Chicago Bears rookie wide receiver Luther Burden III suffered a quad injury Sunday night that is not thought to be serious, a source told ESPN's Adam Schefter. Burden suffered the injury on the final play of Chicago's 42-38 loss to the San Francisco 49ers. He attempted to walk off the field with trainers but eventually needed to be carted to the Bears' locker room. Burden, who also missed Chicago's Week 16 game with an ankle injury, will undergo additional testing Monday, the source told Schefter.
SAN FRANCISCO -- The Chicago Bears continue to deal with an illness that has impacted at least eight players ahead of their Sunday night meeting with the San Francisco 49ers. The Bears added wide receivers DJ Moore and Olamide Zaccheaus to the injury report Sunday morning with an illness and designated both as questionable. The team already ruled out Rome Odunze (foot) for a fourth straight game.
The Bears' defense is having an extraordinary year turning the ball over. The ball-hawk brothers Kevin Byard and Nahshon Wright are showing a preternatural ability to read a quarterback's mind and, as such, Chicago lead the league in interceptions (21) and total turnovers (31). They need to keep the giveaways flowing to cut the legs from a San Francisco offense quietly becoming a juggernaut.
The Bears now have five wins this season after trailing in the final two minutes of the fourth quarter, tied for the most in a season since the 1970 merger, according to ESPN Research. Chicago quarterback Caleb Williams has five game-winning drives in the fourth quarter this season, the most in a season by a Bears quarterback since the merger.
"Nobody in that room wants to get it corrected more than the players, alright?" Hightower said. "And we are going to work night and day to get it all cleaned up. I can promise you that. I will bust my ass and they will too, alright, to get it cleaned up."
Four takeaways. That's where the bar has been set for Chicago's defense after pushing past an 0-2 start, which included one of the worst defensive performances in franchise history in a 52-21 loss at Detroit in Week 2. It's become a rallying cry for the Bears, who took the ball away four times against Dallas in Week 4 and four more times in Las Vegas one week later.
After punting on their first drive, the Bears' defense came up with a huge play when defensive end Montez Sweat forced a fumble on a sack of quarterback Spencer Rattler. That loose ball was recovered by the Bears on New Orleans' 29 yard line. Though Chicago got into the red zone, they settled for a field goal after failing to convert a third down for a 3-0 advantage.
Daniels had some exceptional moments at Northwest Stadium. He turned on the style over the second half, dragging the Commanders back from another deficit into the lead. Then, disaster struck. Daniels fumbled the football for a second time in the game, and this time he didn't get it back. Chicago seized the initiative, driving far enough downfield for veteran kicker Jake Moody to drill the game-winning field goal as time expired.
The quarterbacks - who will face off for the second time Monday night at Northwest Stadium - will be compared throughout their careers. But as much as their individual performances matter, what is equally as important is how their teams build around them - particularly while they're still on their rookie contracts, before they're eligible to sign lucrative extensions in the 2027 offseason.
This immediately invoked memories of last season's encounter between the two clubs at the same venue. When it looked like the Bears were heading for a statement victory, the Commanders had other ideas. Jayden Daniels heaved a prayer near the end zone as time expired, which fortunately fell into the grateful arms of wide receiver Noah Brown for a Hail Mary miracle. It was an astonishing moment - one that sent the NFC adversaries on entirely different paths the rest of the way.
Ben Solak is out this week, so Matt Bowen is filling in with his own unique style. Bowen and Seth Walder bring different perspectives into how they approach sports betting. A former NFL safety, Bowen predicts positive matchups and game winners from tape study and his understanding of the league. Walder relies on statistical models to pick out plus-expected value bets.
