Inside The Huskies

Bears Use All of Their Husky Talent to Win NFL Preseason Game

Dante Pettis has a big night with a pair of touchdown catches.

Dan Raley

Ex-Husky receiver Dante Pettis makes one of his two touchdown catches against the Cincinnati Bengals during the third quarter at Soldier Field on Saturday..
Ex-Husky receiver Dante Pettis makes one of his two touchdown catches against the Cincinnati Bengals during the third quarter at Soldier Field on Saturday.. / Daniel Bartel-USA TODAY Sports

For decades, the University of Washington football program used to find great players in Chicago and bring them West, largely with a very determined recruiting assist from Dr. Alfred Strauss, who was a turn-of-the-century Husky running back himself as well as influential in the founding of the UW School of Medicine.

The Huskies now are returning the favor by sending a significant amount of football talent to the Windy City.

Or did you not notice who were the primary players in the Chicago Bears' 27-3 victory over the Cincinnati Bengals in exhibition play on Saturday night?

Foremost, former Husky wide receiver Dante Pettis caught 3 passes for 53 yards and 2 touchdowns, scoring on receptions of 4 and 25 yards, with both coming in the third quarter, to help the Bears pull away early in this game.

Meantime, another former UW receiver, Rome Odunze, was at his best in a limited appearance, catching a difficult 45-yard pass from fellow Chicago rookie and first-round draft pick Caleb Williams, and going for 16 yards on an end-around.

Finally, one-time Husky cornerback Kyler Gordon came off the edge to sack Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Logan Woodside with a broadside hit, dropping him for an 8-yard loss in the opening quarter.

Pettis has a significant challenge to make the Bears' 53-man roster, given the presence of talented receiver corps that includes Odunze, who was the ninth player take overll in April's NFL draft., but this outing should help.

Bouncing around the NFL, Pettis previously played for the Bears in 2022 and caught 19 passes for 245 yards and 3 touchdowns, but he was injured last season and waived in September. He's now getting another chance to stick with the Chicago franchise and maybe give the Bears a dual-Husky formation alongside Odunze at times.

For the latest UW football and basketball news, go to si.com/college/washington

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Dan Raley
DAN RALEY

Dan Raley has worked for the Seattle Post-Intelligencer, Atlanta Journal-Constitution and Fairbanks Daily News-Miner, as well as for MSN.com and Boeing, the latter as a global aerospace writer. His sportswriting career spans four decades and he's covered University of Washington football and basketball during much of that time. In a working capacity, he's been to the Super Bowl, the NBA Finals, the MLB playoffs, the Masters, the U.S. Open, the PGA Championship and countless Final Fours and bowl games.

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