Windy City Gridiron
Preseason week two is in the books, and the Chicago Bears beat the Buffalo Bills 38 to 0. It could have been worse, but they kneeled the game away inside the five yard line. Even though the score was fun from Chicago’s point of view, the score doesn’t matter in these practice games. All that matters is the health of the players, and unfortunately, the Bears had cornerback Terell Smith carted off with a knee injury. Defensive end Austin Booker also left the field with a knee injury and was ruled out.
The overall numbers for this game were lopsided, with the Bears outgaining the Bills (528 yards to 180), on 83 offensive snaps to 43, having more first downs (32 to 12), a better third down conversion (56.3% to 0%), Chicago was better on fourth downs (2/3 to 0/2), and they won the time of possession (39:12 to 20:48).
Buffalo did lead the Bears in one category, however, as they had 10 penalties for 96 yards to Chicago’s 5 for 63.
During the game, the broadcast team misidentified #20 wide receiver Jahdae Walker (2 catches for 20 yards) for nearly blocking a punt as #20 cornerback Zah Frazier. They corrected themselves later in the game. The 90-man roster means some jersey numbers are issued on offense and defense; Frazier did not play in the game as he is still away tending to a personal matter.
Before we get into some more numbers, here are all the Bears who did not play against the Bills.
And here is how the Bears started the day on both sides of the ball.
Here are the Bears’ playing time breakdowns and a few individual stats.
With so many players participating for the Bears, I’ll split the snap count lists into two for both the offense and the defense. Also, keep in mind that the special teams’ snaps in these preseason games are often an indication of the reserve players the coaches have in mind for the third phase.
Caleb Williams and most of the number ones started and played two series, and Caleb was 6 of 10 for 107 yards, one touchdown, and a 130.0 passer rating.
Olamide Zaccheaus caught Caleb’s TD pass on his only reception for 36 yards.
Colston Loveland caught 2 passes for 26 yards, and fellow tight end Cole Kmet had 1 for 29.
Rookie UDFA Deion Hankins got the start and had 10 yards on 3 runs before leaving with a knee injury.
Rookie Luke Newman started at left guard, and he also saw some reps at right guard.
Rookie Luther Burden III had two nice blocks on the goal line to help his running backs score, and had 3 receptions for 49 yards.
WordPress has a max for photo size, which is why some of the crops are off on the screen grabs. I’m still trying to figure out the best way to incorporate this.
Tyson Bagent had a nice night, going 13 of 22...
