'Nice to See!' Bills GM Reacts to Beating Bears: Live Blog, Highlights
The Buffalo Bills took on the Chicago Bears at Solider Field on Saturday in the preseason finale and registered a 24-21 win. There was at least one aspect of the outcome that pleased the bosses ...
“It was nice to see the first team go all the way in and get seven,” Bills GM Brandon Beane said during a TV interview during the third quarter.
How did this go down chronologically? Follow along here ...
Starters will be playing for both teams, most notably the quarterbacks in Bills' Josh Allen and Bears' Justin Fields.
Bills coach Sean McDermott detailed why it's important to play starters.
"It's just what I feel is best for the team right now," McDermott said. "Every preseason is different based on where guys are and where the team is, so they're going to play this week. I feel like it's best for where we're at right now."
Buffalo and Chicago boast two of the most dynamic quarterbacks in Josh Allen and Justin Fields, and both will play on Saturday. But more importantly, each quarterback's backup might be determined by the end of the game.
The Bears are looking at P.J. Walker, who joined the team this offseason and steered Chicago to a 24-17 loss to the Colts last week. Undrafted free agent Tyson Bagent was the star, however, as he led the Bears on a 17-play, 92-yard scoring drive that ended with the rookie running in for a 2-yard score. Veteran Nathan Peterman is also in contention.
Buffalo has had an open competition all offseason to back up Allen. Matt Barkley and Kyle Allen are both being considered. Barkley threw three picks against the Steelers while Kyle Allen went 12-of-15 for 112 yards and a touchdown.
Stay with Bills Central at SI.com for live game updates as well as all the post-game coverage as the Bills prepare for the regular season.
First Quarter:
The Bears get the ball to start the game and Tyler Scott runs it to the 20-yard-line.
Justin Fields trots out for the Bears. Khalil Herbert is stopped for no gain by Ed Oliver. Fields' pass is incomplete on second down. He drops back to pass again and it's broken up by Christian Benford.
Trenton Gill's punt is filed by Deonte Harty and he goes out of bounds at the Bills' 28-yard-line.
End of possession
Josh Allen's pass intended for Gabe Davis is incomplete. Allen's pass to Harty is complete for eight yards. On third and two, Allen finds Stefon Diggs on a crossing route for 10 yards.
James Cook gets the handoff and gains a yard. Allen finds Harty, this time for six yards. On third and three, Allen finds Diggs again for 10 yards to the Bears' 37-yard-line.
Cook runs for six yards. Cook gets another carry and he gains nine yards and a first down.
Cook gets the ball once more on a draw play and gains two. Allen's pass intended for Davis is incomplete. On third and eight, Allen escapes pressure and throws across his body and finds Davis for 15 yards to move the chains.
On first and goal from the Bears' five-yard-line, Allen is sacked but defensive holding moves Buffalo up three yards. Damien Harris gets the handoff and he scores for two yards out.
Tyler Bass' extra point is good with 7:22 left in the first quarter.
Bills 7, Bears 0
End of possession
Scott returns the kickoff to Chicago's 18-yard-line.
Herbert is stopped for a loss of a yard by Greg Rousseau. Fields drops back and his pass intended for Herbert is incomplete. On third and 11, Fields scrambles but only gets three yards before going out of bounds.
Harty returns the punt five yards to Buffalo's 25-yard-line.
End of possession
Kyle Allen is in the game for Buffalo. On his first pass, he connects with Trent Sherfield for 19 yards.
Cook gets the handoff and gains five yards. Kyle dumps it off to Cook and he gets nine yards to Chicago's 42-yard-line.
Kyle goes deep for Sherfield but the pass is incomplete. Defensive holding gives Buffalo another first down and moves them up five yards.
Kyle's pass intended for Harty is over his head and falls incomplete. Kyle finds Cook again and he runs for 18 yards but an illegal block in the back against David Edwards negates the play. On second and 15, Kyle's pass to Andy Isabella is deflected before falling to the ground. On third and long, Kyle is intercepted by Tyrique Stevenson along the sideline at the Bears' 16-yard-line.
End of possession
Fields scrambles for 13 yards for the Bears' first first down of the game.
Fields finds DJ Moore over the middle of the field and he stays on his feet, running to Buffalo's 31-yard-line before going out of bounds for a 40-yard gain.
D'Onta Foreman runs for nine yards. He gets the ball again and gains two to move the chains.
Fields' pass intended for Darnell Mooney is incomplete. Fields keeps it on second down but only gets back to the line of scrimmage after getting tackled by Benford on the final play of the quarter.
End of quarter
2nd Quarter:
It's third and 10 from Buffalo's 20-yard-line. Fields' pass to Foreman on a screen goes for 11 yards and a first down, making it first and goal at the nine-yard-line.
Tyson Bagent is in the game for Chicago. His pass to Cole Kmet gains seven, but offensive pass interference moves them back to Buffalo's 19. Bagent's pass for Roberty Tonyan is dropped. Herbert runs for three yards. On third and goal, Bagent scrambles right and his pass to Mooney is broken up by Siran Neal.
The 34-yard field goal by Cairo Santos is good with 13 minutes left in the half.
Bills 7, Bears 3
End of possession.
Santos' kickoff goes through the end zone for a touchback.
Harris is stopped for no gain. Kyle's pass to Sherfield is complete for six yards before he goes out of bounds. Kyle goes deep for Dalton Kincaid and the pass falls incomplete. Defensive pass interference is called on the play and moves Buffalo to Chicago's 49-yard-line.
Harris runs for six yards. He gets another handoff and gains two. On third and two, Kyle is under pressure and his pass to Isabella loses four yards. Offensive pass interference is called against Buffalo but it's declined.
Sam Martin's punt goes into the end zone for a touchback with 10:05 left in the half.
End of possession
Roschon Johnson loses two yards on the carry. Bagent's pass to Stephen Carlson gains two yards. On third and 10, Bagent is sacked by A.J. Epenesa for a loss of four yards.
A false start moves Chicago back five more yards.
Harty fields the punt at Buffalo's 40-yard-line and he runs it back to midfield with 8:12 left in the half.
End of possession
Harris runs for five yards. Kyle's pass to Justin Shorter is complete for 19 yards to Chicago's 26-yard-line.
Harris moves Buffalo into the red zone with a seven-yard gain. Harris has another good gain for 12 yards, but holding on David Queesenberry negates the play. On second and 13, Kyle finds Quintin Morris who makes a reaching grab for a 29-yard touchdown.
The extra point by Bass is good with 5:39 left in the half.
Bills 14, Bears 3
End of possession
Scott has a big return for 55 yards to Buffalo's 42-yard-line.
Bagent's pass to Robert Burns goes for two yards. Johnson runs for four yards on second down. On third and four, Bagent's pass for Nsimba Webster is batted down.
Chicago goes for it in fourth down and Bagent's pass to Johnson on a screen gains 11 yards to extend the drive.
Johnson runs for three yards. Bagent's pass for Equanimeous St. Brown is incomplete. Bagent scrambles for 12 yards to Buffalo's 10-yard-line to make it first and goal.
Johnson runs for two yards on the final play before the two-minute warning. Bagent drops back to pass then scrambles into the end zone for a touchdown.
Santos' extra point is good.
Bills 14, Bears 10
End of possession
Isabella returns the kick to Buffalo's 22-yard-line before going out of bounds.
Kyle's pass to Harty gets six yards. Kyle looks for Harty again but the pass is incomplete. On third and four, Allen is strip-sacked and Chicago recovers it at Buffalo's 26-yard-line with 1:19 left in the half.
End of possession
Bagent has Carlson wide open but he has to dive to make the catch and drops it as he hits the ground. Bagent is intercepted by Ja'Marcus Ingram and he runs it back to Chicago's 46-yard-line.
End of possession
Harris runs for three yards and Buffalo calls its first timeout with 54 seconds left in the half. Kyle's pass to KeeSean Johnson is complete for four yards and the Bills call another timeout with 50 seconds left. Kyle looks for Shorter but the pass is incomplete.
Buffalo goes for it on fourth and three and Kyle's pass to Johnson is complete for four yards to extend the drive.
Kyle finds Harty for four yards and he goes out of bounds to stop the clock with 29 seconds left. Kyle's pass to Joel Wilson gains five yards and he goes out of bounds. On third and one, Kyle finds Wilson again for seven yards and a first down.
Kyle's pass intended for Johnson is incomplete with seven seconds left in the first half. Bass comes out to kick a 37-yard field goal and it's good with three seconds remaining in the half.
Bills 17, Bears 10
End of possession
Bass kicks a squib kick and Burns goes down at the 29-yard-line on the final play of the half.
Halftime: Bills 17, Bears 10
THIRD QUARTER
The Bills quickly went three-and-out to begin the half after Ty Johnson began the drive with a five-yard carry.
End of possession
The Bears returned the favor with a three-and-out of their own and punted it back to Buffalo.
End of possession
Johnson picked up four more yards on his second carry, but the Bills punted it again after another three-and-out.
End of possession
FIELD GOAL BEARS: Chicago cut it to a 17-13 lead after quarterback Tyson Bagent led a 12-play, 53-yard drive that ended with a 51-yard field goal from Cairo Santos.
Bills 17, Bears 13
End of possession
FOURTH QUARTER
TOUCHDOWN BILLS: Buffalo running back Darrynton Evans broke multiple tackles on his way to a 35-yard touchdown run on what was the highlight of the day.
End of possession
Veteran quarterback PJ Walker came in for Chicago and started the drive with an 11-yard completion to receiver Stephen Carlson, but the Bears punted it away three plays later.
End of possession
Kyle Allen led Buffalo on a 13-play, 57-yard drive after making some nice plays. Receiver Marcell Ateman had a 19-yard completion on 3rd and 10 before Allen had a 10-yard run.
However, it was all for nothing, as Tyler Bass missed a 43-yard field goal.
End of possession
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