{"id":12384628,"date":"2025-12-27T04:30:14","date_gmt":"2025-12-27T12:30:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.mercurynews.com\/?p=12384628"},"modified":"2025-12-27T23:48:17","modified_gmt":"2025-12-28T07:48:17","slug":"49ers-5-keys-to-beating-chicago-bears-on-sunday-night-football","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.mercurynews.com\/2025\/12\/27\/49ers-5-keys-to-beating-chicago-bears-on-sunday-night-football\/","title":{"rendered":"49ers&#8217; 5 keys to beating Chicago Bears on &#8216;Sunday Night Football&#8217;"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>SANTA CLARA \u2013 The Chicago Bears ruined Levi\u2019s Stadium\u2019s grand opening in 2014, rallying from a fourth-quarter deficit to beat <a href=\"https:\/\/www.mercurynews.com\/2025\/12\/26\/49ers-john-lynch-updates-availability-of-george-kittle-fred-warner\/\">the host 49ers<\/a> in Week 2 of a season neither franchise enjoyed.<\/p>\n<p>This season, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.mercurynews.com\/2025\/12\/26\/nfl-playoff-race-49ers-bears-lions-packers-wild-card-super-bowl\/\">the Bears<\/a> have parlayed six fourth-quarter comebacks into serious contention for Super Bowl LX at Levi&#8217;s Stadium on Feb. 8.<\/p>\n<aside class=\"related left\"><h2 class=\"widget-title\" data-curated-ids=\"\" data-relation-type=\"automatic-primary-section\">Related Articles<\/h2><ul><li>\n\t\t\t<a class=\"article-title\" href=\"https:\/\/www.mercurynews.com\/2025\/12\/27\/49ers-bears-preview-prediction-caleb-williams-brock-purdy-kurtenbach-dec27\/\" title=\"Kurtenbach: The playoffs start early with 49ers &#8211; Bears. My three predictions\">\n\t\n\t\t\t\t<span class=\"dfm-title metered\">\n\t\t\tKurtenbach: The playoffs start early with 49ers &#8211; Bears. My three predictions\t\t<\/span>\n\n\n\n\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\n\t\n<\/li><li>\n\t\t\t<a class=\"article-title\" href=\"https:\/\/www.mercurynews.com\/2025\/12\/27\/watch-49ers-bears-sunday-night-football\/\" title=\"How to watch 49ers vs. Bears on Sunday Night Football\">\n\t\n\t\t\t\t<span class=\"dfm-title metered\">\n\t\t\tHow to watch 49ers vs. Bears on Sunday Night Football\t\t<\/span>\n\n\n\n\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\n\t\n<\/li><li>\n\t\t\t<a class=\"article-title\" href=\"https:\/\/www.mercurynews.com\/2025\/12\/26\/49ers-bears-injury-report-tight-end-george-kittle-could-miss-sixth-game-of-year\/\" title=\"49ers-Bears injury report: Tight end George Kittle could miss sixth game of year\">\n\t\n\t\t\t\t<span class=\"dfm-title metered\">\n\t\t\t49ers-Bears injury report: Tight end George Kittle could miss sixth game of year\t\t<\/span>\n\n\n\n\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\n\t\n<\/li><li>\n\t\t\t<a class=\"article-title\" href=\"https:\/\/www.mercurynews.com\/2025\/12\/26\/49ers-john-lynch-updates-availability-of-george-kittle-fred-warner\/\" title=\"49ers&#8217; John Lynch updates availability of George Kittle, Fred Warner\">\n\t\n\t\t\t\t<span class=\"dfm-title metered\">\n\t\t\t49ers&#8217; John Lynch updates availability of George Kittle, Fred Warner\t\t<\/span>\n\n\n\n\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\n\t\n<\/li><li>\n\t\t\t<a class=\"article-title\" href=\"https:\/\/www.mercurynews.com\/2025\/12\/26\/nfl-playoff-race-49ers-bears-lions-packers-wild-card-super-bowl\/\" title=\"NFL playoff race: 49ers among the 11 teams in, and 3 spots remain open\">\n\t\n\t\t\t\t<span class=\"dfm-title metered\">\n\t\t\tNFL playoff race: 49ers among the 11 teams in, and 3 spots remain open\t\t<\/span>\n\n\n\n\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\n\t\n<\/li><\/ul><\/aside>\n<p>But first at that venue Sunday night comes <a href=\"https:\/\/www.mercurynews.com\/2025\/12\/26\/49ers-bears-injury-report-tight-end-george-kittle-could-miss-sixth-game-of-year\/\">a Bears-49ers matchup<\/a> that could dictate if either snags the NFC\u2019s No. 1 seed and easiest path to the Lombardi Trophy. Both teams sport 11-4 records entering the penultimate game of the regular season, both are eying division titles.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;It is a really good feeling to have home-field advantage,&#8221; left tackle Trent Williams said. &#8220;Everybody that was here in &#8217;23, I know they can remember the roar of the crowd and how just the atmosphere of playoff football here is different.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>The Bears, currently the No. 2 seed behind the Seattle Seahawks, will clinch the NFC North by beating the 49ers, so long as they didn\u2019t already secure that title via a Packers\u2019 loss Saturday night to Baltimore.<\/p>\n<p>The 49ers, currently the No. 5 seed, could seize the No. 1 seed and the NFC West if they hold serve against the Bears and then knock off Seattle (12-3) in next weekend\u2019s regular-season finale. (The Seahawks can make that matchup moot if they lock up the No. 1 seed Sunday by absurdly combining a 49ers-Bears tie with a Seattle win at Carolina and a Los Angeles Rams\u2019 loss or tie Monday night at Atlanta.)<\/p>\n<p>Here are five keys to a 49ers victory over the Bears, who are seeking only their third division title since their 2006 team lost in the Super Bowl:<\/p>\n<p><strong>1. WIN TURNOVER BATTLE<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>The Bears are the NFL\u2019s best at winning the turnover battle. Their plus-21 mark (31 takeaways, 10 turnovers) is six better than the NFL\u2019s next team (Houston), and it\u2019s a glaring reminder how deficient the 49ers are (16 takeaways, 20 turnovers).<\/p>\n<p>Brock Purdy is coming off Monday night\u2019s five-touchdown masterpiece, slightly tainted by a fourth-quarter interception off Kendrick Bourne\u2019s hands. That is the lone interception off Purdy in his past 3 \u00bd games and 112 passes, since a three-interception fiasco before halftime of the 49ers\u2019 Nov. 24 win over Carolina.<\/p>\n<p>The Bears\u2019 best interceptors, so to speak, are all battling health issues: Kevin Byard (six interceptions), Nahshon Wright (five), and Tremaine Edumonds (four). Wright also has three fumble recoveries and two forced fumbles; the James Logan High and Laney College product gae inspiring tributes after John Beam\u2019s slaying last month at Laney.<\/p>\n<p>Christian McCaffrey didn\u2019t lose either of his fumbles (vs. Jacksonville and Carolina) among his NFL-leading 372 touches.<\/p>\n<p><strong>2. STAY ALERT FOR CALEB<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Caleb Williams, last year\u2019s No. 1 overall draft pick, is humming along with 3,400 passing yards, 369 rushing yards and a 57.8% completion mark. He\u2019s thrown 23 touchdown passes against six interceptions, but five of those interceptions have come on the road (with 10 touchdown passes).<\/p>\n<p>Williams won\u2019t have Rome Odunze for a fourth straight game, so the 49ers can focus their coverage on D.J. Moore (664 yards, six touchdowns) and tight end Colstand Loveland (528, four).<\/p>\n<p>Williams got sacked a NFL-high 68 times last season, but he\u2019s lowered that to 23 times this season, including 10 in the fourth quarter.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt feels like when he starts scrambling, he gets more accurate. He is really, really dangerous when he leaves the pocket and he&#8217;s on the run,\u201d defensive coordinator Robert Saleh said. \u201c\u2026 He&#8217;s improved tremendously from a year ago.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>In the Bears\u2019 38-13 loss last December at Levi\u2019s Stadium, Williams passed for just 134 yards, but he threw for two touchdowns with no turnovers.<\/p>\n<p><strong>3. RUN DEFENSE<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>The 49ers must prove that their run defense\u2019s improvement was more than a mirage Monday at Indianapolis, where Jonathan Taylor fell out of the NFL rushing lead and gained just 46 yards on 16 carries.<\/p>\n<p>The Bears boast the NFL\u2019s second-best rushing average (152.1 per game; Buffalo is at 158.9 ypg). They\u2019re dividing and conquering behind D\u2019Andre Swift (993 yards, seven touchdowns, 204 carries) and seventh-round rookie Kyle Monangi (731 yards, three touchdowns, 155 carries).<\/p>\n<p>Linebacker Tatum Bethune, despite aggravating an ankle injury Monday, should be OK directing the 49ers\u2019 run defense. That push really starts up front with interior linemen Jordan Elliott, Kalia Davis, Alfred Collins and C.J. West.<\/p>\n<p>The Bears favor running to their right, although it\u2019s center Drew Dalman and left guard Joe Thuney who earned Pro Bowl honors while right tackle Darnell Wright got snubbed along with Nahshon Wright.<\/p>\n<p><strong>4. KITTLE CONUNDRUM<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Tight end George Kittle attempted to play through a low-ankle sprain Monday night before getting sidelined through the fourth quarter \u2013 and possibly through this game against his childhood team after not practicing all week.<\/p>\n<p>The 49ers are 10-14 without Kittle since 2017, but they went 3-2 this season after his Week 1 hamstring injury. Fellow tight ends Jake Tonges and Luke Farrell could get more run, but the 49ers also have fullback Kyle Juszczyk ready to fill some of Kittle\u2019s multiple roles.<\/p>\n<p>If Ricky Pearsall can return and push through a right-knee injury, then Purdy won\u2019t so predictable in targeting Jauan Jennings and McCaffrey.<\/p>\n<p><strong>5. FINISH. FINISH. FINISH.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>The Bears are producing fourth-quarter comebacks in historic fashion: They\u2019re the first team to win six games after trailing in the final two minutes of regulation. Last week, they erased a 10-point deficit to the Green Bay Packers and won 22-16 in overtime to clinch their first playoff berth since 2020.<\/p>\n<p>Over the past eight weeks, the Bears have scored a NFL-high 83 points in the fourth quarter and overtime.<\/p>\n<p>The 49ers are 10-0 in games they\u2019ve led at halftime, though they did rally after surrendering fourth-quarter leads in wins against Arizona (Week 3) and Los Angeles (Week 5).<\/p>\n<p>On the flip side, the Bears have not allowed an opening-drive score in their past seven games and yielded just 10 opening-drive points all season, fewest in the league.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The 49ers (11-4) and the Chicago Bears (11-4) collide in Sunday&#8217;s prime-time showcase rich with playoff ramifications.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":455,"featured_media":12384635,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"subheadline":"The 49ers (11-4) and the Chicago Bears (11-4) are jostling Sunday night for a shot at the NFC's No. 1 seed and division titles","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[13645,27642,163,162],"tags":[26935,744,26006,22724],"feature":[],"location":[3,2,130,102,7],"type-of-work":[24457],"coauthors":[1034],"class_list":["post-12384628","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-latest-headlines","category-nfl","category-san-francisco-49ers","category-sports","tag-49ers-hq","tag-football","tag-inside-sports","tag-pm-report","location-bay-area","location-california","location-santa-clara","location-santa-clara-county","location-south-bay","type-of-work-news"],"post_status":"","edit_last":0,"edit_lock":0,"highlights":"","original_byline":"","original_canonical":"","original_category":"","original_email":"","original_id":0,"original_pubdate":"","original_source":"","primary_section":"163","primary_tag":26935,"print_workflow_body":{"deck_headline":"49ers","print_title":"49ers' 5 keys to beating Chicago Bears on 'Sunday Night Football'","print_subheadline":"The 49ers (11-4) and the Chicago Bears (11-4) are jostling Sunday night for a shot at the NFC's No. 1 seed and division titles","print_planned_ready":1766880000,"print_pub_date":1766880000,"print_slug":"BNG-L-49ERSKEYS-1228","print_content":"<p>SANTA CLARA \u2013 The Chicago Bears ruined Levi\u2019s Stadium\u2019s grand opening in 2014, rallying from a fourth-quarter deficit to beat <a href=\"https:\/\/www.mercurynews.com\/2025\/12\/26\/49ers-john-lynch-updates-availability-of-george-kittle-fred-warner\/\">the host 49ers<\/a> in Week 2 of a season neither franchise enjoyed.<\/p>\n<p>This season, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.mercurynews.com\/2025\/12\/26\/nfl-playoff-race-49ers-bears-lions-packers-wild-card-super-bowl\/\">the Bears<\/a> have parlayed six fourth-quarter comebacks into serious contention for Super Bowl LX at Levi's Stadium on Feb. 8.<\/p>\n<p>But first at that venue tonight comes <a href=\"https:\/\/www.mercurynews.com\/2025\/12\/26\/49ers-bears-injury-report-tight-end-george-kittle-could-miss-sixth-game-of-year\/\">a Bears-49ers matchup<\/a> that could dictate if either snags the NFC\u2019s No. 1 seed and easiest path to the Lombardi Trophy. Both teams sport 11-4 records entering the penultimate game of the regular season, both are eying division titles.<\/p>\n<p>\"It is a really good feeling to have home-field advantage,\" left tackle Trent Williams said. \"Everybody that was here in '23, I know they can remember the roar of the crowd and how just the atmosphere of playoff football here is different.\"<\/p>\n<p>The Bears, currently the No. 2 seed behind the Seattle Seahawks, will clinch the NFC North by beating the 49ers, so long as they didn\u2019t already secure that title via a Packers\u2019 loss Saturday night to Baltimore.<\/p>\n<p>The 49ers, currently the No. 5 seed, could seize the No. 1 seed and the NFC West if they hold serve against the Bears and then knock off Seattle (12-3) in next weekend\u2019s regular-season finale. (The Seahawks can make that matchup moot if they lock up the No. 1 seed Sunday by absurdly combining a 49ers-Bears tie with a Seattle win at Carolina and a Los Angeles Rams\u2019 loss or tie Monday night at Atlanta.)<\/p>\n<p>Here are five keys to a 49ers victory over the Bears, who are seeking only their third division title since their 2006 team lost in the Super Bowl:<\/p>\n<p>1. WIN TURNOVER BATTLE<\/p>\n<p>The Bears are the NFL\u2019s best at winning the turnover battle. Their plus-21 mark (31 takeaways, 10 turnovers) is six better than the NFL\u2019s next team (Houston), and it\u2019s a glaring reminder how deficient the 49ers are (16 takeaways, 20 turnovers).<\/p>\n<p>Brock Purdy is coming off Monday night\u2019s five-touchdown masterpiece, slightly tainted by a fourth-quarter interception off Kendrick Bourne\u2019s hands. That is the lone interception off Purdy in his past 3 \u00bd games and 112 passes, since a three-interception fiasco before halftime of the 49ers\u2019 Nov. 24 win over Carolina.<\/p>\n<p>The Bears\u2019 best interceptors, so to speak, are all battling health issues: Kevin Byard (six interceptions), Nahshon Wright (five), and Tremaine Edumonds (four). Wright also has three fumble recoveries and two forced fumbles; the James Logan High and Laney College product gae inspiring tributes after John Beam\u2019s slaying last month at Laney.<\/p>\n<p>Christian McCaffrey didn\u2019t lose either of his fumbles (vs. Jacksonville and Carolina) among his NFL-leading 372 touches.<\/p>\n<p>2. STAY ALERT FOR CALEB<\/p>\n<p>Caleb Williams, last year\u2019s No. 1 overall draft pick, is humming along with 3,400 passing yards, 369 rushing yards and a 57.8% completion mark. He\u2019s thrown 23 touchdown passes against six interceptions, but five of those interceptions have come on the road (with 10 touchdown passes).<\/p>\n<p>Williams won\u2019t have Rome Odunze for a fourth straight game, so the 49ers can focus their coverage on D.J. Moore (664 yards, six touchdowns) and tight end Colstand Loveland (528, four).<\/p>\n<p>Williams got sacked a NFL-high 68 times last season, but he\u2019s lowered that to 23 times this season, including 10 in the fourth quarter.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt feels like when he starts scrambling, he gets more accurate. He is really, really dangerous when he leaves the pocket and he's on the run,\u201d defensive coordinator Robert Saleh said. \u201c\u2026 He's improved tremendously from a year ago.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>In the Bears\u2019 38-13 loss last December at Levi\u2019s Stadium, Williams passed for just 134 yards, but he threw for two touchdowns with no turnovers.<\/p>\n<p>3. RUN DEFENSE<\/p>\n<p>The 49ers must prove that their run defense\u2019s improvement was more than a mirage Monday at Indianapolis, where Jonathan Taylor fell out of the NFL rushing lead and gained just 46 yards on 16 carries.<\/p>\n<p>The Bears boast the NFL\u2019s second-best rushing average (152.1 per game; Buffalo is at 158.9 ypg). They\u2019re dividing and conquering behind D\u2019Andre Swift (993 yards, seven touchdowns, 204 carries) and seventh-round rookie Kyle Monangi (731 yards, three touchdowns, 155 carries).<\/p>\n<p>Linebacker Tatum Bethune, despite aggravating an ankle injury Monday, should be OK directing the 49ers\u2019 run defense. That push really starts up front with interior linemen Jordan Elliott, Kalia Davis, Alfred Collins and C.J. West.<\/p>\n<p>The Bears favor running to their right, although it\u2019s center Drew Dalman and left guard Joe Thuney who earned Pro Bowl honors while right tackle Darnell Wright got snubbed along with Nahshon Wright.<\/p>\n<p>4. KITTLE CONUNDRUM<\/p>\n<p>Tight end George Kittle attempted to play through a low-ankle sprain Monday night before getting sidelined through the fourth quarter \u2013 and possibly through this game against his childhood team after not practicing all week.<\/p>\n<p>The 49ers are 10-14 without Kittle since 2017, but they went 3-2 this season after his Week 1 hamstring injury. Fellow tight ends Jake Tonges and Luke Farrell could get more run, but the 49ers also have fullback Kyle Juszczyk ready to fill some of Kittle\u2019s multiple roles.<\/p>\n<p>If Ricky Pearsall can return and push through a right-knee injury, then Purdy won\u2019t so predictable in targeting Jauan Jennings and McCaffrey.<\/p>\n<p>5. FINISH. FINISH. FINISH.<\/p>\n<p>The Bears are producing fourth-quarter comebacks in historic fashion: They\u2019re the first team to win six games after trailing in the final two minutes of regulation. Last week, they erased a 10-point deficit to the Green Bay Packers and won 22-16 in overtime to clinch their first playoff berth since 2020.<\/p>\n<p>Over the past eight weeks, the Bears have scored a NFL-high 83 points in the fourth quarter and overtime.<\/p>\n<p>The 49ers are 10-0 in games they\u2019ve led at halftime, though they did rally after surrendering fourth-quarter leads in wins against Arizona (Week 3) and Los Angeles (Week 5).<\/p>\n<p>On the flip side, the Bears have not allowed an opening-drive score in their past seven games and yielded just 10 opening-drive points all season, fewest in the league.<\/p>\n","print_budget_line":"","print_excerpt":"The 49ers (11-4) and the Chicago Bears (11-4) collide in Sunday's prime-time showcase rich with playoff ramifications.","print_notes":"","photo_limits":"Photo limits are: 1 featured image, 5 featured gallery images, 5 embedded gallery images and 5 in-article embedded images. Articles that exceed these limits will not export. Please adjust images to reflect these limits.","print_featured_gallery_richtext":"","print_inline_galleries_richtext":"","print_inline_images_richtext":""},"print_workflow_exported_ts":"1766848928","print_workflow_exported_username":"Laurence Miedema","print_workflow_shapes":"","print_workflow_side":{"print_section":13015,"print_status":12923,"print_endpoint":"bang","add_export_buttons":""},"really_short_title":"","short_title":"","syndication_source":"","market_neutral_title":"","social_title":"","dfm_hub_post_id":0,"paywall_level":"","featured_media_content":{"content_type":"image","content":{"id":12384635,"title":"Brock Purdy,Caleb Williams","filename":"BNG-L-PURDY-1226-01.jpg","url":"https:\/\/www.mercurynews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/BNG-L-PURDY-1226-01.jpg","link":"https:\/\/www.mercurynews.com\/brock-purdycaleb-williams\/","alt":"","author":"710","description":"","caption":"San Francisco 49ers quarterback Brock Purdy (13) and Chicago Bears quarterback Caleb Williams (18) greet each other after an NFL football game, Sunday, December 8, 2024, in Santa Clara, Calif. (AP Photo\/Scot Tucker)","name":"brock-purdycaleb-williams","status":"inherit","uploadedTo":0,"date":1766785475000,"modified":1766801208000,"menuOrder":0,"mime":"image\/jpeg","type":"image","subtype":"jpeg","icon":"https:\/\/www.mercurynews.com\/wp-includes\/images\/media\/default.svg","dateFormatted":"December 26, 2025","nonces":{"update":false,"delete":false,"edit":false},"editLink":false,"meta":false,"authorName":"dfm-photoupload","authorLink":"","filesizeInBytes":6940829,"filesizeHumanReadable":"7 MB","context":"","height":3648,"width":5472,"orientation":"landscape","sizes":{"thumbnail":{"height":"150","width":"150","url":"https:\/\/www.mercurynews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/BNG-L-PURDY-1226-01.jpg?w=150&h=150&crop=1","orientation":"landscape"},"medium":{"height":200,"width":300,"url":"https:\/\/www.mercurynews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/BNG-L-PURDY-1226-01.jpg?w=300","orientation":"landscape"},"large":{"height":683,"width":1024,"url":"https:\/\/www.mercurynews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/BNG-L-PURDY-1226-01.jpg?w=1024","orientation":"landscape"},"full":{"url":"https:\/\/www.mercurynews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/BNG-L-PURDY-1226-01.jpg","height":3648,"width":5472,"orientation":"landscape"}},"credit":"A.P. Photo","custom_caption":""},"data":[{"id":12384635,"title":"Brock Purdy,Caleb Williams","filename":"BNG-L-PURDY-1226-01.jpg","url":"https:\/\/www.mercurynews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/BNG-L-PURDY-1226-01.jpg","link":"https:\/\/www.mercurynews.com\/brock-purdycaleb-williams\/","alt":"","author":"710","description":"","caption":"San Francisco 49ers quarterback Brock Purdy (13) and Chicago Bears quarterback Caleb Williams (18) greet each other after an NFL football game, Sunday, December 8, 2024, in Santa Clara, Calif. (AP Photo\/Scot Tucker)","name":"brock-purdycaleb-williams","status":"inherit","uploadedTo":0,"date":1766785475000,"modified":1766801208000,"menuOrder":0,"mime":"image\/jpeg","type":"image","subtype":"jpeg","icon":"https:\/\/www.mercurynews.com\/wp-includes\/images\/media\/default.svg","dateFormatted":"December 26, 2025","nonces":{"update":false,"delete":false,"edit":false},"editLink":false,"meta":false,"authorName":"dfm-photoupload","authorLink":"","filesizeInBytes":6940829,"filesizeHumanReadable":"7 MB","context":"","height":3648,"width":5472,"orientation":"landscape","sizes":{"thumbnail":{"height":"150","width":"150","url":"https:\/\/www.mercurynews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/BNG-L-PURDY-1226-01.jpg?w=150&h=150&crop=1","orientation":"landscape"},"medium":{"height":200,"width":300,"url":"https:\/\/www.mercurynews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/BNG-L-PURDY-1226-01.jpg?w=300","orientation":"landscape"},"large":{"height":683,"width":1024,"url":"https:\/\/www.mercurynews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/BNG-L-PURDY-1226-01.jpg?w=1024","orientation":"landscape"},"full":{"url":"https:\/\/www.mercurynews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/BNG-L-PURDY-1226-01.jpg","height":3648,"width":5472,"orientation":"landscape"}},"credit":"A.P. 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He joined the Bay Area News Group in 1995, though he delivered the San Jose News growing up in Cupertino and turned pro as a sportswriter with the Cupertino Courier in 1988. He covered youth and high school sports upon joining Pleasanton's Valley Times in 1995, and he's since covered most college and pro teams as both a reporter and columnist, though the 49ers and NFL are his specialties. 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