Studs and Duds: Near-perfect Brock Purdy, unstoppable Christian McCaffrey lift 49ers over Bears

You can catch your breath now.

Week in and week out, the NFL provides the best entertainment in sports. But now and again, the professional game finds a way to outdo itself.

Sunday’s Bears-49ers game was such an event.

Defense? Optional?

Entertainment value? Immeasurable.

The 49ers have now won six straight games, beating the Bears 42-38 on a 38-yard Jauan Jennings touchdown pass with 2:15 to play and a defensive goal-line (OK, 3-yard-line) stand as time expired.

And while casual fans soaked it all in with glee, I can only imagine how exhausting that game was for 49ers fans to watch.

But you don’t have long to recover. The Niners’ win sets up a winner-take-all Seahawks-49ers matchup Saturday night at Levi’s Stadium.

The NFC West crown? Up for grabs. The NFC’s No. 1 seed? That’s for the taking, too.

STUDS

Brock Purdy

Do you know how good you have to play to throw a pick-six on the first play of the day and still be a no-doubt “stud”?

As well as Purdy played on Sunday.

He followed up the worst play of the game with 59 minutes and 45 seconds of elite quarterback play.

Purdy now has 10 touchdowns in his last two games, finishing Sunday with 303 passing yards, three passing touchdowns, and two read-option scores on the ground.

With him playing at this level, anything is possible for the 49ers, despite every ounce of logic fighting that fact from being true.

Jake Tonges

Not having George Kittle is a problem. Obviously.

But you don’t lose much in the pass game with Jake Tonges stepping in at tight end.

Tonges had seven catches, 60 yards, and a touchdown Sunday and was a go-to option for Purdy in this contest.

Many players can be considered season-savers for San Francisco. Don’t forget to add the oft-forgotten tight end on that list.

Austen Pleasants

Tossed into the fray after the first play of the game, Pleasants looked like an asset in the run game at left tackle and held up well in pass protection, allowing only one sack in the contest. (And it was on a backside rush.)

Jake Brendel

The first half of the 49ers’ season was filled with Brendel slander from Niners fans.

They seem awfully quiet now.

That’s because Brendel has been better than good — he’s been fantastic for the last month-plus — and it’s elevated a bemoaned Niners offense line into, dare I say, an elite unit.

Christian McCaffrey

The 49ers’ superstar had 121 yards and a touchdown on 18 carries, and two catches for 20 yards.

That was in the first half.

McCaffrey ended the game with 181 total yards and a touchdown. He’s as good as it gets at any position in the league right now.

Keion White

The 49ers did get a pass rusher at the trade deadline, despite popular online sentiment.

Ok, the Niners traded for White a week before the trade deadline, but they needed a defensive end for that weekend.

White has been really, really good since arriving in Santa Clara, and Sunday was his best game of the season, as he had several flash plays, particularly when rushing from the interior of the line.

DUDS

Ji’Ayir Brown

Anyone who had watched the 49ers in recent weeks and had any idea of what the Bears want to do on offense knew it was coming.

Apparently, Brown didn’t.

The Bears relentlessly attacked Brown deep down the field, and the Niners’ safety — who made several nice plays down as a de facto linebacker — gave up two first-half touchdowns on deep balls.

If the Niners want to keep Brown on the field, they need to utilize him as a box-only safety from this point onwards. Otherwise, he will be the reason the Niners’ season ends.

Harsh? Sure. But you know it’s accurate. Every Bears touchdown Sunday involved him in some way.

Jason Pinnock

The Niners need to can this three-safety idea with Pinnock. We’re at weeks between good reps from 25.

The NFL

The NFC West title and the conference’s one seed are up for grabs on a… Saturday night?

That’s beyond lame, even if the Niners don’t have to travel and Seattle is coming back from Carolina (with a flight to San Jose still to go).

But hey, old, washed Aaron Rodgers and Baltimore’s backup quarterback will decide who will win a division that will be bounced in the first round next Sunday night. You have to prioritize that!