Chicago Bears vs. San Francisco 49ers: 5 storylines to watch in Week 14

LAKE FOREST – It’s Thomas Brown‘s time to shine.

The Chicago Bears will begin the post-Matt Eberflus era on Sunday with a matchup against the San Francisco 49ers at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, California.

Brown took over as head coach Nov. 29 after the team fired Eberflus. Brown’s team is looking to snap a six-game losing streak. Quarterback Caleb Williams has played well since Brown took over as offensive coordinator last month. Despite taking on additional duties as head coach, Brown still will call plays for the offense.

The last time the Bears and 49ers played, it was the first game of the Eberflus era in 2022. Justin Fields and the Bears won 19-10 in what looked like a monsoon at Soldier Field. That was one of only three victories for the Bears that season.

This time, the Bears (4-8) and the 49ers (5-7) will kick off at 3:25 p.m. The game will be broadcast on Fox. Here are the top five storylines to watch.

1. Thomas Brown’s energy

When Brown stepped in front of the team for his first team meeting on Monday, nobody made a sound. Players sat on the edges of their seats. The 38-year-old coach had everybody’s attention.

“You could hear a mouse squeak when he talks because everybody’s listening,” center Coleman Shelton told the Shaw Local News Network. “You can feel the intent and you can feel everybody’s eyes and ears ready to listen and learn.”

Shelton worked with Brown for three years when both were with the Los Angeles Rams. Brown served in various roles on Sean McVay’s staff, including assistant head coach.

Shelton said Brown had the same energy back then, long before he was a head coach.

“Everybody has a different personality,” Shelton said. “He just does a great job of controlling the room and controlling the guys. That’s just his personality, and that’s the way it comes off.”

Sometimes the voice in the front of the room grows stale. Brown has this team captivated.

Players kept bringing up his energy this week at Halas Hall. It’s a positive energy that this team needed.

2. The interim coach bump?

Over the past 10 NFL seasons, teams that fired their head coach during the season are 13-11 in the first game after the firing, per the Associated Press. Those teams had a collective winning percentage of .284 at the time they fired their coaches.

The interim coach bump is real. This year, the Jets lost their first game after firing Robert Saleh, while the Saints won their first game after firing Dennis Allen.

The Bears will be the next test.

Before the season, most fans would’ve expected this matchup with the 49ers to be a loss. San Francisco reached the Super Bowl a year ago and brought back most of its team.

But injuries have ravaged the 49ers. Both top running backs, Christian McCaffrey and Jordan Mason, went on injured reserve this week. Expect rookie fourth-round draft pick Isaac Guerendo to take on lead running back duties this week.

All the sudden this game feels quite winnable for the Bears.

3. Better clock management?

Brown had a busy week since taking over as Bears head coach. One of the first things he did, however, was to implement some changes to improve the team’s end-of-game clock management issues.

This was Eberflus' biggest flaw as a head coach, and it’s ultimately what cost him his job.

While Brown will still call the offensive plays, offensive coordinator Chris Beatty will be the point man for situational decisions.

Beatty ran a meeting on Friday – which the team hopes to do every week – that they’re calling the “situational masters presentation,” where they go over some scenarios from around the NFL the previous week.

“It was about a 10-minute deal, presentation-wise to talk about a couple of scenarios around the league,” Brown said. “Then it’s just more about doing a really good job of staying poised and calm in the moment and being a decisive communicators.”

The end of the second and fourth quarters are key moments in the game. Brown knows his team needs to be better in those situations.

Eberflus' timeout usage (or lack thereof) was sometimes baffling. He also lost his final six challenges as Bears head coach. Brown needs to be better.

4. What’s next for Williams?

The final five games are all about the rookie quarterback. After a slump in the middle of the season, Williams has played well over the past three games.

Williams has gone six consecutive games without a turnover. Since Brown took over as play caller three weeks ago, Williams is averaging 275 passing yards per game, while completing 64% of his pass attempts with five touchdowns and no interceptions.

If he keeps playing at this rate, Williams could work his way back into rookie of the year consideration. Jayden Daniels and Bo Nix are each on a bye this week, so the statistics should even out some.

As head coach, Brown will have more duties on the sideline, but he said being on the sideline will make it easier to communicate with the QB.

“Guys can just come up to me and talk to me versus having to flip over to a different channel [on the headset],” Brown said. “Obviously having [Beatty] on the grass as well will be helpful.”

The 49ers defense is the fourth-best against the pass this season, allowing only 190 passing yards per game. They also have the seventh-highest interception rate.

5. Stopping Shanahan’s offense

The Bears' defense has truly taken on a bend-but-don’t-break mentality. The Bears rank 22nd among 32 teams in yards allowed per game, but they are the No. 1-rated defense in the red zone. Teams are scoring touchdowns on only 41% of red zone opportunities.

That played out last week against Detroit. The defense’s red zone play kept the Bears in the game in the first half.

Now, defensive coordinator Eric Washington takes over play-calling duties from Eberflus. The Bears don’t expect much to change, but this defense will have a tough test against a 49ers offense that is solid all around under head coach Kyle Shanahan.

These guys pride themselves on 30-plus runs per game. So from a balance standpoint, we want to be solid on defense.”

—  Thomas Brown, Bears head coach

“These guys pride themselves on 30-plus runs per game,” Brown said. “So from a balance standpoint, we want to be solid on defense.”

Quarterback Brock Purdy isn’t finding the same success he did a year ago in the passing game. He has 13 touchdown passes and eight interceptions on the season.

Interestingly, seven of his eight interceptions have come in home games. He has thrown only four touchdown passes at Levi’s Stadium this season.