With the exception of an extremely shaky performance from Brock Purdy in a game in which they consistently prevailed, the 49ers excelled on the prime-time stage. Sunday’s meeting with the Chicago Bears is a different animal, however, as it represents the highest stakes of any game they have played so far this campaign.
If the 49ers win against the Bears, they will face the Seahawks in Week 18 in a back-to-back shootout for the NFC’s number one seed.
This theoretically puts enormous pressure on the 49ers, and the Niners will put a lot of pressure on themselves to get the job done.
Still, the 49ers can approach this massive game, and a potential winner-take-all matchup with the Seahawks, with a sense of freedom from pressure.
The reality is that while the 49ers have a lot of belief in their own abilities, no one outside their building believes in the Niners.
It’s remarkable that the 49ers are in this position given the injuries they’ve dealt with throughout the season and, with an inexperienced defense and a defensive line that noticeably struggles to generate a consistent pass rush, few will expect them to beat both the Bears and Seahawks and clinch the top seed and a first-round bye.
As such, the 49ers should look to harness that “nobody believes in us” energy to play with the confidence of a team that has nothing to lose.
This doesn’t mean playing with reckless abandon. Brock Purdy will still have to be very careful against an opportunistic defense that leads the league in turnovers (21). What Purdy can do, however, is attack with confidence, knowing that outside of those turnovers, Chicago’s defense has been very accommodating to opposing offenses. The Bears rank 22nd in putback success rate allowed (48.1%), while the 49ers are second in takedown success rate on offense.
It would be unrealistic to expect a performance similar to Purdy’s prime-time masterclass against the Indianapolis Colts in Week 16, when he threw five touchdowns. On the other side of the ball, the 49ers defense can expect a tough assignment against a quarterback and offense that have made huge strides under Ben Johnson.
But during this most bizarre winning season for the 49ers, they have demonstrated a brilliant habit of finding different ways to win games. Outside of their organization, virtually no one expects them to pick up two more wins and earn the top seed, and no one believes this 49ers roster as currently constituted is worthy of the top seed. As they try to find ways to seal it, the lack of outside confidence in the 49ers could be their biggest weapon.
