The Chicago Bears emerged from their third preseason game Saturday with a 27-3 victory against the Cincinnati Bengals at Soldier Field.
Here’s our rundown of the game.
Williams watch
Caleb Williams needed a little while to warm up in his first appearance at Soldier Field, but the Bears eventually found their rhythm as coach Matt Eberflus allowed the offensive starters to play until halftime.
Williams’ biggest play came on the starters’ fifth and final drive, when he circled away from pressure and launched a beautiful 45-yard pass to Rome Odunze down the left sideline to the 7-yard line.
“(The defender) was playing flat-footed,” Odunze said. “I tried to get underneath just to create a passing lane for Caleb, but wasn’t able to do it in the first window. So scrambled a little bit. Caleb did his magic back there and placed the ball exactly where it needed to be. And I was there to make the catch.”
On the next play, Williams danced around pressure from defensive end Justin Blazek and rifled a pass to Odunze. The rookie caught it but didn’t realize his feet were just outside the end zone, thinking a line a few feet behind him was the back line. Two plays later, Williams did another dance around the pocket before cruising in for a 7-yard touchdown and a 10-0 Bears lead.
The Bears offense was playing against Bengals backups — coach Zac Taylor determined earlier in the week to sit his starters. But it still was a productive experience for Williams, who finished his day 6 of 13 for 75 yards and the touchdown run.
Eberflus said he thought it was a professional day of quarterbacking for Williams. He was pleased with the rookie’s operation — and with the way he handled himself during the slow start.
“It’s not always going to be rosy,” Eberflus said. “You’re not going to make all of your completions and make your big chunk plays to start out. … His disposition when he had a little adversity on the sideline was excellent. Him working with the players. Body language, demeanor never changed. He was always just in there working through the next one.”
The Bears went three-and-out with 16 yards of offense on their first three series. But they heated up on the fourth drive, when Odunze had a 16-yard carry and Tyler Scott benefited from a 43-yard pass-interference penalty against Bengals cornerback Josh Newton. Cairo Santos made a 37-yard field goal for the first points of the day. He added a 51-yarder in the fourth quarter.
Williams had three straight incompletions to open the game. The first went too high through wide receiver Keenan Allen’s outstretched arms. The second was behind tight end Gerald Everett. And the third was flagged for intentional grounding when Williams fired toward the left sideline with no receiver in sight.
The Bears’ second drive was thwarted when Williams hit Everett for a 3-yard gain on third-and-5.
Williams found Cole Kmet for a 9-yard gain on the third series. But Khalil Herbert was stopped for a 1-yard loss on the next play. And Newton made a nice play to break up a third-down pass to DJ Moore.
Gordon shows up
Bears nickel Kyler Gordon has missed some training camp with an injury, but he made an impression in his first preseason appearance of the year.
On the second Bengals series, he stopped wide receiver Kwamie Lassiter for a 3-yard loss and also went unblocked on a blitz to sack quarterback Logan Woodside for an 8-yard loss. He finished with four tackles.
“I just prepare for every moment I get right now,” Gordon said. “(Going unblocked) was a little surprising. I was waiting for him to look, and I was prepared for that. He wasn’t looking, so I just took my chance.”
Pick party
Gordon wasn’t the only defensive player to show up.
In the second quarter, cornerback Josh Blackwell hit Woodside, who lofted a pass that Bears linebacker Amen Ogbongbemiga intercepted. That set up the Bears’ first field-goal drive.
Cornerback Terell Smith intercepted Woodside in the third quarter and returned it 19 yards to the Bengals 42-yard line. Bears quarterback Tyson Bagent hit Dante Pettis for a 4-yard touchdown on the ensuing drive to put the Bears up 17-3.
Bagent and Pettis also connected on a 25-yard touchdown pass later in the third quarter. Bagent was 7 of 8 for 87 yards and the two touchdowns.
The Bears got their third takeaway when Douglas Coleman forced a fumble that Keith Randolph recovered.
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