Halftime observations from Soldier Field: Chicago Bears 24, Chiefs 10
On paper, Saturday’s game had the potential to be a dominating blowout for the Chiefs. The Bears decided to rest all of their starters, while the Chiefs elected to play their healthy starters for three quarters. But in the first half, Chicago’s backups came out juiced up and took control of the game from the first drive to lead KC 24-10 at the break.
Not-so-clutch corners
Without starters like Daniel Sorensen, Eric Berry and Steve Nelson, no secret that the Chiefs’ secondary is a little suspect. But Saturday revealed just how far the cornerback group has to go. David Amerson got burned twice in the Bears’ first drive of the second quarter, giving up two big plays to Wims. First, backup quarterback Chase Daniel hit Wims for a 54-yard gain, and a couple plays later, Daniel lofted the ball over Amerson in the back of the end zone, connecting with Wims for the touchdown just before he tip-toed out of the back corner. In the first quarter, the Bears scored their second touchdown as Kevin White made new corner Orlando Scandrick bite on a double move, leaving him in the dust as he scored a 29-yard touchdown.
Special teams struggles
The Chiefs special teams had a rough outing from the very beginning of Saturday’s game, opening with an out-of-bounds kickoff. From there, the issues only continued to mount. A flag for illegal formation on a Bears’ fourth-down punt gave the Chiefs a first down and eventually resulted in a 29-yard touchdown for Kevin White as the receiver beat Scandrick on a double move. Then, Tanoh Kpassagnon was flagged on the extra point for leaping during the kick. That penalty was enforced on the ensuing kickoff.
Watkins has first catch
New receiver Sammy Watkins said earlier this week that he wasn’t worried about not having a catch through two preseason games. He didn’t have to wait long on Saturday to get his first. Patrick Mahomes connected with him on the Chiefs’ second offensive play for a 15-yard gain. He was targeted three other times in the first half, nearly getting to the ball as Mahomes threw it out of bounds. Another time, Mahomes tried to hit Watkins deep, but he just didn’t get there in time and the ball fell on the grass in front of him.
Mahomes opens with efficiency
Patrick Mahomes looked crisp through two drives in the first quarter, completing 7 of 9 attempts for 111 yards and a catch-and-run touchdown throw to Kareem Hunt. But the throws didn’t come as easily in the remaining possessions of the half. He added only 14 more yards in the second quarter, completing 3 of 6 passes to finish the half 10 of 15 for 125 yards and a touchdown. His best throw of the half came on a 16-yard completion to Tyreek Hill where he got the ball in a tight window on second-and-6.
Ware returns on anniversary of injury
Running back Spencer Ware made his long-awaited preseason debut, stepping on the field for his first game action since injuring his knee exactly a year ago in the third preseason game of 2017. Ware had one carry and one target in the second quarter and was on the field for (four) plays.
Bonus observation
If this game is supposed to be the final dress rehearsal before the regular season, the Chiefs’ defense has some glaring issues to address before the regular season. They made backup quarterback Daniel look like a Week 1 starter. He finished the half with a 149.5 passer rating, completing 15 of 18 attempts for 198 yards and two touchdowns. Saturday was also the preseason debut of Anthony Hitchens and Reggie Ragland, and yet, the highly touted inside linebackers didn’t make a difference in the first half.