The Chicago Bears didn’t just lose on Sunday. They gave away a near-win in spectacular fashion. But while the miss looks simple on paper, head coach Ben Johnson had quite an interesting take to add to the discourse.

“We didn’t quite get aligned in the formation we wanted to,” Johnson said. “It’s on me. I didn’t get Caleb Williams the call fast enough, and so he’s trying to piecemeal it together. I’ve got to do a better job on that.”

But who exactly was at fault here? Well, it all came down to the last second.

After trading blows with San Francisco throughout the game, Williams’ team took a 38-35 lead with 5:36 remaining in the fourth quarter. However, on the 49ers’ final possession, quarterback Brock Purdy pulled off a 38-yard touchdown, connecting with wide receiver Jauan Jennings. Now trailing by four points, all Chicago had to do was repeat what they’d already done throughout the whole game.

Williams had 2:15 to gain 65 yards and seal the game. He marched the Bears up the field for 63 yards and got them to first and goal. With just four seconds remaining, a record seventh late-game comeback was almost certain… until the 49ers pass rush swarmed Williams, who dodged to his left and threw a pass to wide receiver Jahdae Walker that fell painfully short for what, on paper, was his 8th incompletion of the drive.

Case in point, this was the same team that clinched six wins this season, the most by any team in a season since the 1970 merger, after trailing in the final two minutes of the fourth quarter.

And this was the same quarterback who had his strongest performance on Sunday, completing 25 of 42 yards for a season-high 330 yards with two touchdowns, no turnovers and an excellent 100.3 passer rating. Not just that, Williams excelled at big throws with two of his touchdowns being at least 35 yards. The 24-year-old completed all four of his passes thrown at least 20 yards, too.

In fact, Sunday’s performance brought him just 270 yards away from becoming the Bears’ first 4,000-yard passer. No wonder he was equally ticked off after the loss.

Chicago Bears vs Detroit Lions DETROIT,MICHIGAN-SEPTEMBER 14: Chicago Bears head coach Ben Johnson walks off the field at the conclusion of an NFL, American Football Herren, USA football game between the Chicago Bears and the Detroit Lions in Detroit, Michigan USA, on Sunday, September 14, 2025. Detroit Michigan United States PUBLICATIONxNOTxINxFRA Copyright: xAmyxLemusx originalFilename:lemus-chicagob250914_np1df.jpg

“It’s frustrating,” the young quarterback said. “You don’t want to lose a game ever. And then just being in that position and having a shot at the end is all you can ask for in those moments. But we’ve got to do a better job overall, just execution.

“We ended up getting lined up wrong with not much time on the play clock. I didn’t have enough time to be able to fix it. We just had to try to make something out of nothing in that situation. With all of that going on—time running down, us misaligning, things like that—we had a shot, and I’ve just gotta give my guys a shot in that situation.”

However, Caleb Williams’ miscalculation wasn’t the only issue during the game. The defense also fell short of showing up as much as they could’ve.

San Francisco tallied 32 first downs and went 5-for-5 in the red zone. Brock Purdy, meanwhile, recorded three passing and two rushing touchdowns while his offense averaged 7.3 yards per play. When not under pressure, the 49ers QB threw for 269 for 303 yards with two touchdowns and one interception.

The defense also found it hard to contain Christian McCaffrey. Not only did the running back go over 100 combined yards for the 11th time this season, he also surpassed the 100-yard mark midway through the second quarter. McCaffrey ultimately finished with 181 yards (140 on the ground and 41 receiving) and is currently tied with Atlanta Falcons’ Bijan Robinson and Indianapolis Colts’ Jonathan Taylor for most yards from scrimmage this season.

“We let the offense down,” Bears safety Jaquan Brisker expectedly said in light of this. “I’m going to say it. We let the offense down, period. I feel like Caleb and them, they gave us enough points to do what we had to do to win. The defense didn’t.”

Well, the good thing is the game still showed that the Bears are not all lost. With a strong performance coming in from Caleb Williams, hopes are high for the team’s game against the Detroit Lions in Week 18.

“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.”

Well, we all are.