The Chicago Bears defeated the Cincinnati Bengals 27-3 at Soldier Field on Saturday, improving their preseason record to 3-0 with another win over an AFC heavyweight, albeit without Cincinnati’s starter.
The Bears offense got off to a slow start with three consecutive three-and-outs. Instead of taking the starters out of the game after the first quarter, coach Matt Eberflus left them on the field and rookie quarterback Caleb Williams and Co. found their rhythm. And they did, scoring on their final two possessions to give Chicago a 10-0 halftime lead. Meanwhile, the Bears defense dominated from start to finish, holding the Bengals to just three points and forcing three turnovers.
After Chicago’s win over Cincinnati, we break it all down:
Final score: Bears 27, Bengals 6
Key to the game
The Caleb Williams-Rome Odunze connection: The Bears drafted the duo of Williams and Odunze in the first round of the 2024 NFL Draft, and they’re already shining together in Chicago. Although the pair didn’t score in last week’s win over the Bills, they did manage a big 45-yard pass that led to the starting offense’s first touchdown of the preseason – a 7-yard touchdown run by Williams. Williams and Odunze nearly scored an insane touchdown on the same drive, but Odunze was out of bounds. If this duo continues to play like they have, the Bears will be set for the future.
Patience is required for this offense: Chicago didn’t start this game well, with three consecutive three-and-outs, including three incomplete passes by Williams to start the game. But to coach Matt Eberflus’ credit, he kept the starters on the court in the second quarter as they worked through the adversity and eventually came back with two scoring drives to end the half with a 10-0 lead. The same can be said for the regular season, where Williams will surely have his rookie moments. There will be ups and downs from game to game, too, but the talent should be able to show more ups than downs.
The Bears have significantly more depth than in recent years: Chicago played well throughout the win over Cincinnati, with the depth of the team, especially in the secondary, being evident. While Kyler Gordon shined in his first game of the summer preseason, we also saw reserves like Terell Smith and Josh Blackwell make impactful plays. It doesn’t matter what level of the team we’re talking about or what group (offense, defense, special teams), everyone contributed to the win.
It was over when…
Backup quarterback Tyson Bagent threw his second touchdown pass (25 yards) to receiver Dante Pettis to give Chicago a 24-3 lead. Bagent and Pettis single-handedly put the game out of reach for a Cincinnati team that failed to score more than one field goal in the first half.
3 Stars of the game
*** QB Caleb Williams: Williams should be in contention for the Star of the Game honor every game. He’s supposed to be the star quarterback to lead this team to the promised land. In this game, he deserves to be mentioned, even though he got off to a slow start. Williams completed 6 of 13 passes for 75 yards, making some impressive plays that left the NFL world in awe. He also scored his first touchdown as a Bear on a seven-yard run.
** EN Daniel Hardy: There were a number of standouts on defense, but one player that stood out in particular was Hardy, who remains in with a strong chance of making the roster. Hardy has put together two impressive performances in a row where he has shown his ability to get to the quarterback. After posting 2.5 sacks last week, Hardy recorded three tackles, two tackles for loss, 1.0 sack, two QB hits and a forced fumble.
* QB Tyson Bagent: It’s very seasonal when two quarterbacks are named the stars of the game. But Bagent is well deserving of the top honor after his impressive performance in which he completed 7 of 8 passes for 87 yards and threw two touchdowns with a 151.6 passer rating while adding one run for 10 yards. If there was ever a debate about the competition for the QB2 job, Bagent has settled that discussion.
What happens next?
The Bears close out the preseason against the defending Super Bowl champions, the Kansas City Chiefs. It’s uncertain whether the regulars will be on the field, but coach Matt Eberflus hasn’t ruled it out. Before then, you can watch the third episode of “Hard Knocks: Training Camp with the Chicago Bears” on Tuesday on HBO and streaming on Max.
