The Chicago Bears experienced a 27-9 loss to the Cincinnati Bengals in their second preseason game. Most of the Bears‘ starters saw limited action, with quarterback Caleb Williams and the No. 1 offense playing only the opening possession. This drive resulted in a 45-yard field goal by Cairo Santos after advancing 33 yards on eight plays. A holding penalty on left tackle Braxton Jones ultimately stalled the drive at the Bengals‘ 17-yard line.
During his brief appearance, Williams completed two passes for 18 yards to Rome Odunze and 10 yards to Colston Loveland before his final three throws were incomplete. Head coach Ben Johnson indicated that the first-team players participated due to insufficient practice repetitions during the week, stating the team felt they “needed this work.”
The Bengals responded to the Bears‘ initial score with a 14-play, 62-yard drive, culminating in a 25-yard field goal by Evan McPherson, which tied the game at 3-3. Veteran quarterback Josh Johnson, starting in place of Joe Burrow, completed 7 of 10 passes for 55 yards on this possession. Following this, most of the Bears‘ starting defense exited the game, with only linemen Dayo Odeyingbo and Gervon Dexter Sr. remaining for a second drive.
With backup quarterback Tyson Bagent sidelined due to an injury, Case Keenum took over for Williams. On his second possession, Keenum connected on a 26-yard pass to rookie tight end Sam Roush, setting up Santos‘ 26-yard field goal that gave the Bears a 6-3 lead early in the second quarter.
However, the Bengals then took control, scoring touchdowns on their subsequent three drives to establish a 24-9 lead early in the third quarter. Johnson threw a 17-yard touchdown pass to Colbie Young, giving the Bengals a 10-6 lead. After a Bears punt, Johnson led another drive, capped by a 6-yard touchdown pass to tight end Tanner Hudson, extending the lead to 17-6 with 23 seconds left in the first half.
The Bears managed to narrow the gap to 17-9 as time expired in the first half with Santos‘ 44-yard field goal, his third successful kick of the game. Keenum, who completed 9 of 17 passes for 119 yards and a 75.4 passer rating, exited at halftime, replaced by Miller Moss.
The Bengals continued to build their lead in the second half. Quarterback Sean Clifford threw a 20-yard touchdown pass to Noah Thomas, making the score 24-9. McPherson then added a 58-yard field goal early in the fourth quarter, bringing the score to 27-9.
Defensive back Skylar Thomas secured the Bears‘ first takeaway of the game by intercepting a pass from Clifford at midfield. However, Santos missed a 53-yard field goal attempt wide right. A positive aspect for the Bears was their run defense, which limited the Bengals to 64 yards on 20 carries, averaging 3.2 yards per carry.
Johnson commented on the team’s performance, noting that penalties and third-down conversions were significant issues. The team accumulated 11 penalties and converted only 2 of 14 third downs on offense, while allowing the opposition to convert 6 of 13 third downs on defense. He emphasized that the inability to convert red zone opportunities into touchdowns was a major factor against a strong opponent.
Josh Johnson had a notable performance for the Bengals, completing 15 of 23 passes for 156 yards and two touchdowns without an interception. He connected with Young for a 17-yard touchdown and later with Hudson for a 6-yard score, contributing to the Bengals‘ 17-9 halftime lead. The Bengals, now 2-0 in the preseason, will play one more preseason game before their regular-season opener on September 13.
Source: chicagobears.com
Mason Reed
Sports reporter covering football, basketball and international competitions.