Bear Digest

Bears and Bengals In-Game Blog: Bears 27, Bengals 3 Final

In-game analysis and reporting from Soldier Field where the Bears play their only home preseason game this year against the Cincinnati Bengals in Caleb Williams' Chicago debut.

Gene Chamberlain

Caleb Williams scrambles in for the touchdown to get the Bears on the way to a halftime lead against the Bengals.
Caleb Williams scrambles in for the touchdown to get the Bears on the way to a halftime lead against the Bengals. / Daniel Bartel-USA TODAY Sports
In this story:

Fourth Quarter

  • That's it. Bears win it and go 3-0 in preseason 27-3.
  • Bears will take a knee here. Kind a long time to kill. Probably Bengals will get it back.
  • Rypien looks off defense and comes back to open Brenden Bates at the 9-yard line for 23 yards. TWO-MINUTE WARNING!!!!!
  • Velus Jones looking the power runner, blasts ahead and moves the pile for 7. to the Bengals 33 but Brett Rypien's third-down pass goes errant. Bears going for fourth-and-3.
  • They brought in Corliss Waitman instead and he put a perfect punt down at the 2 but the coverage by Elijah Hicks ruined it for him. Hicks let his feet hit the goal line when he was trying to down it and didn't need to really to stop there.
  • Ian Wheeler could have probably had the first down on a second-down catch of 5 yards but went out of bounds and then got stuffed on a third-down rush. He should have stretched out for the first down. Bears must bring in Tory Taylor to punt from their 46. This could be interesting.
  • Brett Rypien in at QB for last seven minutes.
  • Bears drive starts at the 40 after Nsimba Webster's 17-yard punt return.
  • Bengals facing third-and-8 at their 32 after Douglas Coleman nearly picked off Lombardi.
  • All blocking broke down and Velus got run over by four players. That usually doesn't happen at wide receiver. he's going to need to get used to that. Ian Wheeler made a nice play to get some yardage back on a short toss and set up a 51-yard Cairo Santos field goal with 10:17 left to play. Bears 27, Bengals 3
  • Velus goes to work with a 3-yard interior run. Took a big shot. He seems to be much better carrying out fakes now. He had another one on a first-down play even though it lost yardage.
  • Keith Randolph Jr. the former Illini defensive tackle, recovers a fumble by the former Northern Illinois QB. Daniel Hardy with the fumble forced and the Bears have it at the Cincinnati 49. A third Bears takeaway.
  • In a total deluge, the Bengals are working their way upfield and reached the Bears 48.

Third Quarter

  • Quarter ends with Bengals at their 40 with first-and-10. Rain has picked up and it's coming down hard.
  • Lombardi throws for a first down then boots out for 6. He was a good runner for the Huskies.
  • Rain coming down as former Northern Illinois QB Rocky Lombardi takes the huddle for the Bengals and they get a 12-man penalty right after a hold. Starting at their own 10.
  • Again Dante Pettis with the big play, a TD catch of 25 yards after he caught the 24-yarder to get into scoring range. Pettis has come on strong over the last two weeks on offense, and remains a solid punt return threat as he seeks to keep a job on the team. Bears 24, Bengals 3
  • Velus Jones is now getting the backfield work and carried out a great fake on play action after an 8-yard run, and Pettis caught a 24-yard pass at the 25. Pettis again making plays.
  • Bagent gets to start this drive at the 44.
  • Greg Stroman made a good hit but didn't wrap up on second down. He was fortunate he got the tackle on it to set up a sack by Hardy at the 2 on third down. They're punting from huge hole.
  • Dante Pettis wide open for the 4-yard TD catch in the corner on third down after a few running plays failed. Ends a nine-play, 42-yard drive with 7:46 left in the quarter. Bears 17, Bengals 3
  • After a Nsimba Webster 8-yard end around, Homer gets 2 the tough way for the first down at the 14. Then Bagent pump fake gets Stephen Carlson some room to get free and he catches a 9-yard pass at the 5.
  • Travis Homer in and on second down Bagent finds Tyler Scott at the Bengals 25 for 17 yards and a first down. Nice anticipation and Scott was wide open.
  • Bears defense plays the takeaway game again. They'll give up the underneath yards for the chance at a pick, and then need to take advantage when it comes up.
  • Terell Smith's interception on third-and-9 and return of 19 yards and the Bears are at the 42 of Cincinnati and Tyson Bagent is at QB.
  • Reddy Steward digs undneath and makes a stop on a 1-yard run. Pretty tough place for a DB to be. Then he blitzes and gets a pressure to force an incompletion.
  • A Woodside 7-yard scramble and late hit on Byron Cowart gets the Bengals out of a hole.
  • Josh Blackwell with yet another big tackle, this on special teams. That and a Bengals hold put Cincy at its 6 to start the drive.

Second Quarter

  • The highlights they show on ESPN will make Williams look like he had a good game. Instead, Logan Woodside and the passing game of the Bengals backups looked better than the Bears passing game. They had the field spread out and hit throws underneath and in intermediate range, the kind that move the chains in a regular season game. The Bears got a few big strikes in after wild scrambles. More luck than plan.
  • It's good Williams eventually led a TD drive and field goal drive but he wasn't finding receivers open quick enough or to his liking and was relying too much on moving outside or within the pocket on plays where he easily could have been hit from the side or behind. He went 6 of 13 for 75 yards, 45 yards on one play.
  • Evan McPherson a 54-yard field goal as half ends. Bears 10, Bengals 3
  • Bengals have 10 seconds left and no timeouts at Bears 36. They have to throw deep or OB.
  • Daniel Hardy with a QB hit and Austin Booker with pressure in forcing a second-down incompletion but the Bengals pick up the first down at midfield on third down.
  • Williams with the TD run of 7 yards. Turned around in circles, stepped up, then circled back and ran around left side. An eight-play, 90-yard drive in 3:31. Bears 10, Bengals 0
  • Williams improvises and appears to have Odunze for the TD but Odunze's feet were out of bounds. Then he has to throw it away on second down. Odunze might have been confused by the soccer backline on that play.
  • The Wiliams everyone knows. Sees nothing, wheels out of the pocket and finds Odunze at the 7. First down. Threw it on the run like he likes doing. The 45-yard pass is his longest in two games. TWO-MINUTE WARNING!!!
  • Big 21-yard run by Herbert cutting back against the grain and around end. He stays in the game too, thought he might leave after that one.
  • Herbert's best run so far for 6, made a nice short cut with no hesitation. Then Williams found Nsimba Webster for the first down but Webster lost his helmet at the 27. Webster a use ful practice squad type.
  • Surprisingly, Williams is still in the game along with the first-team offensive line and backup receivers. Nothing wrong with it because he needs the work but he needs to get rid of the ball instead of holding it and getting sacked.
  • Blackwell another big hit on third down to limit a completion to 3 and the Bears get it back at their 11. Blackwell has made it clear that backup slot spot is his over the last two weeks.
  • Bengals burn their second timeout in a state of confusion with the ball at the Bears 48 and 5:40 left in the half.
  • Bengals continue to hurt the Baers with passes underneath to backs. A 12- yarder to Williams but on third down Woodside tried to scramble and Booker stopped him at the line. A holding penalty accepted, however, makes it third-and-16.
  • All-sub defense is in if you count Jack Sanborn as a sub, which he really is when he is at middle linebacker.
  • After a false start, the first sack of Williams. He held the ball too long. Bears face third-and-long at 26. They settle for a 7-yard throw underneath on third down and Cairo Santos boots a 37-yard field goal with 9:08 left in second quarter. Expect Williams and starters to leave now. Bears 3, Bengals 0
  • A 43-yard Josh Newton pass interference call after he got beat by Tyler Scott and the Bears are at the 15. Newton blatantly reached out and grabbed Scott after getting beat on the play.
  • Odunze makes an appearance back with second-team offense and his beautiful fake on an end around nets 16 yards.
  • Another blindside blitz, this by Josh Blackwell just as Woodside throws and Amen Ogbongbemiga with the easy interception of the fluttering pop up of a pass. Bears at their own 26 after a 10-yard return. The blitz worked twice but the fact they had to resort to it against subs and with a few of the regular rotation guys on the end in the game doesn't say much for Bears pass rush.
  • Bengals at the Bears 22 with second-and-5 still controlling the line of scrimmage against the backups but they need a timeout to avoid delay of game. The line of Dominique Robinson, Zacch Pickens, Byron Cowart and Austin Booker is playing on its heels.
  • A 14-yard pass to Williams flaring out of the backfield.
  • Bears defense with the win on third-and-2 and force fourth-and-1. Austin Booker got in on the tackle. Run defense isn't his strength.
  • Bengals backup O-line winning the point of attack against Bears defensive front. After a 4-yard run it's third-and-2.

First Quarter

  • Quarter ends after a big Gordon tackle on a completion of 4 yards at the Bears 46.
  • Woodside with a third-down conversion on a 19-yarder in the middle of the zone. Had plenty of time to throw it.
  • Starters on defense mostly out for the Bears. Only Gordon and Tyrique Stevenson are in from first team.
  • Another 3-and-out, but this one had more promise. Kmet caught a perfect 9-yard throw on first down but on third-and-1 DJ Moore couldn't hold it on a well-thrown post in tight coverage. Khalil Herbert didn't have a chance on the second-and-1 run as he was slammed down shortly after taking the handoff.
  • Offense doesn't have the rhythm it had in the last game. The run-heavy group is on now.
  • Skies cleared so there's no explanation why Josh Blackwell let the 56-yard punt hit the ground. He should have fielded it. This won't help his cause trying to be the team's returner.
  • Gordon's blind-side blitz out of the slot results in a sack and nearly a fumble. Lost 8 . A big hit and Woodside wasn't expecting it at all. A false start follows and Bengals in third-and-23. Not a good down and distance. So Bengals hand off and punt.
  • A simple run by Trayveon Williams for 11 set up the Bengals for a good conversion situation and the 12-yard pass on third down burns the Bears starters.
  • Sweat's rush forces a boot pass deeper and then Kyler Gordon finishes it with a 3-yard tackle for loss on the catch. Excellent defense of a misdirection pass.
  • Another 3-and-out after pass completion is short of the sticks but Taylor's punt is downed at the 12. He completely flipped field for them. Williams definitely starting slow today against backup Bengals defense.
  • Herbert gains only 2 by being impatient on first down, then can't get the edge on the left side and thKey face third-and-5. Herbert's first run if he stayed with the blocking he would have had 5 yards easily.
  • Henry Melton on hand for the guest sideline shot, the former Bears 3-technique after Tommie Harris had left.
  • Josh Blackwell gets the punt return duties and makes a tough return up the middle in a crowd to the 30.
  • A Nate Gilliam false start left Bengals facing third-and-11 and Jonathan Owens makes the open-field tackle on Tanner Hudson in coverage to force the punt.
  • Hicks gives up the first down on a throw under a strong rush, as Woodside fled the pocket.
  • Logan Woodside, the third QB, starting for the Bengals and completes a 5-yard pass on second down to set up third-and-3. The Bears did not start Byard at safey???
  • Williams gets no one open and gets called for grounding on third down. He threw it away downfield from inside the pocket but no target around.
  • Two incompletions. One too hard for Keenan Allen and a boot pass that didn't develop right and was thrown away.
  • Velus Jones Jr. with the return to the 34 but a holding call on Daniel Hardy and Bears in a hole. Jones with a nice cut across the field.
  • Bears to receive.

Pregame

  • Rain coming down hard just 10 minutes before the game starts.
  • First team work in warmups did not include Jaquan Brisker but Montez Sweat and Tyrique Stevenson were on the field. Kevin Byard wasn't out there either, as the two safeties were Elijah Hicks and Jonathan Owens.
  • Injury situations to watch: S Jaquan Brisker, CB Kyler Gordon, DE Montez Sweat, CB Tyrique Stevenson. It's unlikely G/C Ryan Bates is ready to play. He's been injured all this month and is week to week according to Matt Eberflus. Gordon, Stevenson and Sweat practiced Thursday but not for the entire practice. RB Roschon Johnson missed the last game and his status is uncertain for this one. Also, WR/KR DeAndre Carter was injured during last week's game, although he finished it. He did miss practice time this past week.
  • Bears to watch besides Caleb Williams, who will be watched plenty by everyone, in this country anyway: RB/WR Velus Jones Jr., RB Ian Wheeler, WR Rome Odunze, WR/KR Dante Pettis, WR/R DeAndre Carter, DT Zacch Pickens, DT Gervon Dexter, DE Austin Booker, CB Greg Stroman, LB Amen Ogbongbemiga and G Nate Davis. This week marked Davis' return from injury at practice and they'd like to see him working in between C Coleman Shelton and T Darnell Wright. Wheeler needs to follow up on his strong game at Buffalo. Jones' conversion to running back needs another long look because there is plenty of roster competition ar receiver and running back. Getting more pass rush from Dexter and Pickens is always necessary. Booker stood out last week but the Bears were trying to trade for Matt Judon, according to NFL Network. So how much stock do they really put in his performance?
  • Weather forecast for the game is rain on occasion during the game. It was raining at 10:20 a.m. So it will be better than during the practice they had with the Bengals. It had been dry for an hour or so before that practice and then the Bears and Bengals began working outside. It rained throughout, slowing a few times to a trickle. Then practice ended and within a few minutes the rain stopped.
  • Roster cutdown day to the 53-man roster is Aug. 27 at 3 p.m., so five days after their final preseason game.
  • Since the Bears went to the new type of Bermuda grass at Soldier Field there has een no problem with the turf and it's even been said by some to be among the best surfaces in the league. However, an offseason of concerts, soccer and now possibly new sod and there are some seams obviously showing. Brad Biggs from the Tribune reported Ryan Poles and assistant GM Ian Cunningham inspecting the turf. It is very noticeable outside the numbers, about halfway to the sidelines on the east side of the stadium and also right before the south end zone just inside the numbers.

The sod is actually worse at field level, in this tweet by Kaitlin Sharkey. It's easier to see from there that it was resodded. At least it doesn't look as bad as the time they held Family night and we all came up from Bourbonnais and the field was all dried out and the sod was curled up on the edges where it was supposed to be a seam. It wasn't a seam, but a gap. They had the park district grounds head their trying to explain it and had to cancel practice, send everyone home, then the Bears got on a bus and went back and held a practice at a high school stadium under the lights in Bourbonnais.

  • The debut last week of Caleb Williams barely whetted the whistle and there's no saying for certain how long he'll play today because the Bears don't reveal this but Matt Eberflus suggested it would depend on the game flow. A better guess, Cole Kmet made the tongue slip during his press conference of saying a quarter or so, and then quickly said not to quote him on it. It's a press conference and he's the guest speaker.

Simone Biles on the sideline, here for Jonathan Owens' game, sporting a boot.

Twitter: BearsOnSI

Published |Modified
Gene Chamberlain

GENE CHAMBERLAIN

BearDigest.com publisher Gene Chamberlain has covered the Chicago Bears full time as a beat writer since 1994 and prior to this on a part-time basis for 10 years. He covered the Bears as a beat writer for Suburban Chicago Newspapers, the Daily Southtown, Copley News Service and has been a contributor for the Daily Herald, the Associated Press, Bear Report, CBS Sports.com and The Sporting News. He also has worked a prep sports writer for Tribune Newspapers and Sun-Times newspapers.