49ers Notebook: Inside the frantic final play against the Bears; Former Bear Jake Tonges has a night to remember; What makes Kyle Shanahan a great playcaller?

Sunday night's 42-38 win over the Chicago Bears was one to remember for the San Francisco 49ers, who now stand at 12-4 with one more win needed to secure home field advantage throughout the playoffs.

The game was a back-and-forth affair, with both offenses putting up big numbers while the defenses struggled to make stops. But the 49ers made the stop that mattered the most when they kept the Bears out of the end zone on a passing play from the 2-yard line as time expired.

We'll recap that final play in this version of 49ers Notebook, with some quotes from the 49ers and Bears about what went on. Plus we'll also hear from tight end Jake Tonges, who had a clutch performance while filling in for the injured George Kittle and came away with a win that meant a little something extra. And we'll have a great quote from Christian McCaffrey on Kyle Shanahan's playcalling and more. Let's get started...

Inside the final escape

The 49ers needed all 60 minutes to beat the Bears on Sunday night, but they got it done in the end, with the help of a little bit of disorganization on the Bears' part during the final play.

The Bears had the ball at the 49ers' 13-yard line with 21 seconds to play, but a hook-and-ladder play that moved the ball to the 2-yard line took 17 seconds off the clock when the play was stopped in bounds and the Bears had to line up and spike the ball. After that, there was some disorganization on the Bears' part when they tried to get set up on the last play.

"We ended up getting lined up with not much time, and we were slightly lined up wrong," quarterback Caleb Williams said after the game. "So I didn't have enough time to be able to fix it, having to motion and things like that. So we just had to try to make something out of nothing in that situation. We had a shot."

Bears head coach Ben Johnson took the blame in his postgame press conference, saying he should have gotten the play to Williams faster.

"We didn't quite get aligned in the formation we wanted to," Johnson said. "It's on me. I didn't get him the call fast enough, so he's trying to piecemeal it together. I've got to do a better job on that."

49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan told reporters he considered calling a timeout but decided against it when he saw the Bears weren't quite set.

"I thought about it. We wanted to see the look and then they just went fast and let it ride," Shanahan said.

Still, the Bears almost pulled it off, as Williams' final pass came close to reaching its target. Replays showed wide receiver D.J. Moore standing alone in the right side of the end zone after Williams rolled left, which would have made for a very difficult if not unrealistic throw, while tight end Colston Loveland broke free in the back of the end zone for a moment as Williams escaped 49ers defenders. In the end, Williams made a throw under pressure to Jahdae Walker, which fell just short.

"By the grace of God, I don't know, he couldn't find the man," defensive back Chase Lucas said. "He was wide open in the back of the end zone. I was there in the back of the end zone and he didn't throw it."

It didn't sound like the 49ers defenders had much gas left in the tank before the play, according to Lucas.

"There was not too much said," said Lucas, who was playing in place of injured slot corner Upton Stout (concussion). "We couldn't really talk. Everybody was tired."

Cornerback Deommodore Lenoir said he tried to get Lucas fired up to fight through whatever fatigue he was feeling.

"I told Chase you've got to nut up," Lenoir said. "That tired s*** is out the window... We're gonna make this play and win this game."

Meanwhile, everyone not on the field was on pins and needles. But everything turned out well for the home team, who wound up celebrating one of their most memorable wins over the past two seasons.

"I was praying that whole drive," quarterback Brock Purdy said. "Not only that, just like pulling for our guys, man, because it's been a crazy year. And for all those guys on defense to be able to step up and be able to compete their butt off, for them to finish out the game like that, I was so happy for them. But obviously I was sitting there not really being able to do anything but watch. And for them to do a great job with the defensive line containing Caleb and the boys doing a great job in coverage and then him throwing the ball short… and to be able to celebrate, it's just a cool team win. There's nothing like that, so I thought it was special."

Scoring too fast didn't turn out to be a problem

In an ideal situation, the 49ers would have been able to run out the clock on the previous drive and the Bears wouldn't have had a chance to win in the final seconds. But they lost that chance when wide receiver Jauan Jennings scored from 38 yards out with over two minutes to play.

The 49ers, who took over with over five minutes left in the game after the Bears kicked a field goal to go up 38-35, may have given more thought to running time off the clock if the opportunity presented itself. But when Jennings, who caught the ball inside the 20 before running into the end zone, scored unexpectedly, the question became moot.

"That could have been the case if we got inside the red zone," Shanahan said. "I didn't think we were going to score on that play. So we didn't have much time to think about it. We were trying to figure out how to go down the field and score a touchdown to win, field goal to tie. So, we were expecting that to be a big play, but I didn't think it was going to be a house call. It was a hell of a job by JJ."

Purdy was obviously more than happy to take the opportunity to score a touchdown and let the chips fall where they may with the 49ers defense.

"We've talked about certain situations where you obviously don't want to give the offense on the other side of the ball a chance," Purdy said. "And so with that, it's like there's certain situations where we know that we want to bleed the clock and score late. That's like the perfect world, but at the end of the day too, like if the defense gives you an op to score, you've got to go take it. And I thought JJ did a great job with that, our offense as a whole did a great job with that, and you can't apologize for that."

Tonges comes full circle

2025 has been a big year for tight end Jake Tonges, who has proven he is a legitimate threat as a pass-catching tight end after spending time as a blocker, special teamer and practice squad player earlier in his NFL career.

Tonges has been given opportunities to catch passes this season while George Kittle has dealt with injuries. He was called upon again Sunday night with Kittle out due to an ankle injury and delivered with seven catches for 60 yards and a touchdown.

"Jake did awesome," Shanahan said. "Jake was a stud. He made some big-time routes, big-time catches, couple low balls that I thought he went down and made a hell of a play for. Kept the chains moving for us a number of times. He was huge today, just like he's been all year."

For Tonges, the win was extra special. That's because he entered the NFL in 2022 as an undrafted free agent signing of the Bears, who later cut him during the 2023 preseason. Things worked out in the long run for Tonges, who caught on with the 49ers and eventually went on to the role he's in now, but he still remembers the Bears giving up on him in 2023.

"That was my first team," Tonges said Sunday. "I had a great experience with the Bears. The tight end coach over there, I love him to death and credit him for a lot of my success as well. But when a team cuts you and you play them again, you have a little extra edge. So I'm super happy we got the win."

A product of nearby Los Gatos who played his college ball at Cal-Berkeley, Tonges has been one of a number of unexpected but significant contributors on this team due to injuries to starters. His emergence has given the 49ers something they haven't always had behind Kittle -- a tight end capable of delivering big catches when they're needed the most.

"He's consistent, he's smart, great hands," Purdy said in a postgame interview with ESPN. "He's a guy we can rely on at the Y position. Tonight we saw that. And he's a hometown kid, so it's always cool to see him ball out back home."

Shanny's secret

Kyle Shanahan has been in a zone with his playcalling lately, and it's helped make the 49ers offense into one of the hottest units in the NFL. After Sunday's game, running back Christian McCaffrey provided some interesting insight into what makes Shanahan such an effective playcaller.

The secret, McCaffrey said isn't just Shanahan's knowledge of offense, but defense.

"You know, I was actually talking with some of my family members this week, but his understanding of not just offensive football but defensive football," McCaffrey said. "I think when your head coach and your offensive play caller knows defensive football just as well as anybody, it allows us to open up stuff not just in the run game but in the pass game. He really understands gap integrity and everybody's responsibility on defense. And he sees it better than anybody. I think he plays to not just the structure of the defense but the emotions of the defense. You know, if some guy's an aggressive guy, he knows that."

Perhaps the current run of offensive success will put Shanahan in position to possibly win honors for Coach of the Year. McCaffrey will continue to be impressed and entertained with Shanahan either way.

"I think it's something that he was born to do," McCaffrey said. "He's been doing it for a long time at the highest level, and when we're in those meetings, it's like football heaven as a football nerd. You just learn so much every week and it keeps you on your toes every week. It's definitely fun to be a part of it."