The Bears offense started the preseason with offensive fireworks and ended it with a dud.
Playing behind a makeshift offensive line, Justin Fields went 2-for-6 for 51 yards and ran three times for 16 in a 24-21 loss to the Bills on Saturday at Soldier Field.
Fields played the first quarter plus one snap. He left after the first play of the second quarter, a third-and-10 screen pass to running back D’Onta Foreman. Fields was knocked down by Bills defensive tackle Ed Oliver on the play, went to the sideline and was replaced by rookie Tyson Bagent. Fields did not seem injured; he wasn’t treated by anyone on the Bears’ medical staff.
Perhaps the Bears had seen enough from their patchwork line.
Bagent, in an extended tryout to be the team’s second-stringer, didn’t have much more success than Fields. He went 7-for-14 for 43 yards, an interception and a 26.8 passer rating while playing the second and third quarters. He ran four times for 23 yards, including an 8-yard scramble for the Bears’ first touchdown.
The offense was unimpressive behind both quarterbacks. The Bears were averaging only four yards per play when P.J. Walker took over at the start of the fourth quarter.
Fields turned two of his three Game 1 passes into highlight-reel touchdowns. There were few to be found Saturday, save for wide receiver D.J. Moore breaking two tackles after catching a ball over the middle for a 40-yard gain.
Fields went three-and-out in his first two drives, totaling two yards. The first drive featured a drop by running back Khalil Herbert and a near-interception on a throw toward Moore.
Fields started the Bears’ third drive with an 13-yard scramble in which, rather than slide, he allowed himself to be tripped by up safety Taylor Rapp. When he found Moore over the middle for the long gain, center Doug Kramer hurt his right hand and left the game. He was later spotted with a cast over his hand and thumb.
He was replaced by Dieter Eiselen, who is the Bears’ fourth-string center, behind Cody Whitehair, Lucas Patrick and Kramer. Whitehair, who hurt his own hand last week in practice against the Colts, has been moved to left guard. Patrick remains hurt.
The Bears’ offensive line has been in flux all preseason. Saturday, left tackle Braxton Jones was the only lineman to start Saturday at the position where he began camp. Three starting linemen sat out altogether: right guard Nate Davis, who has finished two padded practices; right tackle Darnell Wright, the first-round pick who has an injured right ankle; and left guard Teven Jenkins, whose leg injury is likely to keep him out for the start of the season.
After the Bears spent a week saying their No. 2 quarterback job was an open competition between P.J. Walker and Bagent, they gave the rookie two quarters to prove himself. He was 4-for-10 with an 8.3 passer rating in the second quarter alone. Had one play gone differently, it would have looked a lot better. On first-and-10 from the 26, Bagent found tight end Stephen Carlson wide open in the end zone on a screen pass. Carlson dove, had the ball in both his hands — and dropped it. The stadium gasped. Bagent pogo-ed up and down.
On the next play, Bagent threw a pass right to Bills cornerback Ja’Marcus Ingram, who returned the interception 36 yards with 56 seconds left in the first half. The Bills kicked a field goal with 3 seconds to play to go up by seven.
The Bears had a short field after receiver Isaiah Ford blocked a punt at the Bills’ 28 with 2:28 to play. Walker found backup fullback Robert Burns for a five-yard touchdown pass — and then handed it to him for a two-yard, two-point conversion — to go down three with 1:58 left in the game. The Bills received and ran the clock out.
The Bears went 1-2 this preseason. They’ll start the regular season Sept. 10 against the rival Packers at Soldier Field.
