KANSAS CITY – With most of their starters watching from the sideline in street clothes, the Bears outplayed the Chiefs on both sides of the ball in Thursday night's preseason finale, defeating the two-time defending Super Bowl champions 34-21.
With the victory, the Bears finished the preseason a perfect 4-0.
"I thought the guys performed tonight like they performed throughout not only in the games, but in the practices," said coach Matt Eberflus. "I've always said 'you see in the games what you see in practice every single day out there.'
"The guys have really given tremendous effort. We finish a lot, finish down the field. And the reason we do that is because we're trying to get ourselves in mental and physical elite condition and we are not there yet. We're getting better, we're getting close. But that just shows you at the back end of the roster, the guys have bought into that and that was what you saw tonight."
The Bears took an early 7-0 lead on the game's opening possession as quarterback Tyson Bagent raced around right end for a 5-yard touchdown. The TD run capped a 7-play, 73-yard drive that was highlighted by Bagent's 44-yard pass to receiver Nsimba Webster. Bagent sprinted to his left and threw downfield to a wide-open Webster.
The Bears defense followed by stuffing back-to-back running plays, forcing the Chiefs to turn the ball over on downs. On third-and-1 from the Chicago 43, linebacker Amen Ogbongbemiga and nickel back Reddy Steward teamed up to stop running back Deneric Prince for no gain. Then on fourth-and-1, safety Tarvarius Moore rocketed up field and dropped Prince for a three-yard loss.
The Chiefs later had a chance to get on the board, but kicker Harrison Butker missed a 59-yard field goal attempt wide right.
Bagent exited the game after two possessions, having completed 3 of 6 passes for 57 yards and an 83.3 passer rating, though one of his incompletions was a drop.
The Bears increased their lead to 10-0 on Cairo Santos' 32-yard field goal early in the second quarter. The kick was set up by a pair of Brett Rypien 17-yard completions to Webster and receiver Tyler Scott.
After the Bears defense stopped the Chiefs, Matt Araiza's punt from the 50 bounced off the back of return specialist DeAndre Carter's leg and Kansas City's Jaden Hicks recovered it at the Chicago 9. Carter was shoved back into the ball by a Chiefs player.
Two plays later, Steward stepped in front of tight end Jared Wiley and intercepted a Chris Oladokun pass at the goal line, returning it 11 yards.
The Chiefs cut the deficit to 10-7 on fullback Carson Steele's 1-yard touchdown run midway through the second period. On the previous play, Steele broke three tackles on a 31-yard run that was initially ruled a TD, but the ball was placed at the 1 after a replay review showed he was tackled out of bounds short of the end zone.
The Bears then scored 10 points in a :21 span in the final minute of the second quarter to take a 20-7 halftime lead. First, Rypien's 37-yard completion to Scott down the left sideline set up Santos' 37-yard field goal with :43 remaining.
"We were expecting a lot of man coverage and so [I was] pressed up on that particular route," said Scott, who led the Bears with six catches for 99 yards. "I had a go [route]. I knew 'Ryp' was going to throw it to me, so just get open and [I] got an opportunity."
Steward followed with his second interception of the game, returning it 48 yards for a TD with :22 to play. The undrafted rookie from Troy stepped in front of receiver Mecole Hardman to pick off the pass from Oladokun, who was hit as he threw by safety Adrian Colbert.
Rypien was replaced by Austin Reed to start the second half after completing 9 of 13 passes for 106 yards and a 93.8 passer rating.
The Bears increased their lead to 27-7 on Reed's 6-yard touchdown pass to tight end Tommy Sweeney midway through the third quarter. The TD capped an 11-play, 92-yard drive that was highlighted by Scott's 20-yard reception and 17-yard run.
Reed completed 8 of 10 passes for 63 yards with one TD and a 126.2 passer rating.
Continuing his audition at running back, Velus Jones Jr. rushed for a game-high 111 yards and one touchdown on 13 carries. The third-year pro weaved his way through the Chiefs defense for a 39-yard TD late in the third quarter, widening the margin to 34-7.
"It was a toss," Jones said. "I know coach has been saying just keep your eyes open, look for any back cuts, so that's what I did. I feel like I slowed everything down. When I saw a gap, hit it full speed and let your natural abilities take over."
The Chiefs outscored the Bears 14-0 in the fourth quarter on Ian Book's TD passes of 7 yards to receiver Cornell Powell and 10 yards to tight end Baylor Cupp. But by then it was too little and too late.
After a day off Friday, the Bears will return to the practice field Saturday at Halas Hall. They must then trim their roster to 53 by 3 p.m. (CT) Tuesday in advance of their regular-season opener Sunday, Sept. 8 against the Titans at Soldier Field.
