The Chicago Bears opened the preseason with a 19-14 victory over the Kansas City Chiefs, where it was the rookies who stepped up in a big way.
It was a tale of two halves for both the Bears and Chiefs, where Chicago was shut-out in the first half and Kansas City held scoreless in the second half. The Bears starters saw limited action, where there’s still much to be improved upon on both offense and defense.
But Chicago did see some big performances from their reserves, who are making strong pushes to earn playing time and/or roster spots.
Here’s everything we know about the Bears’ preseason win against the Chiefs:
Final Score: Bears 19, Chiefs 14
Keys to the Game
Second-half turnaround: Things looked rough for the Bears in the first half of Saturday’s win, where they were held scoreless in the first two quarters of play. But Chicago scored 19 unanswered points in the second half to come away with the win. But given the starters only played a few series and it was all reserves from the second quarter on, it’s hard to use that as any sort of measuring stick. Still, a comeback win against the Chiefs certainly is a nice way to open the preseason.
Rookies dominate: If you’re GM Ryan Poles, it’s impossible to leave this game not feeling encouraged by the performance of your rookie class. Poles’ draft class was impressive — whether it was safety Jaquan Brisker, offensive tackle Braxton Jones, defensive end Dominique Robinson, punter Trenton Gill or running back Trestan Ebner. And that was with cornerback Kyler Gordon and receiver Velus Jones Jr. sidelined with injuries. But it wasn’t just draft picks who showed out, it was undrafted rookies who shined. Especially linebacker Jack Sanborn, who had the standout performance on the day with a couple of takeaways and was dominant on defense and special teams.
Plenty of room to improve: The Bears starters played sparingly in the preseason opener, and it was clear that there’s still room for improvement on both offense and defense. The starting offense was held scoreless in their three drives of action, including a three-and-out on their first go around. Justin Fields did have some nice throws to Darnell Mooney and Tajae Sharpe, but it’s clear that the offense still has a ways to go. The defense had a number of injuries and was without their two biggest stars in Roquan Smith and Robert Quinn — and it showed. The defense gave up an 11-play, 72-yard touchdown drive to Patrick Mahomes and Kansas City’s starting offense, which wasn’t ideal.
It was over when...
The Bears had a rough outing in the first half — where they were held scoreless — but a couple of takeaways really helped drive their 19-point comeback over the Chiefs.
Linebacker Jack Sanborn’s two takeaways in the second half really put the nail in the coffin for the Chiefs, including an interception that led to a touchdown. But it was his fumble recovery that officially put the game away, as it led to a Chicago field goal to put them up 19-14.
The defense continued to dominate after that point, holding Kansas City scoreless in the second half.
3 Stars of the Game
***WR Tajae Sharpe: Sharpe has made his presence known during practice, and it certainly translated to live action. Sharpe caught 2 passes for 44 yards, including an impressive sideline grab from quarterback Justin Fields. Sharpe is someone who’s definitely emerging as a favorite to earn a roster spot in a wide-open receiving room.
**DL Trevon Coley: Coley just signed with the Bears last week, but he’s already making an impact. Coley had 2 sacks, 2 tackles-for-loss, 3 QB hits and a pass breakup. He’s another depth option who’s looking to push for a roster spot.
*LB Jack Sanborn: Sanborn was the standout of the afternoon following a dominant performance both on defense and special teams. The undrafted rookie accounted for two takeaways — an interception and fumble recovery — and had 7 tackles, including a tackle-for-loss, and a pass breakup.
What's Next
It’s a quick turnaround for the Bears as they head to Seattle to face the Seahawks for their second preseason game on Thursday night at 7 p.m. CT. The game will be broadcast live on ESPN.
