Game Recap: Bears make a statement in dominant win over Bills

Matt Marton - USA Today Sports

Dustin Riese · Senior Writer · 6 hours ago

Chicago - No one wants to get too excited over a preseason game, but what the Chicago Bears did to the Buffalo Bills on Sunday was nothing short of impressive. Looking to close out the Soldier Field portion of the preseason schedule against another AFC East opponent, it was the Bears taking on the Buffalo Bills, looking to build off their week one performance.

With Caleb Williams and most of their starters seeing time on the field, this version of the Bears was going to look drastically different than the version that showed up against the Dolphins, as this was going to be a litmus test. Buffalo elected to sit their starters in this one, making things much easier for the Bears, but no one expected the Bears to do what they did as they dominated the Bills in every facet, 38-0.

In what was his first drive of the preseason, you couldn't have asked for a much better start from Williams as he took the ball and drove right down the field for a 92-yard touchdown drive. Williams used both his tight ends early in the drive to open things up, with Cole Kmet coming down with the first big completion of 29 yards to move the ball near midfield.

Apart from one running play that went six yards, this was all about Williams and the passing game as he found Olamide Zaccheaus for 36 yards to put the Bears on top for good, 7-0. Those were the only points of the first quarter, as the rest of the quarter was filled with three punts as both defenses were starting to settle in.

After going 6-10 for 107 yards and that touchdown, it was time for Tyson Bagent and the Bears' reserves to step in during the second quarter, and this is when the game completely changed as Chicago used a 21-point second quarter to open up a massive 28-0 halftime lead. Bagent played a considerable role in that, going 13-22 for 196 yards and a score, which came on an 11-yard strike to Tyler Scott to put the Bears on top 21-0. Before that score, you had newly acquired Brittain Brown capping off another incredible drive as his one-yard score made things 14-0 before the Bears added on.

Scott is one of those players teetering on the verge of a make-or-break season, and with 54 yards receiving and three touches, these are the games he needs to have if he wants to make this team. Following another quick possession from Mitch Trubisky and the Bills offense, it was time for the Bears offense to get back to work as Bagent hooked up with Luther Burdon for 21 yards before finding Samori Toure for 23 yards as the Bears had the ball down to the Bills 30.

That is when the ground game started to take over as the Bears grinded out the remaining 30 yards, capped off by a one-yard Ian Wheeler score that made this a 28-0 game. Wheeler has been impressive the past two seasons, and with 80 yards on 19 carries, his strong run continued. Those were the final points of the half for either side as the Bears' defense held the Bills to 15 first-half yards and led 28-0 at the break.

Already with a massive lead, Chicago was in a position to make a statement, and that they did as the Bills got the ball to open the second half, only to be turned away on downs. That put the ball back in the hands of the Bears' offense as they only needed to go 25 yards to get into field goal range. Despite the offense struggling to churn out the yards, they did what they had to do as Cairo Santos knocked home a 40-yarder to make this a 31-0 game.

Following back-to-back punts, the Bills finally put together a good drive, as it took nearly four quarters to make that happen. What started with a first down run from KJ Hamler was followed up by a couple of quick passes from Trubisky, with one going to Stephen Gosnell for a first down. Frank Gore followed that up with three straight touches, only to put the ball on the ground on that third touch, resulting in an Amen Ogbongbemiga recovery to give the ball back to Chicago.

As was the case more often than not, Chicago managed to capitalize on that fumble as Austin Reed orchestrated a 14-play, 86-yard drive to get the Bears in the end zone for a fifth time. 66 of those 86 yards came through the air as Reed completed six of his seven passes to keep the Bills defense guessing.

Toure started things off with a 12-yard reception, only to have Wheeler break loose for another 12-yard gain as he led the Bears with 80 yards rushing on 19 carries. Another first down completion to JP Richardson moved the ball inside the 20 as Wheeler took care of the rest from 10 yards out for his second touchdown of the game.

Those were the final points for either side as the Bears forced another turnover on downs to get the ball back, before running out the clock in a dominating 38-0 victory. Two games into the preseason, and the battle for the backup quarterback role appears to be over as Bagent has proven to be the better of the two options thus far.

You also have Wheeler and now Brown coming into the running back room, as both have proven they have what it takes to earn a roster spot this season. Chicago will now shift their focus to Kansas City as it closes out the preseason on a short week against the Chiefs at Arrowhead Stadium on Friday.