Stanford Legends Shine for Bears, 49ers in Sunday Night Thriller

Is Week 17 Sunday Night Football the game of the year?

Dec 28, 2025; Santa Clara, California, USA; San Francisco 49ers running back Christian McCaffrey (23) runs for a touchdown against the Chicago Bears in the first half at Levi's Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Sergio Estrada-Imagn Images | Sergio Estrada-Imagn Images

Is the 2025 NFL season one of the best of all time? Heading into Week 17, the San Francisco 49ers and the Chicago Bears were each sitting at 11-4 and alive for the No. 1 seed in the conference going into their head-to-head matchup on Sunday Night Football.

Primed for the stage to be as big as it has been all season, both the 49ers and Bears, led by Stanford legends Christian McCaffrey and Drew Dalman respectively, came in with plenty to play for.

The matchup between the two Stanford legends proved to be just as good as advertised, ending with the 49ers winning 42-38 in a back-and-forth thriller.

But despite the score going in favor of only the 49ers, sending the Bears home eliminated from contention to win the No. 1 seed, both Stanford legends put up games to remember for their respective teams, showing why Dalman and CMC deserved the Pro Bowl nods that they received earlier in the week.

Putting together his best performance of the season, McCaffrey silenced the doubters and showed that he is still very explosive. Carrying the ball 23 times for 140 yards and a touchdown, McCaffrey averaged a season-best 6.1 yards per carry, with his longest run of the night being a massive 41-yard gain in the first quarter that set up a 49ers score a couple plays later.

Finishing with his second straight 100-yard rushing game, McCaffrey now has 1,179 rushing yards on the season and with 879 receiving yards, he is one more 121 yard receiving game away from achieving his second career 1,000 yard rushing and 1,000 yard receiving season.

A workhorse for the 49ers all season long, McCaffrey earned his fourth career Pro Bowl selection and has entered the Offensive Player of the Year discussion.

Dalman, a fourth round pick in 2021, has proven to be one of the Bears' most pivotal offseason signings, helping revamp an offensive line that caused quarterback Caleb Williams to lead the league in sacks taken last season as a rookie.

This season, the first time Pro Bowler, has provided good protection for Williams to where he has only been sacked 23 times, nearly three times less than in 2024 when he was sacked 68 times. Because of that, the Bears' offense has blossomed into one of the league's best, helping the team clinch a playoff spot with an 11-5 record with one game left in the regular season.

Spending the first four seasons of his NFL career with the Atlanta Falcons, Dalman signed a three-year deal with the Bears this offseason and was one of three big offensive line acquisitions that the Bears made, joining Joe Thuney and Jonah Jackson.

At Stanford, Dalman started for a majority of his four year career, earning First team All-Pac-12 honors in 2020 and second-team All-Pac-12 honors in 2019.

While both teams are officially in the playoffs, the final regular season games will be big tests for both franchises.

The 49ers will take on the Seattle Seahawks for not only a chance to earn the No. 1 seed and home field advantage for the entire playoffs, including the Super Bowl, but they can also win the NFC West. The Bears, while already NFC North champions, are playing Detroit Lions for a chance to earn a higher seed.

The 49ers face the Seahawks on Saturday, Jan. 3 at 5 p.m. (PST) on ESPN/ABC while the Bears face the Lions on Sunday, Jan. 4 at 1:25 p.m. (PST) on FOX.