CHICAGO — The Chicago Bears took a while to get on track, but they found their stride and rattled off 24 unanswered points en route to a 34-10 win over the Cleveland Browns in their preseason opener Saturday at Soldier Field.
The Bears sat their entire first-team offense — quarterback Caleb Williams watched from the sideline in street clothes — but defensive coordinator Dennis Allen played most of the first-string defense for the Browns’ first three possessions.
It was the Bears backups who stole the show.
Defensive back Beanie Bishop Jr. had two fourth-quarter interceptions, training camp favorite Kaden Davis led all pass catchers with four receptions for 88 yards, and dark horse running back Salvon Ahmed weaved through defenders on a 49-yard touchdown reception.
Defensive lineman Jamree Kromah had two sacks, the first of which was a strip-sack of Deshaun Watson and fumble recovery in the second quarter.
“Proud of our guys and how they played,” Ben Johnson said. “We talked about being disciplined in all three phases, and we really saw today, I think, two penalties on the day from all three phases. We haven’t had a practice yet where we’ve had that few fouls. So that was really encouraging to see.”
Bears quarterback Tyson Bagent played the first half and finished with 13 completions on 22 passes for 169 yards, along with a touchdown and an interception.
On the injury front, tight end Nikola Kalinic (right knee), safety Xavier Woods (groin) and linebackers Nephi Sewell (concussion) and Ruben Hyppolite II (shoulder) didn’t finish the game.
Here are some of the main takeaways:
1. Bagent was slow to get the first-team offense on track.
By his own admission, Bagent’s performance wasn’t up to par. The Bears went three-and-out on the first two series, and he threw a pick just before halftime.
“I think it’s nowhere close to my standards, especially how we started off,” Bagent said. “First drive, I think maybe they played good coverage on that first third down. Second third down, the ball (to Sam Roush on third-and-2) just gets high on me. I’ve got to put it right in the middle of Roush’s chest plate.”
With 2 minutes, 37 seconds remaining before half, Bagent took a 9-yard sack, then followed with an interception to cornerback Michael Coats Jr. Bagent hesitated on a pass to tight end Stephen Carlson, and Coats stepped in front.
“That is just me being extremely late, complete slappy move on my part,” Bagent said. “Got to be better there.”
2. Bagent turned it around — with some help.
Davis, a favorite target of Bagent’s in camp, came on in the third series and paid immediate dividends.
On the first play, they hooked up on a 41-yard bomb.
“Kaden Davis did a great job of running fast,” Bagent said.
But the drive stalled and Cairo Santos hooked a 50-yard field-goal attempt wide left.
On the fourth series, Bagent’s 25-yard touchdown connection with wide receiver Maurice Alexander put the Bears on the board and tied the score 10-10.
“We had a cross concept called, ‘Little Half World,’ to the left,” Bagent said. “Safety didn’t do a good enough job taking away the midcross, little bit of pressure in my face, so I was able to give ‘Hard Time’ something he could work with and then obviously he was able to do the rest from there.”
3. The running backs popped when needed.
Four running backs combined for 69 yards on 19 rushes, a modest 3.6 yards per carry.
But Ahmed had a 49-yard catch-and-run, Brittain Brown had a 6-yard touchdown reception — both came off Case Keenum passes — and Coleman Bennett had a 3-yard touchdown run on which he shook off a would-be tackler in open space.
Roschon Johnson dominated the workload with eight carries for 34 yards and two targets (one 3-yard reception), but it’s telling that Ahmed was first off the bench, entering late in the second quarter, and had a total of five touches for 72 yards.
Brown said he was proud of the entire group and called Ahmed a “multipurpose guy, can catch the ball, get out in space.”
Ahmed has shined in camp, but so have Roschon and Brown to varying degrees.
“The competition is as high as it’s ever been,” Brown said. “That’s why it’s been super fun at practice. Nobody can take a play off or else you might get your spot took.”
4. The defense was slow to rev up too.
This was the first look (for the most part) at the revamped and rejuvenated defensive line.
Montez Sweat and Grady Jarrett sat out, but edges Austin Booker and Dayo Odeyingbo and tackles Gervon Dexter Sr. and Kentavius Street lined up across the Browns’ ones, led by Watson.
But it was other defenders who made splash plays.
The Bears stalled the Browns’ first series when linebacker Devin Bush stuffed ex-teammate Quinshon Judkins for no gain on third-and-2. On the visitors’ second possession, linebacker D’Marco Jackson got in Watson’s face to force an incompletion.
Kromah had his first two sacks, preseason or otherwise.
“Just trusting my eyes, trusting my technique, my training,” he said. “Not just for training camp, but all the way back to OTAs and minicamp, all the offseason work I’ve been putting in. … Just trust what you’re doing and follow through with it.”
Bishop picked off Shedeur Sanders and Dillon Gabriel on consecutive series on the right side of the field from the quarterback’s perspective.
“They felt like it,” Bishop said when asked if the interceptions were identical. “It might have been the same call, too, which is crazy. But whenever you’re aggressive and things like that and you’ve got a good pass rush, the D-linemen can affect the throw.
“I think that’s what happened on both plays. Good pass rush and good coverage go hand-in-hand.”
5. Antwaan Randle El took on play-calling duties.
Last preseason, Ben shared play-calling duties with then-offensive coordinator Declan Doyle during a game against the Buffalo Bills. On Saturday, Randle El, the Bears assistant head coach/wide receivers coach, got the nod in the second half.
“If you noticed a difference in terms of offensive execution, and it looked better in the second half, that’s really because of Antwaan Randle El calling it there,” Bensaid. “I thought he did a phenomenal job with Case taking the reins and transitioning over to Miller (Moss). He was trying to stay in their wheelhouse.”
Ben said other assistants may be handed the reins during the rest of preseason.
“I think when you’re put in certain position rooms you get labeled one thing or another,” he said. “Here’s the thing about El, I think he’s got a chance to be an offensive coordinator in the league. I think he’s got a chance to be a head coach in this league. …
“I don’t know if he gets that type of credit around the league right now.”
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