The Bears managed to leave Arrowhead Stadium with a dub in their pocket after roaring back from a 17 point deficit late in the 3rd quarter. The second unit, led by newly extended backup quarterback Tyson Bagent, ended the game with three straight touchdown drives, taking the lead with just three seconds remaining on the clock. Meanwhile, the Bears starters struggled early but eventually found their footing against the reining AFC champion Kansas City Chiefs.
Starting Offense Update
Caleb Williams and the starters struggled early on Sunday. The first two plays from scrimmage resulted in a muffed handoff to WR Olamide Zaccheaus and a false start by rookie TE Coleston Loveland. These set up a 2nd-and-19 that the unit was not able to dig itself out of, resulting in a quick 3-and-out.
Next drive was slightly better, highlighted by a patented D’Andre Swift hurdle, but the campaign still stalled out after only 6 plays. Caleb Williams look a bad sack on this drive, holding onto the ball for over 5 seconds. It is plays like this that we need to see less of this season. On the final play of the drive HC Ben Johnson tried his luck with a boot play to Loveland, who only had one man to shake off to grab the first down. He wasn’t able to, but I liked the idea and think that the rookie TE breaks those tackles in the future.
The Bears finally got on the board in their third possession. Four of the first five plays of the drive were handoffs to RB D’Andre Swift. When in doubt, rely on your run game. This is exactly what Ben Johnson did, and it did a good job of getting the offense started. After a couple of WR screens to WRs Zacchaeus and Rome Odunze, Williams made another poor decision when he forced the ball into double coverage on an end-zone shot to Odunze. Rome ended up essentially playing cornerback on the play, swatting the ball away from a Kansas City defender’s outstretched hands. Williams is learning a new offense and is looking improved from last year, but decisions like that are bound to take points off the board if they continue.
On their fourth and final try, the starting offense finally found paydirt. Zaccheaus grabbed 25 yards early, but it was the Rome Odunze show after that. Odunze was targeted on each of the final three plays of the possession: a deep shot that was barely broken up, a 37 yard shot to the 6-yard-line, and a short touchdown reception. This was the kind of crisp, clean drive that is perfect to end the preseason on!
Overall, though the offense struggled initially, it was encouraging to see it improve every time it hit the field. Johnson and Williams learned from their mistakes and were able to make adjustments, which was not something that Bears fans saw much of last season.
Defense Struggles Against 2-Time MVP
The defense, down many key players, had a difficult time slowing down Patrick Mahomes, Travis Swift, and company. Mahomes and the Chiefs starting offense racked up 17 points in just over one quarter of action– which would have been 21 points if a Chiefs receiver hadn’t dropped an easy touchdown pass. The Bears defense created no pressure whatsoever and enabled the Chiefs offense to run like a well-oiled machine. Notably, the unit was down several key starters including star CB Jaylon Johnson, CB Kyler Gordon, and DEs Dominique Robinson and Austin Booker. Hopefully things will improve upon the return of these players in Week 1.
Bagent and Backups Heat Up Late
Tyson Bagent and the backups were arguably the story of this game. Similar to the starters, the second unit started off slow offensively. But after two unproductive drives, it ended the game with three consecutive touchdowns. The last drive was incredibly impressive, as Bagent led the offense 87 yards down the field in just 1:26 with no timeouts. He managed to get off 10 plays in this span of under 90 seconds. WR Jahdae Walker cemented a spot on the 53-man roster with an insane toe tap catch on the first play of the drive, followed shortly by the game-winning TD reception. Bagent’s throw on the final touchdown–his third of the night– was as difficult and well-placed as they come. He is so solid; you can’t convince me that he wouldn’t be a viable starter on nearly a third of NFL teams.