Windy City Gridiron
The Bears’ second preseason matchup of 2025 saw the backups dominate most of the playing time, but it’s the -play of the starters that most people will talk about.
Caleb Williams saw his first action of the new year, playing on two drives and leading a touchdown on one of them. Chicago performed well on both sides of the ball, finishing with a 38-0 win at Soldier Field over the Bills. The win improves their preseason record to 1-0-1, having tied with the Dolphins in Week 1.
It’s only the preseason, and Buffalo didn’t play too many of their own starters. Still, it was very encouraging to see young players performing at a high level. Here are some of the key takeaways from Chicago’s preseason victory on Sunday.
Through two offensive drives, Caleb Williams finished the game 6-for-10 with 107 passing yards, a touchdown, no interceptions and a 130.0 passer rating. His first drive was particularly incredible, overcoming a short kick return and a penalty to lead the Bears down the field for a 92-yard touchdown drive.
Albeit in limited playing time against backups, Williams moved the ball incredibly well. He looked accurate with his throws, hitting his targets in stride on all but one throw that wasn’t thrown away. His throws had zip behind them, and he looked poised in the pocket. It was a strong game for the second-year quarterback.
For the second game in a row, Luther Burden III saw a majority of his snaps come with the second-team offense. As one could expect from a second-round pick who was an All-American in college, he dominated Buffalo’s backup defense. He caught all three of his targets, tallying 49 yards for an average of 16.3 yards per catch.
Perhaps most impressive, though, was his effort as a run blocker. On two separate instances, Ben Johnson motioned Burden before the snap on run-blocking assignments. He hit one crack block on a Buffalo defender and pulled up the middle amidst the offensive line for the second play, executing his block with physicality and paving the way for touchdowns both time. Ian Wheeler and Britain Brown were both benefactors of his strong blocking, as well as having strong performances on their own.
There was a lot of question about Burden’s effort coming out of college. His talent was obvious at Missouri, but some had concerns about his work ethic as a blocker and on routes where he wasn’t the first read. However, he’s been proving those doubters wrong so far. Johnson has been aggressive in making sure Chicago’s offense executes on the minute details, and Burden has bought in.
It wasn’t just Williams and Burden executing on offense. Tyson Bagent looked athletic, poised, and confident going through his progressions. The offensive line held up very well against the Bills’ talented defensive line. The receivers ran routes with proper tempo and depth to...
