Ben Johnson was frank after Friday night’s preseason finale at Arrowhead Stadium. His Chicago Bears first-team offense was under the microscope again, this time against the Kansas City Chiefs’ starters, and the unit was simply, in Johnson’s words, “not good enough.”
“Offensively, the first two possessions was really sloppy football that has plagued us in and out of camp so far, and unfortunately that’s what we got here tonight,” Johnson said postgame, via ESPN.
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The Bears’ backups, namely newly extended quarterback Tyson Bagent, rallied the team to a 29-27 win that ended in a walk-off touchdown. But the starters’ struggles in the first half were a cause for concern with the regular season quickly approaching.
Second-year Bears quarterback Caleb Williams made a few mistakes that teleported fans back to his underwhelming rookie year, while three-time Super Bowl champ and two-time NFL MVP Patrick Mahomes looked like, well, exactly that — his Chiefs were a well-oiled machine in the early going, scoring 17 points over their franchise signal-caller’s three series.
Mahomes completed 8-of-13 passes for 143 yards and 1 touchdown. He opened the game by guiding the Chiefs on an eight-play, 69-yard touchdown drive. His next series ended in three points yet featured a 58-yard, downfield connection with receiver Tyquan Thornton. Mahomes’ third and final drive of the tune-up culminated in a four-yard touchdown pass to wideout Rashee Rice. That scoring play staked Kansas City to a 17-0 advantage at home.
“I was super excited to get out there, especially at Arrowhead and get real reps,” Mahomes said, per The Associated Press. “We talk about getting here and stuff like that, but to get a feel for the pocket, trust the guys, have a chance to make plays downfield — it shows all the hard work that we put in training camp has paid off.
“This is a little step but it’s a step in the right direction. We’ll continue to build as we get ready for the regular season.”
Williams’ Bears offense took a step in the wrong direction, certainly in the first quarter. Less than a week removed from an impressive opening drive against Buffalo Bills backups, Chicago netted a mere 22 total yards across its first two series versus the Chiefs’ first-team defense Friday.
On his first play from scrimmage, Williams fumbled a jet sweep exchange with wide receiver Olamide Zaccheaus. On the next play, rookie tight end Colston Loveland committed a false start penalty that backed the Bears up even more. They soon punted.
They got behind the sticks on the subsequent drive as well. Facing a second-and-3 near midfield, Williams held the ball too long and then tried to escape from a pocket-intruding Chris Jones, except the six-time All-Pro defensive tackle did enough to trip Williams up, resulting in a loss of five yards. After failing to convert a third-and-long, the Bears punted once more.
Williams and his unit were better in the second quarter, which they played in its entirety, clocking out with 27 snaps on the night.
Back-to-back scoring drives — the first ending in a field goal, the next in a touchdown — made a dent in the Chiefs’ lead and offered some encouragement.
Williams finished 11 of 15 for 113 yards with a 3-yard touchdown pass he delivered to second-year wideout Rome Odunze just before halftime. That drive, spanning seven plays and 78 yards, was Williams’ best. He completed a 25-yard pass to Zaccheaus and a 37-yard pass to Odunze before their scoring hookup.
Johnson still came out of his team’s third preseason game looking for more, though.
“It is disappointing to me offensively for sure,” Johnson said, via ESPN. “I thought that we had worked our way out of that.
“If the first quarter was really any indication, it’s not good enough, so we got to get better in a hurry. Good news is, we will be able to look at this tape and coach it up with our guys, and I think it’s out of our system hopefully for us going into the regular season. We got to make sure that we start faster on offense and on defense.”
The Bears finished well, albeit against lesser-known Chiefs players. Quarterbacked by Bagent, Chicago erased a 27-10 deficit with 19 fourth-quarter points.
Two days after signing a life-changing, $10 million extension, Bagent completed 20-of-28 passes for 212 yards and 3 touchdowns, the last of which he snuck in to rookie undrafted free agent Jahdae Walker in the exhibition’s final seconds.
Their heroics completed a successful two-minute drill and an emotional week for the former Division II star quarterback.
