 28, 2025, in Santa Clara. (John J. Kim/Chicago Tribune)
The pressure situations haven’t been too big for Williams and he’s clearly got a skill in these crunch-time situations. The Bears have been on the right side of all but the one here and the initial meeting with the Packers at Lambeau Field. It’s dangerous to be in too many of these games, but the experience, not just for Williams but the entire offense and coaching staff, should pay dividends down the road.
“I was praying that whole drive,” Purdy said.
What was interesting on the fourth down play to Loveland is that the 49ers rushed four and didn’t go after Williams. It looked like linebacker Dee Winters lost Loveland in zone coverage. Saleh also didn’t pressure Williams on the final play, the throw that fell short for Jahdae Walker. But the Bears were right there — 2 yards away from a win.
“I think we’ve proven who we are,” Williams said. “We’ll fight and I think we’re a team to be reckoned with. I’m excited for this next game. I’m excited to go back and watch this film and figure out how we can do better, how we can put up more points and how we can be more efficient on offense for moments like this. Because we may see this team again and we may see other offenses again that are very similar and things like that.”
5. Grady Jarrett can impart a lot of lessons on teammates, especially younger ones.
Bears defensive tackles Grady Jarrett, left, and Gervon Dexter Sr. tackle Packers running back Josh Jacobs in the first quarter Dec. 20, 2025, at Soldier Field. (Chris Sweda/Chicago Tribune)
Among them are to savor the run the Bears are on, preparing to close out the regular season and enter the playoffs. And to do everything possible to maximize the opportunity because you never know when you’ll be here again.
“It’s been a minute,” Jarrett said.
The 11th-year veteran defensive tackle broke in with the Atlanta Falcons in 2015, part of an 8-8 team that had quarterback Matt Ryan in his prime. They won the NFC South the next season and rode a red-hot offense directed by then-offensive coordinator Kyle Shanahan to the Super Bowl, where … 28-3 happened, an all-time collapse against the New England Patriots.
The Falcons went 10-6 in 2017, won in the wild-card round and were eliminated in the divisional round. They haven’t had a winning season since.
“Getting to the postseason is hard to do, and when you’re young and it happens for you fast, you think it’s going to be like that every year,” said Jarrett, 32, whom the Falcons released after last season. “For some people, it does. Others may never get the opportunity again.
“We’ve got to continue to push and put ourselves in the best position we can to make a run and try to win a championship. You just can’t ever take that opportunity for granted.”
Left guard Joe Thuney has played in 21 career playoff games, part of dynasties with the Patriots and Kansas City Chiefs. He’s an exceptionally rare case.
The Bears signed Jarrett with the idea he could be a pillar in the locker room while still having enough juice to make a difference for the defense. After missing three games early in the season following arthroscopic surgery on his right knee, Jarrett has slowly worked his way back into form.
He had a season-high seven tackles last week in the win over the Packers, just the fourth Bears defensive tackle to log that many stops in a game since 2015. Jarrett had a sack against the Cleveland Browns in Week 15, and against the 49ers on Saturday he was credited with three tackles.
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It was a bit of a bumpy road back to playing at a higher level as Jarrett managed the tricky balance of rehabilitating while practicing and playing, but he’s back now. And if anyone understands it’s difficult for leaders to lead from the sideline, it’s Jarrett.
“Personally, it means the world to be back competing, playing meaningful football games,” he said. “To come here, be selected as a captain by my teammates, to help lead my team to postseason play a year out of leaving a place where I had a lot of success but not a lot of postseason success … to come into an organization that was struggling and we turned it around, all the players and coaches involved, to see it come to life, it’s so motivating to keep pressing.”
For Jarrett, a two-time Pro Bowl selection in Atlanta, this season has been rejuvenating for him after having to play out the string for so many consecutive years with the Falcons.
“I’m glad you mentioned that,” he said. “Because this has been a season like no other, whether it be unexpected challenges, overcoming it. You have years where you make it to the Pro Bowl but your team is bad. You’re All-Pro, the team is bad. Playing well now as I get healthy, nothing trumps team success, man.
“At the end of the day, this year has proven it to me more than anything that nothing is more fun than being part of a winning team. That is one thing I am super excited about and enjoying. It just makes me want to continue to work as hard as I can to be the best I can for this team.
“It don’t always happen, either, when you’re young. Sometimes there are things you want to do for yourself and accomplish yourself and personal goals, but don’t nothing in the long run trump team success and being happy to come to work and bond with people for the common goal to win.”
Defensive line coach Jeremy Garrett said Jarrett is “getting back to his form,” and against better offenses in the playoffs, the Bears will need winning efforts up front.
“It’s coming at the right time,” Garrett said. “He’s getting back to the guy we knew before he had the injury. There’s no wavering with the guy. There’s always a way to win. The linemen, when they need him, he’s going to show up.”
Jarrett said he’s still not 100%, and at this point he probably won’t be fully healthy until the offseason. But he’s holding himself to a higher standard knowing the stakes and understanding how fleeting these moments can be.
“To be where I’m at right now, I’m excited,” he said. “I want to keep showing up big for the team and contribute to us getting wins no matter what it looks like. I just want to be effective, accounted for and change the outcome of games.”
6. There’s a chance Luther Burden III winds up leading the Bears in receiving yards this season.
Bears wide receiver Luther Burden III (10) makes a touchdown catch during the first quarter against the 49ers at Levi’s Stadium on Dec. 28, 2025 in Santa Clara. (Armando L. Sanchez/Chicago Tribune)
It’s a bit of a longshot but if he is healthy — he got banged up on the game’s final play — and can replicate this kind of performance against Detroit in Week 18, he just might get there.
DJ Moore: 49 catches for 671 yards
Colston Loveland: 48-622
Rome Odunze: 44-661
Burden: 44-617
The more you see Burden in open space and then violently attacking defensive backs to gain extra yardage, the more you can envision him potentially emerging as the offense’s No. 1 receiver in the near future. That’s not a knock on Moore, who I would imagine is in the mix next season, or Odunze, who has missed four games now with a foot injury. It’s recognizing how proficient the offense has been when he’s involved.
Burden has been targeted 56 times for his 44 catches. That’s 78.6%. Some of it is because plays have been schemed up for him. They still have to make it happen — he and Caleb Williams.
I’d stress that you can’t go too overboard on the offensive output because a particularly poor 49ers defense had a rough night, but 138 yards and a long touchdown are impossible to overlook.
“It’s good to have Luther back,” Williams said. “Let’s put it that way. As he said before, it’s a problem for our opponents when you get the ball in his hands. Just giving him a shot, letting him go make plays, give him the best runner ball that I can so that he can go and be explosive and be the player that he is. That’s why we drafted him here.”
Burden looked like a luxury selection in the second round for a team that had Moore and Odunze and had signed Olamide Zaccheaus. We’ve seen more than enough to know he’s not going to be a luxury part of the offense but a core contributor.
Burden got hit hard from behind on the final play as defenders were trying to converge on Jahdae Walker and the ball. He remained on the field and got assistance. After he was helped up and was walking gingerly, he went down again. We’ll have to see what kind of update the Bears have on Burden’s status, something that might not come until the middle of the week.
That he was available to talk after the game was a positive sign.
“I gave my all out there,” Burden said. “So just tired.”
7. The spoils of victory — winning the NFC North — include extra money for a few players.
Bears offensive tackle Darnell Wright (58) and guard Jonah Jackson (73) work to protect Bears quarterback Caleb Williams in the second quarter against the 49ers at Levi’s Stadium on Dec. 28, 2025, in Santa Clara. (John J. Kim/Chicago Tribune)
For a long time, players have had incentives written into their contracts in which they can receive bonuses or escalators (an increase in the base salary for the next season) if they’re voted to the Pro Bowl or selected first-team All-Pro. It’s a mechanism for elite players to get a little extra when their play remains at or near the top of the league.
With only a few exceptions, it’s something the Bears have shied away from for a long time. The belief at Halas Hall — and this goes back to previous administrations — has been that a highly compensated player on a second or third contract already is being rewarded for elite play. The thinking was if a player was among the highest-paid at his position, he should be expected to perform near a Pro Bowl level.
As Nick Korte, a contributor for Over The Cap, noted this week, even the Pro Bowl bonuses are tough for players to collect. He reported that 126 players across the league had incentives worth up to a combined $47 million tied to being named to the Pro Bowl. Of those 126, just four cashed in for a total of $1.05 million: 49ers fullback Kyle Juszczyk, Seattle Seahawks outside linebacker DeMarcus Lawrence, Houston Texans wide receiver Nico Collins and Jacksonville Jaguars long snapper Ross Matiscik.
If you take a close look at what Bears vice president of football administration Matt Feinstein has done over the past couple of years, he has tied some bonus money (incentives or escalators) to team success.
Most of the clauses involving team success are linked to playing time. So if a player is on the field regularly and the team does well, he stands to get a little extra. As best I can tell, two players are definitely in line for a payday and a third is likely to cash in.
— Right guard Jonah Jackson will have his 2026 base salary increased by $2.5 million from $12.5 million to $15 million. Jackson played in only four games last season for the Los Angeles Rams and missed five games in 2023 for the Detroit Lions. So the Bears put some money on the table for him if he could be durable this season, and he’s in line to max out the escalator structure, which doubles at each level with a playoff appearance and is cumulative:
55% of snaps: $312,500 ($625,000 with a playoff appearance)
65%: same
75%: same
85%: same
Total: $2.5 million
— Wide receiver Olamide Zaccheaus is on track to collect a $125,000 incentive in his one-year contract. His contract called for a $62,500 incentive for playing 45% of the snaps, and that doubles with a playoff appearance. Zaccheaus can earn an additional $125,000 if he’s on the field for 65% of the snaps, but that appears unattainable. He entered this week with 574 snaps, so he’s a lock for the $125,000 with a playoff appearance.
— Nose tackle Andrew Billings is on track for a $250,000 incentive based on the team qualifying for the playoffs, provided he’s on the field for 45% of the snaps. He entered Sunday’s game at 47%.
A handful of other players had various incentives and escalators tied to playing time and a postseason appearance by the team that won’t be triggered because of insufficient playing time. That list includes quarterbacks Tyson Bagent and Case Keenum, running back Travis Homer, tight end Durham Smythe, linebacker Amen Ogbongbemiga, cornerback Josh Blackwell and safety Jonathan Owens. Kicker Cairo Santos has a $100,000 bonus tied to a playoff appearance and 90% field-goal accuracy, but he’s unlikely to reach that.
It’s smart for the players to have these clauses in their contracts, and if you look at the list above, it rewards players who project as backups in the event they’re called on to play more. There’s a potential payoff for them.
And the team probably is happier to shell out some extra money in these contracts when it’s tied to team success and participation and not just individual accolades.
8. For a play with such a low probability of success that the NFL has toyed with eliminating it for several years, the Bears are an outlier when it comes to onside kicks.
The Bears recover an onside kick mishandled by Packers wide receiver Romeo Doubs in the fourth quarter on Dec. 20, 2025, at Soldier Field. (Brian Cassella/Chicago Tribune)
Cairo Santos’ successful onside kick last week against the Packers was one of the improbable outcomes in a series of dramatic late plays that keyed the victory. The Bears are 6-for-19 recovering onside kicks in the last decade, meaning they’ve converted 31.6%.
Santos: 3-for-13
Eddy Pineiro: 1-for-2
Cody Parkey: 1-for-1
Connor Barth: 1-for-3
NFL executive vice president of football operations Troy Vincent said in October that it might be time for the league to reconsider alternatives to the play. In 2019, the Denver Broncos proposed a rule change that would allow teams to attempt a fourth-and-15 play from their 35-yard line as an alternative to the onside kick. Convert it and keep the ball. Fail and the “receiving” team takes possession. It’s a twist the short-lived Alliance of American Football introduced to the sport.
Vincent noted only three of 50 onside kicks were successfully recovered by the kicking team in 2024, and to that point in October, only one of 21 onside tries had worked this year.
“When you start getting a less than 5% recovery rate, now that we’ve seen what has happened with the dynamic kickoff, it may be time for the membership to revisit some of those things that may be out of ordinary,” Vincent said, according to the Associated Press.
The numbers for onside kicks are even lower than before because the kicking team has to declare its intention. Santos’ 3-for-13 total includes a recovery last season at Minnesota and an SOS — surprise onside kick — against the Packers in 2021. SOS kicks are now extinct.
Santos succeeded against the Packers last week with a low, end-over-end, bouncing kick. The successful onside last season was with what some call a “spinner” or “banana” kick in which the ball is laid flat on the ground and kicked in a fashion that can boomerang back toward the kicking team. It’s a kick Greg Zuerlein showed mastery of in 2020 with the Dallas Cowboys. Those are now the two most popular variations of the onside kick in what — who knows? — could be the final weeks of the play.
“There are different variations of it, but everyone has gone away from the high hopper,” Santos said. “Because it became too easy to field it unless there’s a really good one. Pretty much you see a variation of the end over end, the banana or when you fake one way and go the other way. That’s what we have seen other guys do.
“At the end of the day, you’re still relying on luck, timing or the ball bouncing the right way for you. It’s very hard to control how the ball bounces. The banana is the one that you can predict more, how it’s going to spin back inside the 10-yard distance. It’s always going to boomerang if you hit it right. But it’s an easier kick to field than a ball that is bouncing.”
Santos said he practices about 10 onside kicks during the course of the practice week as they fine-tune which type they want to use for that game. There’s some strategy involved. The kicking team wants to try to get numbers — a four-on-three situation — which the Bears effectively had against the Packers as running back Josh Jacobs was too far from the sideline to be involved in the play.
The critical thing is the kicking team has to know how far the ball is going to travel. Beyond that, it usually requires a bounce and … luck. Plenty of luck.
9. You won’t find a better story in college football right now than Illinois State, which faces Montana State for the FCS national championship Jan. 5 in Nashville, Tenn.
Illinois State coach Brock Spack presides over a practice in preparation for the FCS national championship game Jan. 7, 2015, at Hancock Stadium in Normal, Ill. (Anthony Souffle/Chicago Tribune)
This space is almost exclusively reserved for Bears and NFL coverage, but every once in a while there’s local college football news deserving of attention. The job done by coach Brock Spack, a Rockford native in his 17th season leading ISU, fits that criterion. The Redbirds have rolled off four straight road playoff victories to reach the title game for the first time since the 2014 season and are one win from capping what would truly be a Cinderella season.
The last time ISU went this far, Cameron Meredith — who went on to become a very good wide receiver for the Bears before a knee injury shortened his career — was starring for the Redbirds. They led North Dakota State late before quarterback Carson Wentz scored on a 5-yard run with 37 seconds to play to lift the Bison to a 29-27 win.
Spack and his staff recruit the Chicago area hard. It’s where they got quarterback Tommy Rittenhouse (Wheaton St. Francis) and wide receiver Daniel Sobkowicz (Rolling Meadows). That pair has hooked up for 314 yards and seven touchdowns in playoff wins at Southeastern Louisiana, top-seeded North Dakota State (ISU scored 15 points in the final 2:44 to win 29-28), UC Davis and Villanova. ISU is the first team in FCS playoff history to win four consecutive road games to reach the championship.
“It means a lot to be back here,” Spack said. “We worked awfully hard to get our program on a national level (before we) went to the finals in 2015. That was really exciting. Then COVID hit and that whammed us pretty good. We took our time to build it back up, build it right and get the right players and the right coaching staff in here. They’ve done a really good job of developing a good team.
“It’s been a lot of work and the players have done most of it. I am really proud of them. Good kids. Good students. Good guys. It’s fun to be around them.”
In the current state of college athletics with the transfer portal, NIL money and players constantly on the move, it’s a challenge for every school to keep the players it recruited, especially FCS programs like ISU.
Spack said he read an article during the offseason that stated ISU and North Dakota State were the two programs that lost the fewest players to the portal, the kind of stuff that can put a coaching staff in a lurch at this time of year.
“We still lose guys,” Spack said. “I wish we didn’t but it’s the way it is. Kids want to play and they want to play right away and they don’t want to wait. They’re really impatient and that’s not really how it works. We try to get guys here that get it. They want to be here for the right reasons — they love Illinois State, they like playing football, they like being in a program like this — and we get a lot of Illinois guys. We try to find the right combination.
“There’s a lot of money out there now and kids are enticed by that. You find out what a kid is here for and in college for. You like being a big-time player and you’re starting and you’re going somewhere else to start over again for more money? I don’t get that. You want to play pro football? You understand that if you want to play pro football, you have to play on Saturdays before you play on Sundays. And you run a risk, especially if you go up (to the FBS), of being a rotational player or a backup. And if that happens, you’re not getting in any (NFL team’s) camp.
“We’ve had multiple guys that’s happened to. Couple guys have been fine, but we’ve had multiple guys — they were a starter here and good players — and they go up and they are a rotational guy or a backup. The only way you can be a dude is to play. That’s what we offer them. I understand the money is out there. You can’t look a kid in the eye and say, ‘I wouldn’t do that.’ But there are some things that go with that.”
Spack said Sobkowicz had offers from larger programs and chose to stick it out. He has been the main cog in the passing game with 78 receptions for 1,089 yards and 18 touchdowns, setting school records along the way.
What kind of future lies ahead for Sobkowicz remains to be seen. The Redbirds generally produce NFL talent every couple of years. Former Jacksonville Jaguars running back James Robinson and Kansas City Chiefs tight end James O’Shaughnessy are good examples after Meredith.
“Brock has got that nice balance of being a players’ coach but then also a disciplinarian type,” said a national scout who used to visit ISU regularly when he was covering the Midwest. “He has a high standard and maintains it and holds people accountable.
“He loves his guys. He is always promoting his players and loves to talk about them. He’s always talking about young guys and telling you how good they’re going to be. He’s passionate about what he does and one of those guys you love to see winning. They’ve had good players, but the portal has picked them over in recent years. It’s cool to see they’ve been able to win through that.
“You know that Illinois is watching that roster. They’re going to try to take anybody they want. Missouri has taken a couple of guys over the years. A program like that is going to get scouted by the higher-tier college programs, so it makes it almost so we (NFL teams) don’t have to. But Illinois State has had some guys that required some tape work for us.”
There’s little question the NFL will be at least taking a peek at the Redbirds this spring at the conclusion of a season that has been so uplifting for Spack and his staff.
10. The list of opponents for the Bears in 2026 is shaping up with only one week to play.
Fans tailgate before the Bears play the 49ers at Levi’s Stadium on Dec. 28, 2025 in Santa Clara. (Armando L. Sanchez/Chicago Tribune)
The Bears will go from playing a fourth-place schedule three consecutive years to playing a first-place schedule. The order of the standings only affects three games, and as we’ve seen the last couple of years, a team’s perceived strength (or weakness) of schedule in the spring can change significantly when the games actually begin.
The Bears are scheduled for nine home games at Soldier Field and eight road games.
Home opponents not including NFC North rivals:
New England
New Orleans
New York Jets
Tampa Bay
Philadelphia
AFC South winner (Jacksonville or Houston, likely the Jaguars who need a win over Tennessee to clinch the division)
Road opponents not including NFC North rivals:
Atlanta
Buffalo
Carolina
Miami
NFC West winner (Los Angeles Rams or San Franicisco 49ers)
10a. Right tackle Darnell Wright was up super early Sunday and traveled by private jet with an athletic trainer after an illness — a flu bug has gone through the locker room — prevented him from traveling with the team on Saturday.
“He was excited,” coach Ben Johnson said. “He came in this morning and he had a big smile on his face. ‘You can’t hold me back from this one,’ he said. So that was good to see.”
Wright, one of eight players to appear on the injury report during the week with an illness, said the key was getting his fever down. Cornerback Nick McCloud and wide receiver Olamide Zaccheaus were the only two players who didn’t play with illness.
“I knew I wasn’t going to feel good,” Wright said. “It’s just a matter of like, logistically, can I play as far as the fever and how hot your body is running?”
Bears players and staff wore masks on the bus ride to O’Hare Saturday and on the flight, trying to contain the matter. Johnson didn’t feel well himself on Friday, per a source.
“We all understand that if someone has to go down because they’re sick, then someone else has to step up,” Johnson said. “We did the best we could as an organization in terms of trying to stop it from masks, to washing hands and being diligent that way. It certainly did a number on our guys but we felt good about the guys that we went to the game with. They were going to be able to play and play like they’re 100%.”
10b. Nickel cornerback C.J. Gardner-Johnson thought he got a bum deal in the second quarter when he was called for illegal use of hands on a third-and-goal play from the 7-yard line when he intercepted Brock Purdy in the end zone.
Officials ruled he got his hands into the face of wide receiver Ricky Pearsall.
“I thought you could jam ’em within 5 yards,” Gardner-Johnson said.
Did he get Pearsall’s facemask?
“No, no, no, no, no,” he said, reaching for his cell phone and then showing a video replay. “I didn’t touch his facemask. I want you to be honest.”
In the angle Gardner-Johnson had of the play, it appeared that he just got the left shoulder of Pearsall. If you look at another angle, at one point Pearsall’s head turns hard right to the San Francisco sideline. He wasn’t moving it that direction voluntarily. So it’s a real close call and San Francisco scored a touchdown two plays later.
“That changed the whole game,” Gardner-Johnson said. “That’s an extra seven points that we take off the board. They took it from us. We gotta just play better. Focus on us. Forget that call. Ref made a call and you’ve got to live with it. This is a gut check, a humbling experience for us. We ain’t won (crap) yet. Just the division. This is just to wake us up and let us know that we’ve got a lot more to play for.”
10c. Tyrique Stevenson was notified coming out of halftime that he would be playing in place of Jaylon Johnson.
Johnson played 55 snaps in the game and Stevenson wound up with 18. Maybe the coaches are still bringing Johnson along a little bit after his return from injury. The defense was certainly on the field way too long in the first half.
“I’m 100%,” Johnson said when I asked about the rotation at the position. He came back to play in the fourth quarter and said he’s unsure if he will be splitting time moving forward.
“I don’t know,” Johnson said. “I’m 100% right now. That’s above my pay grade.”
10d. The Bears used more base 4-3 defense until Noah Sewell left the game with a right Achilles injury. He was in a walking boot and had crutches after the game. So that could be a season-ending injury. Defensive end Joe Tryon-Shoyinka had 16 snaps before leaving with a concussion.
10e. 49ers tight end Jake Tonges did a nice job with seven catches for 60 yards and a touchdown. He’s one that got away from the Bears. They signed him as an undrafted free agent out of Cal in 2022 and he spent most of the year on the practice squad, getting into just four games.
Tonges suffered a broken finger in training camp the next summer and the Bears placed him on injured reserve before reaching an injury settlement with him. The plan was to bring him back, but there’s an extended waiting period for teams to bring back players they’ve made settlements with to prevent roster shenanigans. The 49ers signed him to their practice squad. He emerged as a special teams player last season in San Francisco and has maximized opportunities this year with 27 catches and four touchdowns when Kittle has been banged up.
10f. The Bears opened as a 2 1/2-point favorite over the Lions for Sunday’s game at Soldier Field at Westgate SuperBook in Las Vegas.
https://www.chicagotribune.com/2025/12/29/chicago-bears-brad-biggs-10-thoughts-week-17/
