On Saturday, the Chicago Bears were blown out, 35-13, by the Buffalo Bills. It was a close game going into the third quarter before Buffalo took control and dominated the entire second half.
Despite the poor showing in the second half, there were some positives in this game. The Bears’ defense forced three turnovers, intercepting Josh Allen twice. They had the ball for two minutes longer than Buffalo in time of possession, too. It came down to efficiency in big moments, something the Bears struggled with.
Chicago stalled out on many of their drives, while Buffalo extended drives on third down, going 6-for-11 on third down conversions. In addition, Buffalo went 3-for-4 in red zone efficiency compared to Chicago’s 1-for-4.
Here’s everything we know after Chcago’s Week 15 loss.
Final Score: Bills 35, Bears 13
Keys to the Game
Run defense struggles: Chicago has struggled to defend the run all season, and that was the case in Saturday’s loss to Buffalo, where tackling was a huge issue. The Bears allowed 243 rushing yards, where Devin Singletary had 106 yards on 12 carries for a touchdown and James Cook had 99 yards on 11 carries and a score. Josh Allen added 41 yards on six carries and a touchdown.
Containing Josh Allen early: The Bears did a decent job of containing Allen on Saturday. They held him to 172 yards passing and intercepted him twice. Allen still threw two passing touchdowns and ran for one in the second half. He was a key factor for the Bills’ victory, but Chicago did do their best at slowing him down in the first half.
Running quarterbacks: The Bears and Bills both have great running quarterback. Justin Fields and Josh Allen are both league leaders on the ground and would be expected to be huge factors in Saturday’s game. Shockingly enough to many, Buffalo shut down Fields, holding him to 11 yards on seven carries. Allen, on the other hand, had 41 yards on six carries, along with a touchdown.
Beating the cold: Both the Bears and Bills are used to the cold, but Saturday’s expected weather was the lowest for either of the two teams this season. It was cold and windy, but it was as much of a factor as expected. In the first half, it appeared that it was going to be a low-scoring game. The weather impacted the game a little bit and things looked to favor Chicago. In the second half, Buffalo looked entirely different. They played like they did last week against Miami, only Chicago didn’t keep up as the Dolphins did.
It was over when...
It was over when Josh Allen rushed for a touchdown with 3:02 left in the fourth quarter, extending Buffalo’s lead to 28-13. That was coming off of a drive where Allen threw an interception and the Bears capitalized with a field goal, making it an eight-point game. After that field goal, it was all Buffalo.
The Bills would continue to put the pressure on Chicago, holding them to only that field goal in the second half. Allen scored one more touchdown, throwing a 13-yard pass to Dawson Knox with 1:02 left in the fourth quarter.
4 Stars of the Game
*Velus Jones Jr: Jones has struggled throughout his rookie season, where he hasn’t been able to carve out a role for himself on offense. He had his most productive offensive showing with two catches for 52 yards, including an impressive 44-yard reception from Justin Fields.
**Kyler Gordon: Gordon made a touchdown-saving interception in the first half, intercepting Josh Allen at the one-yard line and returning it for 36 yards. In addition to that, he had five total tackles. It was the second consecutive game where Gordon recorded an interception. He has three takeaways in the last two weeks.
***Justin Fields: Fields was stopped on the ground on Saturday, but he slowed great progression in the air. Fields completed 15-for-23 passes for 119 yards, and a passing touchdown. He had a 92.5 passer rating and was one of the Bears’ best players against Buffalo.
****Nicholas Morrow: Morrow intercepted Josh Allen in the second half after the Bears’ drive stalled and couldn’t convert on fourth down when they were down 21-10. It was a huge interception, which led to a Chicago field goal, bringing them within eight points. Morrow also had eight total tackles on the day.
What's next
On New Year’s Day, the Bears will travel to Detroit to face the red-hot Lions, at 12 p.m. CT. Detroit defeated Chicago in their first meeting this season, 31-30, back in Week 10.
