KANSAS CITY, Mo. (WGN) — Riding high after whooping the Buffalo Bills last weekend, Patrick Mahomes, Chris Jones and the Kansas City Chiefs served up a slice of humble pie early, letting Chicago Bears fans know their team still has a way to go before they can punch in the same weight class as the perennial Super Bowl contenders.
But that way isn’t as far or as winding as it could be with Ben Johnson at the reins. Fortunately, Tyson Bagent has ice water in his veins too.
Here are some vital takeaways from Friday night in Kansas City.
Dennis Allen’s defense isn’t invincible
Mahomes orchestrated three straight scoring drives to start the game, and Dennis Allen’s defense was near helpless to stop him.
It’s important to note that Chicago was without Jaylon Johnson, Kyler Gordon and Tremaine Edmunds, but had it not been for a Kareem Hunt drop, the Chiefs would have started the game off with three straight touchdowns and a 21-0 lead. Instead, Harrison Butker added a 31-yard chip shot in between two touchdowns that put Kansas City up 17-0 before the Bears put any points on the board.
Mahomes went 8-for-13 with 143 yards passing and one TD pass, while Isaiah Pacheco and Kareen Hunt combined for 36 yards on six carries and a TD run on those first three drives. That’s 17.9 yards per completion and 6.0 yards per carry when the Chiefs’ first stringers were on the field.
The hopes are that Jaylon Johnson, Gordon and Edmunds will be fully recovered by Week 1, but after Chicago’s defense pitched a shutout against a Josh Allen-less Buffalo Bills, Kansas City showed there are some holes to be exploited.
The Bears’ secondary was exposed—either through penalties or giving up explosive pass plays—and the pass rush didn’t create enough pressure against the Chiefs’ starters.
If top-flight reinforcements make a return in time for the regular season, their defensive struggles could be null and void. But if Jaylon Johnson, Gordon and Edmunds return, and Allen’s defense still struggles to get the Vikings off the field in Week 1, Chicago will need to work to restore balance between their pass rush and pass coverage early on in the regular season.
It’s something the Bears’ defensive coordinator has already harped on in training camp.
“I’ve always said this, I told the players this, the best example of team defense is pass defense because one doesn’t work without the other,” Allen said. “If we’re not disrupting the timing of the routes, then it doesn’t really matter how good our rush is. Then if we have a great [pass] rush, but yet we’re not doing anything in terms of covering the guys, it’s a challenge. I think that works together.”
Caleb Williams and the first team offense still need some work
The first-team offense’s first drive was a disaster. Their second drive, a little less so. Chicago’s third drive yielded some points. Then Caleb Williams and the crew found a way to score a touchdown in the 2-minute drill at the end of the first half.
It was a disappointing start, which slowly transformed into a collection of results reminiscent of a shoulder shrug, accompanied by an, ‘Alright, that wasn’t so bad after all.’“
All things considered, though, both Williams and Ben Johnson walked away from Friday night feeling okay, but knowing there’s plenty to fix between now and Sept. 8.
“It was a little bit disappointing to see how slow we started,” Johnson said after the game. “Offensively, [the] first two possessions [were] really sloppy football that has plugged us in and out of camp so far, and unfortunately, that’s what we got here tonight. There was a number of things we could have done a better job of.”
Williams mistimed the handoff on a jet sweep to Olamide Zaccheaus on the first play of the game. Instead of a smooth transition from QB to ball carrier, the ball careened off Zaccheaus’ hip, and Williams fell on top of it for a 5-yard loss.
Then, Colston Loveland was called for a false start. Next, Williams threw an incompletion on his first pass attempt of the game. On third-and-19, Williams found DJ Moore for 14 yards before Tory Taylor boomed a 56-yard punt.
“That’s not what we want, especially in our openers,” Williams said after the game. “Those are typically plays we’ve gone over multiple times and having those issues is frustrating and [we] definitely need to fix that.”
Drive no. 2 saw the Bears move the sticks for the first time Friday night. D’Andre Swift notched a 2-yard carry to the right end on third-and-1, but a combined sack from Jones and Charles Omenihu derailed the possession two plays later and led to another Taylor punt.
Chicago’s third offensive possession featured a change-of-pace. Huddles broke quicker, and Williams got the ball out faster. The result? 12 plays for 61 yards and a 28-yard field goal after the Bears stalled out on Kansas City’s 10-yard line.
According to Johnson, Chicago had a predetermined number of snaps in mind for Williams and the starters. They hadn’t hit that number, so they sent them back out to work the two-minute drill on the road right before halftime.
And if the third time wasn’t the charm for the Bears, the fourth time certainly was.
Williams led a 7-play, 78-yard touchdown drive that chewed up 2:17 of the 2:45 he had at his disposal. The end of the possession featured Rome Odunze coming up empty on a 50-50 ball deep down along the right sideline before Williams went right back to him–once for 37 yards, and again for a 3-yard score with 28 seconds left on the second quarter clock.
“That was a step in the right direction,” Johnson said. “Our defense, really for the most part in training camp, had the upper hand on us [in the 2-minute drill]. So to see them do it at a high level there and get us a couple touchdowns, that was huge.”
*More on their second 2-minute drill touchdown below.
Tyson Bagent is absolute nails
Fresh off a viral moment where the football world saw Bagent moved to tears after he signed a 2-year, $10 million contract extension with Chicago, he stepped to the field and showed why he’s worth every penny, and then some.
Bagent orchestrated three straight touchdown drives to end the game, which included the Bears’ magnum opus of the night—a ten-play, 87-yard drive that took 86 seconds and culminated with a six-yard back shoulder toss from Bagent to Jahdae Walker to take the lead with three seconds to go.
“I’ve really been blown away by his approach from the spring to the start of camp to where we are now. He does a tremendous job knowing what to do, how to do it, and getting it done,” Johnson said of Bagent on Wednesday. “I’m not surprised. You come in a new situation, and of course, I’d seen a little crossover tape over the last few years of him being out on the field.
“But the people in the building already had such a high opinion of him that no, I wasn’t surprised by anything that he’s done so far.”
Bagent finished his night 20-for-28 with 218 yards passing and three TD passes. He had a passer rating of 128.9.
Ben Johnson has “some tough decisions to make” while cutting down to the 53-man roster
“It’s tough when it’s the last time you’re in the locker room with the 90-man roster,” Johnson said. “You know it’s coming right around the corner here, so we’ll have some tough decisions to make.”
Indeed, he does.
Several position groups—namely, wide receiver, offensive line and defensive line—will be like splitting hairs when it comes to who to keep, and who to cut.
At wide receiver, there are four different names in play for Chicago’s fifth (and maybe sixth, if they want to keep an extra) slot. Tyler Scott, Devin Duvernay, Maurice Alexander and Jahdae Walker have all made cases for why they belong on the Bears’ 53-man roster.
Scott is the incumbent veteran of the group, but has been outplayed this preseason by Alexander and especially Walker, whose late-game heroics helped propel Chicago to a come-from-behind win on Friday night.
Duvernay was signed this offseason to bolster the return game and offer depth at wide receiver, while also being familiar with passing game coordinator Press Taylor. But Alexander has popped as a return man in camp and during the Bears’ preseason slate.
On the offensive line, Chicago seems set with a starting group of Braxton Jones, Joe Thuney, Drew Dalman, Jonah Jackson and Darnell Wright, but their backups could be a juggling act of who to keep, cut, or sign to the practice squad.
Theo Benedet has been one of the fastest risers of training camp and appears to have the no. 2 left tackle spot nailed down behind Jones. Rookies Ozzy Trapilo and Luke Newman have also both impressed with their versatility—Trapilo has notched reps at both tackle spots and Newman has played at both guard positions, with a willingness to even slide to center if need be. Trapilo looks like he could be the Bears’ swing tackle, while Newman could be the first guard off the bench.
Then all that Chicago would need is a true backup center, which in this case would most likely be Ryan Bates.
That gives the Bears nine offensive linemen with three guys on the fringe. Kiran Amegadjie appears to be on thin ice and in danger of being cut. Meanwhile, Bill Murray and Doug Kramer have been injured most of camp and have put very little on tape under the Johnson regime.
On the defensive line, Tanoh Kpassagnon and Daniel Hardy are two names that could be tough decisions for Allen and Chicago’s defensive coaching staff.
Montez Sweat, Grady Jarrett, Dayo Odeyingbo, Gervon Dexter Sr., Andrew Billings, Austin Booker, Shemar Turner, Dominique Robinson and Chris Williams figure to be nine players to keep on the 53-man roster.
Hardy’s performance Friday night, which consisted of a strip-sack fumble that delivered the ball back to the Bears’ offense, makes this an even tougher decision.
NFL teams must cut down to their 53-man roster by 3 p.m. CT on Tuesday, Aug. 26.