ClutchPoints
One of the biggest games on the NFL Week 17 slate will come in prime time on Sunday night when the Chicago Bears take on the San Francisco 49ers in a battle of NFC contenders. Both the Niners and the Bears have already locked up a playoff spot, but there is still plenty to play for with two weeks to go in the regular season.
The Bears are just one win away from securing the NFC North crown and at least one playoff game at home in Chicago. There is a chance that Chicago can lock that up with a Packers loss on Saturday, especially now that Green Bay will be without Jordan Love. However, the Bears are still on the fringes of the race for the No. 1 seed, so there is a lot to play for.
On the other side, the 49ers still miraculously control their own destiny to get the No. 1 seed in the NFC. A win over the Bears and a Week 18 victory over the Seahawks would get that done for San Francisco despite a ton of injuries on the defensive side of the ball.
While the players on the field have been excellent for both of these teams this season to get them both to 11-4 coming into this game, the head coaches are the story. Ben Johnson and Kyle Shanahan are two of the brightest offensive minds in the sport, and both should be able to have their way with a pair of subpar defenses on Sunday. Here’s how both sides can attack.
All stats via Next Gen Stats.
The 49ers have always had an efficient offense with Kyle Shanahan at the helm, and even did so with Mac Jones at the helm earlier in the season when Brock Purdy was sidelined with a toe injury. However, since Purdy and the rest of this San Francisco offense got healthy, the Niners have been clicking at a Super Bowl level.
Purdy is at the center of that, as the former seventh-round pick has quietly become a very good quarterback and is having his best season from an efficiency standpoint despite missing a large chunk of the season with the injury. However, the Iowa State product isn’t getting enough love for what he’s actually doing.
Purdy currently ranks fourth in the NFL in EPA per dropback among qualified passers (+0.18). The three players above him are Matthew Stafford, Drake Maye and Jordan Love. Not bad company to be in!
He is also second in completion percentage over expected, behind just Maye, and has been sacked just seven times in seven games despite facing 89 total pressures.
Shanahan still does a lot of heavy lifting for Purdy, but he is far more scheme-independent than the likes of Jones and Jimmy Garoppolo.
Unsurprisingly for a team with an elite play-caller, the 49ers primarily excel in two areas: third down and red zone. The Niners lead the NFL in EPA...
