Bears “Stock Up”: Luther Burden III goes off in Bears’ loss

The Bears might have a new best Chicago receiver in the room after Week 17.

Dec 28, 2025; Santa Clara, California, USA; Chicago Bears wide receiver Luther Burden III (10) makes a catch to score a touchdown against the San Francisco 49ers in the first half at Levi's Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Terada-Imagn Images | Kyle Terada-Imagn Images

We don’t really do moral victories here. But as far as losses go, the Chicago Bears falling to the San Francisco 49ers in a shootout to determine who still has a shot at the No. 1 seed isn’t something to be too mad about. 

What’s more: a few players the Bears desperately need to be good in the playoffs showed big time in this one. Let’s dig in.

Caleb Williams

The result wasn’t what WIlliams wanted, and he did have a few costly misses in this one. But what a relief it is that the Chicago Bears have a quarterback that can keep up in a shootout like the one they had against San Francisco. And Williams absolutely shredded the 49ers at points in this game, diming them down the field and routinely beating their blitzes. He did most of his damage in the pocket, too, making some insane throws to show off just how strong an arm he has. The Bears might have taken the L here, but Williams is definitely trending in the right direction.

Austin Booker

The Bears might not have gotten anything out of Montez Sweat in this game, but his running mate stepped up. Booker swatted two passes down at the line of scrimmage in the first quarter and later forced a third-down incompletion with a nasty ghost move to pressure Brock Purdy. He also had the Bears’ lone sack of the day, chasing Purdy down from the backside on a rollout to the right. If Booker keeps playing like this, maybe the Bears can look at other positions besides edge in the first round this coming spring.

Luther Burden III

All the rookie receiver has needed is consistent chances to show out, and we saw exactly what he can do on Sunday night. Burden was a threat no matter where he lined up: roasting the 49ers deep for a touchdown, dragging from the slot, or running routes out of the backfield. That drop he had on the last drive shouldn’t overshadow the eight catches for 138 yards he did have. Anyone who thought he wasn’t worth the pick at No. 39 should be forced to watch film of his college quarterback trying to hack it in the NFL for the Jets. Burden’s that guy, plain and simple. We can only hope he’s not badly hurt.

T.J. Edwards

It wasn’t a pretty game from the linebackers (or the defense) as a whole. But starting off the game with a pick-six deserves a mention here. Having Edwards and Tremaine Edmunds is still far better than not having them out there, and Edwards’ knack for being in the right place paid off in a big way, especially when you think of how much scoring both teams did in this one.

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