Right out of the gate, Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs took the ball 69 yards for a touchdown against most of the Chicago Bears’ starting defense. The group was missing No. 1 cornerback Jaylon Johnson, star nickelback Kyler Gordon, and linebacker Tremaine Edmunds.
Still, the showing surely left a disappointing taste in the Bears’ mouths, especially with how the series unfolded. Fortunately for the Bears, at least their starting offense, they ended their night on a high note.
And that was before Tyson Bagent and the reserves, featuring Jahdae Walker, orchestrated a 29-27 comeback victory.
Caleb Williams Shakes Off Early Woes to Lead Bears Scoring Drives vs Chiefs
Bears’ Offense Goes Backwards Before Finding Groove
Second-year quarterback Caleb Williams finished his night with 113 yards and 1 touchdown on 73.3% completion. He was sacked once but did not turn the ball over, even falling on a botched handoff to wide receiver Olamide Zaccheaus on the Bears’ first play from scrimmage.
The second play was delayed by a false start penalty on rookie tight end Colston Loveland.
Williams then misfired before finding DJ Moore on third-and-long before the Bears, already trailing 7-0, punted the ball away.
The Bears’ second drive started more promisingly, particularly for starting running back D’Andre Swift, who got the ball on five straight plays (four runs and one reception) before Williams was sacked on second-and-short.
Williams found Loveland for a short gain, but the Bears again punted.
The tide began to turn for Williams and Co. in their third possession, which notably came with some of the Chiefs’ defensive starters out of the game.
Swift started the drive with a 12-yard run and Williams found Rome Odunze and Zaccheaus and scrambled for 18 yards to set up a Cairo Santos field goal. Things were even better for the Bears on their next trip out, with even more Chiefs backups on the field.
Williams found Zaccheaus for 25 yards and Odunze twice, first for 37 yards and then later for a short TD.
Who they were facing cannot be ignored. But if the initial woes, some of which came without Chiefs All-Pro Chris Jones on the field, count (and they do), then so does the success they found.
Defense Gets Gashed & Gassed Early
Two early concerns emerged for the Bears in this game, albeit in the context of Edmunds, Gordon, and Johnson, not playing, and that was their issues with the Chiefs’ running backs and hurry-up offense.
Chiefs backs Isiah Pacheco and Kareem Hunt had 36 yards and 1 TD (Pacheco) on six carries, with rookie Brashard Smith adding another 12 yards on 1 catch.
Hunt was targeted once but failed to haul in the opportunity despite being open.
The Bears’ defense was also visibly gassed after having Mahomes escape multiple near-sacks and extend drives during his 21 total snaps. Mahomes and the Chiefs are a different level of test than most other teams.
Still, the Bears entered this contest acknowledging that it was their greatest test. While they can find some encouraging takeaways, they can find just as many, if not more, issues to clean up.
Bears Appear to Come Away From Chiefs Loss Injury Free
The Bears are dealing with myriad injury issues. Gordon (who returned to practice in a limited fashion on Wednesday) and Johnson are among the headliners. Their absence was highlighted as fill-in Nahshon Wright struggled in coverage.
The Bears are also down several running backs. Ian Wheeler, Kyle Monangai, Roschon Johnson, and Travis Homer all remained sidelined after not practicing during the week.
Edmunds missed one day of practice but was present to close out the week.
The Bears were fortunate to have avoided anything serious with Gervon Dexter Sr., who started against the Chiefs. He exited Wednesday’s practice early. Defensive end Dominique Robinson also played, though Austin Booker did not.