The Chicago Bears eked out a narrow win over the Kansas City Chiefs in the Preseason Week 1 game. Although preseason wins don’t count for much, it’s a great time for teams to test things out. What worked well for the Bears, and what didn’t?
First Half
The Chiefs dominated early in the game on both sides of the ball. Mahomes nailed a TD pass to TE Blake Bell to end his first and only drive. Later in the 2nd quarter, Shane Buechele tossed a long pass to Justin Watson for another TD. All throughout, the Bears were forced to punt 5 times.
Justin Fields seemed to have a slow start, and although he made 4 of 7 passes he just couldn’t get any rhythm going. Trevor Siemian ended his day with similar pass completion % and average yards, but also secured 2 TDs thanks to his extra time on the field.
Although the Bears allowed 2 TDs in the first half, most of the Chiefs’ drives ended very briefly thanks to excellent blocking. The 3 drives that the Chiefs did not score on each ended with fewer than 20 yards before they were forced to punt.
Second Half
The Bears really shined in the 2nd half, when everything seemed to click together. Rookie Linebacker Jack Sanborn picked off an impressive interception just 21 seconds into the 2nd half. KC was held to -6 yards on their next outing, and the one after that ended in yet another takeaway by Jack Sanborn, this time a forced fumble. The Chiefs only racked up 18 yards in the entire 2nd half.
The Bears offense similarly picked up steam in the 2nd half. Trevor Siemian threw a TD to Trestan Ebner to end their first drive. Ebner had a good day on his own, picking up 31 yards on 6 rushes. Their next drive also ended in a Trevor Siemian TD pass, this time to Dazz Newsome. Showing off his speed, Newsome cleanly broke past the defender and kept running into the tunnel after the score. Cairo Santos kicked in a couple of FGs to put them over the Chiefs.
Right and Wrong
Arguably the best success the Chicago Bears had today was showing off the depth of their defense. While the Chiefs managed to score a couple TDs early in the game, they just couldn’t sustain that success. The Bears did a great job adapting under pressure to keep the game close. And while their offense was slow to start, they did eventually generate some consistency even though 9 offensive players were listed as questionable.
Although Justin Fields couldn’t get much going, he didn’t really have many opportunities since he only played for the 1st quarter. But Trevor Siemian stepped up into the role very well. If Fields’ performance during the regular season drops or if he’s injured, Siemian may be ready for more responsibilities.
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