SANTA CLARA, Calif. (AP) — Brock Purdy threw a 38-yard touchdown pass to Jauan Jennings with 2:15 left, and the San Francisco 49ers forced an incomplete pass on the final play from the 2 to beat the Chicago Bears 42-38 on Sunday night and set up a Week 18 showdown for the top seed in the NFC.

Caleb Williams drove the Bears (11-5) down the field in the closing seconds and had one last shot for the win. But Bryce Huff forced him out of the pocket and his throw short-hopped Jahdae Walker in the end zone to seal a sixth straight victory for the 49ers (12-4).

Purdy followed up his career-high five TD-pass performance last week against Indianapolis by throwing for three scores and running for two to become the sixth player since the AFL-NFL merger with back-to-back games with at least five touchdowns.

That gave the 49ers a chance to win the NFC West and get a bye by beating Seattle (13-3) in the season finale on Saturday night. A win would give San Francisco home-field advantage and a chance to stay home all postseason, with the Super Bowl set to be played at Levi’s Stadium on Feb. 8.

The loss ends the Bears’ hopes of earning the top seed. Chicago has already clinched the NFC North and can earn the No. 2 seed by beating Detroit next Sunday.

Purdy finished 24 for 33 for 303 yards, while Christian McCaffrey ran for 140 yards and a score and added 41 more receiving.

Williams went 25 for 42 for 330 yards and two TDs but couldn’t deliver at the end after already leading the Bears to an NFL-record six comeback wins after trailing in the final two minutes of regulation.

Neither defense could slow down the opposing offense for most of the night after a pick-6 by Chicago’s T.J. Edwards on the first play. The Niners led 28-21 at halftime.

The teams then traded touchdowns on the first three drives of the second half, with D’Andre Swift scoring on two runs for Chicago and Purdy delivering a highlight-reel play for San Francisco. He rolled to his right on a play from the 6, eluded two pass rushers and then flipped an easy TD pass to Kyle Juszczyk on a play that lasted longer than 8 seconds.

The Bears finally forced a punt and went ahead 38-35 on a short field goal by Cairo Santos with 5:22 to play when they couldn’t convert on third down in the red zone.

The Bears’ opportunistic defense struck on the first play when Edwards caught a deflected pass and returned it 34 yards for Chicago’s first defensive score on the opening play in at least 45 years, according to the Elias Sports Bureau.

Purdy answered his big mistake to start the game with a 65-yard touchdown drive capped by a 1-yard pass to Jake Tonges, and San Francisco moved the ball with ease all half.

Purdy added two touchdown runs and McCaffrey also scored on the ground to give the 49ers a 28-21 lead at the break despite allowing two deep TD passes by Williams.

Injuries

Bears: LB Noah Sewell left in the third quarter with an ankle injury. … DE Joe Tryon-Shoyinka (concussion) left the game. … WR Olamide Zaccheaus was a late scratch with an illness.

49ers: LT Trent Williams (hamstring) left after getting hurt on the opening play and never returned. … CB Upton Stout (concussion) left in the second half. … TE George Kittle (ankle) was inactive.

Up next

Bears: Host Detroit on Sunday.

49ers: Host Seattle on Saturday night.

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The Grand Hand Gallery, which has showcased fine art and craft on the corner of Grand Avenue and Dale Street for some two decades, is moving next month to the spot formerly home to another longtime creative stop, Treadle Yard Goods.

The gallery is set to close in its current location on Jan. 12. An opening date in the new location, on the corner of Grand and Hamline avenues, has not been announced but the gallery’s owners expect the move will take about a week, they announced on social media.

Ann Ruhr Pifer opened the gallery in 2004 in a cozy storefront four doors down from the larger space she moved into in 2007. She sold the gallery to Mary Whitney and Cathy Weyerhaeuser in 2018, and current owners Jim Jacobson and Rachael Hartzler — who formerly ran the Grand Micro Gallery on Selby Avenue — took over in late 2022.

Jacobson and Hartzler were not available for comment but said on social media that one benefit of the new location is additional parking availability.

Treadle Yard Goods, known for its wide fabric selection and knowledgeable employees, closed over the summer as owner Michele Hoaglund underwent cancer treatment.

Grand Hand Gallery: Reopening early 2026 at 1338 Grand Ave.; 651-312-1122; thegrandhandgallery.com.

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World Junior Championship games went ahead on a snowy day in the metro as a pair of pool play games closed out the holiday weekend on Sunday.

Sweden 4, Switzerland 2

Lucas Pettersson netted two third-period goals to lead Sweden over Switzerland 4-2 at Grand Casino Arena.

Pettersson snapped the tie at 6:28 of the third period, finishing a setup from Liam Danielsson and Eric Nilson to put Sweden ahead for good. He added an empty-net goal with 47 seconds remaining as Switzerland pressed late with the extra attacker.

Sweden opened the scoring 53 seconds into the game when Nilson beat his man off a pass from Leo Sahlin Wallenius. Switzerland answered midway through the first when Beni Waidacher tied the game at 14:27 following a setup by Leon Muggli and Daniil Ustinkov.

The Swiss took their only lead late in the second period when Lars Steiner scored at 18:22, snapping a shot past Love Harenstam to make it 2-1.

Momentum shifted early in the third. Viggo Bjorck tied the game 57 seconds into the period, finishing a play from Alfons Freij and Anton Frondell before Sweden pushed the pace for the remainder of regulation.

Harenstam finished with 21 saves on 23 shots for Sweden, which held a 23-20 edge in shots. Neuenschwander stopped 19 shots for Switzerland.

Sweden faces the United States on Wednesday, while Switzerland will play Germany on Tuesday.

Finland 8, Latvia 0

Emil Hemming scored twice as Finland dominated Latvia 8-0 at 3M Arena at Mariucci.

Finland struck early and never relented, holding Latvia to just four shots on goal while scoring three times in the opening period to take control.

Hemming opened the scoring at 4:11 of the first period, finishing a pass from Matias Vanhanen to put the Finns ahead. Finland doubled the lead less than two minutes later when Jasper Kuhta scored his first goal of the tournament, slipping a shot through the legs of Mikus Vecvanags to make it 2-0.

Max Westergard added another late in the period as Finland carried a 3-0 lead into the first intermission.

The Finns continued to pull away in the second period. Hemming scored again on a two-man advantage after consecutive Latvian penalties, and Joona Saarelainen followed later in the period to extend the lead to five.

Finland added three more goals in the third period. Roope Vesterinen scored early, Heikki Ruohonen followed midway through the period and Lasse Boelius capped the scoring with 9:29 remaining.

Petteri Rimpinen stopped all four shots he faced to earn the shutout for Finland, which finished with a 27-4 edge in shots. Vecvanags made 22 saves for Latvia despite facing steady pressure throughout.

Finland continues preliminary play against Czechia on Monday. Latvia faces Denmark on Tuesday.

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