Bills @ Bears
Final Score: Bills 24, Bears 21
Writer: Mike Miklius (@SIRL0INofBEEF on Twitter)
The Bills headed to Chicago for their final preseason contest, and they look ready to start rolling through the regular season. Josh Allen drove the Bills down the field in 12 plays, completing five of his seven passes and converting three third downs en route to a short touchdown plunge by Damien Harris. That was it for Buffalo’s first-string offense. Chicago’s starters had a rougher time of it, going three-and-out on both of their first two drives. They were stuffed on first-down runs both times followed by a mix of inaccurate passing and receivers not getting open. They found some momentum on the back of a huge DJ Moore play: a short pass from Justin Fields that Moore ran for 40 yards. Kyle Allen struggled at first in relief of Josh Allen, but he eventually got comfortable, leading his team on three more scoring drives. Tyson Bagent was solid and again looked like the second-best quarterback in Chicago. The Bills held on to the 24-21 win and open the regular season at the Jets. The Bears will host the Packers. Here’s what I saw.
Four Up
- The Bills first-team offense was cruising. They look ready to roll.
- DJ Moore with another huge play. He should be a monster as Chicago’s clear number-one weapon.
- Tyson Bagent shines again and feels like a lock for the roster and the QB2 position
- Darrynton Evans with a huge 35-yard touchdown against his former team
Four Down
- Justin Fields–and some other Bears starters–looked rusty on offense.
- Khalil Herbert did nothing with his four touches, facing a bull rush on both carries and dropping a pass.
- James Cook looked fine but lost the touchdown on the opening drive to Damien Harris
- Gabriel Davis dropped two passes from Josh Allen, both of which were good throws.
Buffalo Bills
| Preseason Week 1 | Preseason Week 2 |
Quarterback
Josh Allen: 5/7, 49 yards
Josh Allen came in and was on the money right from the start. After Gabriel Davis dropped Allen’s first pass, he hit his next two–one of which was a great throw to Diggs into a tight window. Allen later made another great pass to Gabriel Davis, throwing across his body on the run. Allen’s only two misses were drops and I thought he looked excellent. Buffalo is ready for week one.
Missed Opportunities
- Allen would have been perfect if not for two Gabriel Davis drops.
Kyle Allen: 18/34, 162 yards, TD, INT, sack | 2 carries, 9 yards, fumble lost
Running Back
James Cook: 5 carries, 23 yards | 2 targets, 2 receptions, 14 yards
James Cook looked solid today, getting carries on the first two drives. His best play today was a swing pass from Kyle Allen in space. He looked smooth catching the ball and got running quickly.
Damien Harris: 7 carries, 25 yards, TD
Damien Harris notably vultured the touchdown on the team’s first drive. Cook truthers beware…
Ty Johnson: 11 carries, 51 yards
Darrynton Evans: 9 carries, 65 yards, TD | 1 target, 1 reception, 8 yards
Darrynton Evans had a fun run late, going 35 yards for the score against his former team. Evans broke several tackles, spinning free repeatedly and looking better than he ever did in Chicago.
Evans to the HOUSE!
📺: WIVB | @paramountplus pic.twitter.com/XSytjha1lU
— Buffalo Bills (@BuffaloBills) August 26, 2023
Wide Receiver/Tight End
Stefon Diggs: 2 targets, 2 receptions, 20 yards
Diggs made two catches and left after the first drive. His first was a quick-hitter and the second a great throw from Allen into tight coverage.
Gabriel Davis: 4 targets, 1 reception, 15 yards
Gabriel Davis had a rough day, dropping two passes from Josh Allen on the first drive. Davis’ one reception saw Josh Allen scrambling and Davis getting open for a big catch. Davis needs to show more consistency if he wants a regular workload week to week.
Deonte Harty: 6 targets, 4 receptions, 23 yards
KeeSean Johnson: 4 targets, 3 receptions, 17 yards
Trent Sherfield: 2 targets, 2 receptions, 26 yards
Marcel Ateman: 2 targets, 2 receptions, 26 yards
Andy Isabella: 4 targets, 2 receptions, 2 yards, fumble
Chicago Bears
| Preseason Week 1 | Preseason Week 2 |
Quarterback
Justin Fields: 2/6, 51 yards | 3 carries, 16 yards
Justin Fields and the first-string offense had a rough day today. He was 0/2 on the first drive, underthrowing Cole Kmet and looking deep to a tightly covered DJ Moore. The next drive was also rough with a Khalil Herbert drop and a short scramble out of bounds on third down. The Herbert pass probably wasn’t Fields’ fault, but it did look a hair early. Fields looked better on the next drive. He started with a 10-yard scramble and then hit DJ Moore, who ran free for 40 yards. It was a little underthrown, but still easily catchable. Fields had another good scramble and one more completion to D’Onta Foreman. Fields looked mostly shaky today, and I don’t see the step forward I’m hoping for. It still looks like he needs to use his legs to get anything going for Chicago. It’s only preseason, but the needle is not pointing to a Josh Allen or Jalen Hurts type of leap right now. Let’s hope I’m wrong.
Tyson Bagent: 7/14, 43 yards, INT, 2 sacks | 4 carries, 23 yards, TD, fumble
Tyson Bagent mostly impressed again, jumping into the game in the middle of Fields’ final drive. His first pass was a completion to Cole Kmet that was called back due to offensive pass interference. After another completion to Khalil Herbert, Bagent missed Darnell Mooney and they settled for a field goal. His next drive was fast, ending with a sack on third down. Bagent settled in on his third drive, hitting two passes and scrambling for 12 and 8 yards, the second resulting in a touchdown. Bagent’s last drive worth discussing was the next one; After a Bills fumble, the Bears found themselves at the Bills’ 26. Bagent made a great pass to Stephen Carlson in the endzone. It was dropped. The next pass was picked when Daurice Fountain ran into a defender and there was no one to catch the ball except for a Bills corner. This was Tyson Bagent’s worst outing so far, but he still showed much more good than bad, and he should be named the QB2.
PJ Walker: 6/11, 71 yards, TD
Running Back
Khalil Herbert: 2 carries, -1 yards | 2 targets, 1 reception, 3 yards
Khalil Herbert barely touched the ball before he was pulled with the rest of the first string. He ran into two brick walls and had a dropped pass. It looked like Herbert wasn’t quite ready for the ball or he didn’t see it coming. Herbert is still the clear starter in Chicago. Pass catching still isn’t his strength.
D’Onta Foreman: 2 carries, 11 yards | 1 target, 1 reception, 11 yards
D’Onta Foreman ran well today, immediately finding space and looking fast. He was also smooth on his one reception. Foreman is–in my mind–the clear RB2 to Herbert.
Roschon Johnson: 9 carries, 22 yards | 1 target, 1 reception, 11 yards
Roschon Johnson showed some flashes, but not enough to break through the big two. Johnson’s lone reception was a great screen call where he had plenty of space to move. Johnson should keep developing and could earn more work later in the season if Herbert or Foreman misses time. I also still love his hands. He is the smoothest pass-catcher on the Bears.
Travis Homer: 3 carries, 5 yards | 1 target, 1 reception, 3 yards
Wide Receiver/Tight End
DJ Moore: 2 targets, 1 reception, 40 yards
DJ Moore is the best Bears receiver I’ve seen in a while. Moore was tightly covered on his first target but took his second 40 yards. Moore is going to do well in Chicago and he is the engine of this offense. No one on the Bears’ roster will threaten him for targets.
Darnell Mooney: 2 targets
Cole Kmet: 1 target
Daurice Fountain: 3 targets, 1 reception, 5 yards
Nsimba Webster: 6 targets, 3 receptions, 37 yards | 2 carries, 22 yards
Stephen Carlson: 5 targets, 3 receptions, 41 yards