Niners Nation
The Chicago Bears looked discombobulated on the final play of the game. San Francisco 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan said he “thought about” calling a timeout, but “Wanted to see the look and then they just went fast and let it ride.”
Linebacker Tatum Bethune told the 49ers broadcast that he and Dee Winters were supposed to blitz on the final play, but ended up dropping into coverage so Caleb Williams would see more bodies. Whether that’s true can be debated.
Robert Saleh ended up with the perfect call. The 49ers had seven defenders walk up to the line of scrimmage. By the time the ball was snapped, only the edge rushers rushed the passer, with Dee Winters spying the quarterback.
Caleb Williams looked to his left, as the Bears had three in-breaking routes, but saw a sea of red jerseys:
There were a few different things that transpired in this play that benefited the Niners.
Malik Mustapha getting across the formation to defend D’Andre Swift out of the backfield.
Yetur Gross-Matos dropping into coverage, only to rush Williams at the last minute, helped.
Chase Lucas looked tempted to go after Williams, but he must’ve seen Colston Loveland streaking open in the back of the end zone. That was the only option Williams had.
You can see DJ Moore jumping up and down on the opposite side of the field, wondering why he didn’t get the ball.
Before the ball was snapped, the best option for Williams might have been to throw the fade against Deommodore Lenoir, who was defending rookie Jahdae Walker, who is 6’3”. But a 50/50 ball with the game on the line to an undrafted free agent rookie is putting a lot on his plate.
Ultimately, Saleh took away Ben Johnson’s plan, and that is how the 49ers ended up stopping the Bears. Johnson took the blame after the game: “We didn’t quite get aligned in the formation we wanted to. It’s on me. I didn’t give (Caleb Williams) the call fast enough, and so he’s trying to piecemeal it together. I gotta do a better job on that.”
Not calling a timeout ended up working out for Shanahan.
