In the aftermath of Sunday night’s wild shootout in San Francisco-a 42-38 win for the 49ers that had just about everything-you might’ve missed a tough moment for one of Chicago’s brightest young stars. With the Bears knocking on the door for a game-winning touchdown and just four seconds left on the clock, Caleb Williams was doing what he does best: trying to create something out of nothing.
He scrambled left, reversed field, spun backwards, and finally launched a desperation pass into the end zone. It fell incomplete, sealing the win for San Francisco.
But in the chaos of that final play, wide receiver Luther Burden came up injured-and it didn’t look good.
Burden, who had been electric all night with eight catches for 138 yards and a touchdown, went down with a quad injury while trying to get open for his quarterback. He stayed down on the turf as trainers rushed out, and though he initially tried to walk off under his own power, he collapsed again and had to be carted off the field and into the locker room.
Any time a young playmaker like Burden is carted off, it sends a chill through the sideline-and the fanbase. But the Bears got a bit of good news on Monday morning. According to reports, the injury is “not thought to be serious,” though he’ll undergo further testing to confirm the extent of the damage.
That’s a sigh of relief for Chicago, especially considering how banged up their receiving corps has been this season. Burden has emerged as a go-to option for Williams down the stretch, and his chemistry with the rookie quarterback has been a bright spot in an otherwise up-and-down year for the Bears’ offense.
With one game left in the regular season-a Week 18 showdown at Soldier Field against the Lions-Chicago still has a shot at locking down the No. 2 seed in the NFC. Whether Burden will be available remains to be seen, but the early signs are at least trending in the right direction. And if he can go, even in a limited role, it would be a major boost for a team looking to make some postseason noise.