Chicago Bears rookie tight end Colston Loveland showcased the awareness of a seasoned veteran against the San Francisco 49ers on “Sunday Night Football,” and the NFL’s latest decision underscores that.
Loveland, the No. 10 overall pick of the 2025 NFL Draft, has come on strong as the season has progressed.
The play in question only underscored what teammates and coaches have said all along.
49ers’ Tatum Bethune Fined Over Bears’ Colston Loveland
According to the NFL’s Gameday Accountability hub on January 3, the league fined 49ers linebacker Tatum Bethune $5,447 for “unnecessary roughness” over a “facemask” call during the fourth quarter of the win over Loveland and the Bears.
The call came after an otherwise innocuous run play from Kyle Monangai with Loveland and Bethune down the field. Rather than retaliate, Loveland pointed out Bethune grabbing his facemask after both players were hand-fighting.
Loveland and the Bears gained a free 15 yards on the play during a drive that ended with a field goal from Cairo Santos.
Loveland finished the game with six receptions for 94 yards and 1 touchdown. The Bears, though, fell short against the 49ers. They lost their chance at earning the No. 1 overall seed in the NFC in the process.
The Bears are still the NFC North champs and will be no worse than the No. 3 seed.
There were no other fines levied against either team over this game, a shootout that ended in a 42-38 49ers victory.
The Bears are looking to bounce back after the loss to San Francisco, but they face a Lions team that routed them 52-21 in Week 2. The Bears insist they are a different team this time around.
This marks Bethune’s third fine of the season, per Spotrac.
He was docked twice–once for “impermissible use of the helmet” and another time for a “late hit”– in Week 10 against the Los Angeles Rams.
Bears’ Trend Looms Large for Postseason
The Bears have been on the wrong side of the NFL’s decision-making plenty of times this season. They did well to avoid getting fined over this game. They would do even better to continue that trend in the postseason.
Even more, the Bears would benefit from cleaning up their propensity for penalties.
It has been a season-long issue, though. The Bears might be more likely to do enough to overcome those mistakes than eliminate them.
They have been the more heavily penalized team in all but five games this season. They are 4-1 in those contests and 7-4 in their other contests. Avoiding self-inflicted miscues would not guarantee a Bears win, just as losing the penalty battle would not guarantee a loss.
It would give the Bears a better shot at earning their 12th win if they can, though.