Bills @ Bears
Final Score: Bears 38, Bills 0
Senior Writer: Benjamin Haller (@benjaminhaller1.bsky.social on Bluesky)
The new era is officially here in Chicago as Ben Johnson excited the expecting crowd by engineering a dominating first half in which Caleb Williams excelled, Colston Loveland flashed, and the entire vibe went into overdrive as the Bears propelled to a 28-0 lead at halftime against a mainly second-string Bills team. The Bears looked fantastic across the board, and you could certainly feel the optimism grow as the first half went along. Williams exited after a couple of series, but backup Tyson Bagent was more than ready to take the helm as he led three impressive touchdown drives before the half. A tedious second half ensued, with the majority of the players left on the field at the end of the fourth quarter unlikely to see their name on the final 53-man roster for the 2025 NFL season.
Buffalo Bills
Quarterback
Mike White: 4/11, 54 Yards
Mitchell Trubisky: 7/13, 55 Yards
Shane Buechele: 1/4, 11 Yards
Look away now. This was a horror show from all three Bills backup quarterbacks, and it raises the question of whether the Bills will either trade for a veteran backup or bring in someone else for the final weeks of the preseason.
Running Back
Ray Davis: 3 Carries, 5 Yards | 1 Target
With the news of James Cook‘s new contract, Ray Davis saw his fantasy value tumble before he even set foot on the field. And no matter what this brief showing may have done, which turned out to be not very much, for his prospects of more playing time this season, the sophomore running back is very firmly a backup only at this stage. The only positive was that fellow running mate Gore Jr. fumbled the ball away on his limited action.
Frank Gore Jr.: 8 Carries, 51 Yards, Fumble (Lost) | 5 Targets, 4 Receptions, 30 Yards
Wide Receiver/Tight End
Josh Palmer: 1 Target, 1 Reception, 2 Yards
Elijah Moore: 4 Targets, 1 Reception, 5 Yards
KJ Hamler: 2 Targets, 1 Reception, 7 Yards | 1 Carry, 15 Yards
Laviska Shenault Jr: 3 Targets
Tyrell Shavers: 3 Targets, 2 Receptions, 29 Yards
Kristian Wilkerson: 2 Targets, 1 Reception, 25 Yards
Deion Cain: 2 Targets, 1 Reception, 11 Yards | 1 Carry, 6 Yards
Stephen Gosnell: 1 Target, 1 Reception, 11 Yards
Kaden Prather: 1 Target
Jackson Hawes: 1 Target
Keleki Latu: 1 Target
It was a night to forget for the Bills’ receiving corps as all three backup quarterbacks struggled against a strong Bears defense. Only Tyrell Shavers showed flashes of NFL quality, and he has had a decent preseason so far. He may push out some of the more established depth players, such as Elijah Moore, Laviska Shenault Jr, or KJ Hamler as a flier pick, but could as easily be cast aside. Rookie tight end Keleki Latu had a bad drop on a crossing route on third down that would have moved the sticks, not a great sign for that young man in an already loaded tight end room.
Chicago Bears
Quarterback
Caleb Williams: 6/10, 107 Yards, TD
Get excited, Bears fans, this is what the concoction of Johnson and a promising young quarterback could look like. A simple yet surgical opening drive highlighted how the scheme that Johnson enjoys allows receivers to find open space, with Williams obliging with several nice throws over the middle to go 5/6 for 97 yards and a 36-yard touchdown to Olamide Zaccheaus. The second series fizzled out with a couple of incompletions on short passes after the initial reads didn’t play out. The third down throw to Rome Odunze was probably a throw you’d like to see Williams make around midfield. Otherwise, it was about as perfect as you would have wanted it.
Notes
- Williams was accurate on a couple of different types of throws, which was encouraging – a backfoot delivery to Cole Kmet stood out, as did the seam-route to Zaccheaus for the score. There were plenty of signs of a growing command of this new offense.
- What jumped out the most was the efficiency of his movement and the timing of his throws. There was a clear objective to get the ball out quickly and ensure Williams had a chance at establishing rhythm on both of the drives. With this brought a poise we didn’t see in his rookie season.
Tyson Bagent: 13/22, 196 Yards, TD | 1 Carry, 9 Yards
It seems that it hasn’t just been the Bears’ starting quarterback that has benefited from Johnson’s arrival, with Bagent delivering many highly proficient throws to lead multiple touchdown drives. Two passes were notable – a 22-yard connection with rookie second-round pick Luther Burden III, and a 35-yard connection with Tyler Scott on successive touchdown drives. Bagent looks likely to beat veteran Case Keenum to the backup job on this performance, with the polarizing quarterback showing good chemistry with a host of new receivers while also proving he can move this offense in different ways.
Austin Reed: 6/7, 66 Yards | 4 Carries, -4 Yards
Running Back
Deion Hankins: 3 Carries, 10 Yards | 1 Target
Brittain Brown: 16 Carries, 73 Yards, TD | 1 Target
Ian Wheeler: 19 Carries, 90 Yards, 2 TD
Brown and Wheeler combined for over 150 yards and three scores as they established the type of ground dominance that coaches love in the pre-season. Wheeler specifically impressed with his powerful running style and ability to tack on extra yards to sustain drives. And, obviously, hitting pay dirt twice helps any player make a roster. The Bears’ running back room is fairly set with D’Andre Swift, Roschon Johnson, and seventh-round rookie Kyle Monangai favored to lead the attack. The new coaching staff is not wedded to this group, however, so you might see a guy like Wheeler play his way onto this roster.
Wide Receiver/Tight End
DJ Moore: 2 Targets, 2 Receptions, 16 Yards
It was mightily encouraging to see Moore connect on a pair of tight sideline throws with Williams in the two drives the first team offense was on the field. After failing a handful of yards short of a 1,000-yard season last time around, Moore is in line to take the next step into a fantasy darling if he can see both volume and red-zone targets under Johnson.
Colston Loveland: 2 Targets, 2 Receptions, 26 Yards
There is plenty of work for the 2025 first-round pick in this offense, and Head Coach Ben Johnson made that very clear by dialling up Williams’ first pass of the night over the middle for the big tight end to show off his route-running skills and safe hands with an 8-yard gain. It was the type of throw that a quarterback loves, as it gives him short-yardage early in a drive. Watch this space!
Cole Kmet: 1 Target, 1 Reception, 29 Yards
Kmet will lead the two-tight end attack for the Bears, and he showed no signs of the nagging back injury that has plagued his preseason so far. He hauled in a high throw from Williams over the middle on an intermediate route that showed off his height and ability at the catch. That 29-yard gain set up the Bears in Bills territory from which they punched in the first score of the game. Promising signs.
Olamide Zaccheaus: 2 Targets, 1 Reception, 36 Yards
Rome Odunze: 1 Target
Luther Burden III: 3 Targets, 3 Receptions, 49 Yards
Burden didn’t see a target with Williams on the field and did all of his work with the second team and Bagent. Still, he was impressive in his blocking (always a good sign and indicator for more snaps) and caused a defensive pass interference penalty to go alongside his three catches for 49 yards. He is battling Zaccheaus for the third wideout spot, and with the veteran hauling in a crossing route for a score, this is unlikely to happen to begin the year. Expectations should be tempered, but it is clear that Burden is showing signs of understanding the playbook, and he’s working hard for the team.
Tyler Scott: 3 Targets, 3 Receptions, 54 Yards, TD
Samori Toure: 3 Targets, 3 Receptions, 48 Yards
Joel Wilson: 6 Targets, 4 Receptions, 41 Yards
JP Richardson: 4 Targets, 2 Receptions, 21 Yards
Jadhae Walker: 2 Targets, 2 Receptions, 10 Yards
Maurice Alexander: 3 Targets, 1 Reception, 18 Yards
Durham Smythe: 1 Target
Miles Boykin: 1 Target