Bears notes: Here’s what Justin Fields, Chicago Bears’ offense looked like in preseason victory over Chiefs

CHICAGO – All in all, Bears quarterback Justin Fields and the first-team offense played 18 snaps of football during Saturday’s preseason win, 19-14, over the Kansas City Chiefs at Soldier Field.

The results for the offense were mixed. Fields picked up four first downs on three possessions, but failed to put any points on the board. The offense played without several significant contributors: tight end Cole Kmet, running back David Montgomery and veteran tackle Riley Reiff, as well as receivers in Byron Pringle and Velus Jones Jr.

Fields finished his day 4-for-7 passing for 48 yards with no touchdowns and no interceptions. He ran for 10 yards on one carry. The Bears were 2-for-5 on third down when Fields was in the game, and both conversions came on highlight-reel catches from receivers Darnell Mooney and Tajae Sharpe.

Mooney caught a beautiful deep ball from Fields on a third-and-4 from their own 31-yard line. Mooney made a leaping grab for a 26-yard gain.

“I just had one-on-one coverage with my guy,” Mooney said. “I just had to beat my guy and [Fields] just placed the ball up in a good spot. It was just me. I was the only one who can catch it.”

Mooney said his catch came on the same exact play they ran earlier this week when Mooney made a one-handed catch in practice.

Mooney felt that Sharpe’s catch was more impressive than his. Sharpe’s moment came late in the first quarter, with the Bears facing a third-and-9 at their own 8-yard line. He made a tough grab along the sideline and kept his feet in bounds.

For Sharpe, a 27-year-old receiver fighting for a spot on the roster, a catch like that could be huge. The prolonged absences of Pringle and Jones have allowed Sharpe to take more reps with the first-team offense.

“Any time you go out there, be able to step out on the field, you want to go out there and make plays for your team,” Sharpe said. “We just want to continue to keep building.”

With Montgomery sitting out with an undisclosed injury, running back Khalil Herbert handled most of the carries for the first-team offense. Herbert ran for 20 yards on seven carries.

Meanwhile, the Chiefs first-team offense appeared to be in mid-season form. Quarterback Patrick Mahomes played one possession, and led the offense 72 yards on 11 plays for a touchdown. Mahomes connected with tight end Blake Bell for a 5-yard touchdown. The Chiefs converted twice on third down during the drive. The Bears’ defense played without defensive end Robert Quinn and cornerbacks Kyler Gordon and Kindle Vildor.

The Bears rebounded in the second half and capitalized off two touchdown passes from backup quarterback Trevor Siemian to win the game. Rookie running back Trestan Ebner and second-year receiver Dazz Newsome caught touchdown passes.

Roquan update: Linebacker Roquan Smith did not suit up for Saturday’s game, but he did work out on the field prior to kickoff. Nothing has changed with Smith’s status. He continues to sit out practice as he awaits a new contract.

The collective bargaining agreement between the NFL and the NFL Players Association appears to give the Bears the ability to fine Smith a regular season game paycheck – which for him is about $500,000 – for skipping a preseason game.

The CBA states that a player in the fifth-year option of his rookie contract, such as Smith, can be fined for “any unexcused late reporting to or absence from” training camp and preseason games. It does not specify if that applies to a player who is present but who refuses to play.

Brisker, Sanborn shine: Rookies Jaquan Brisker and Jack Sanborn had the best days defensively.

Sanborn, a Lake Zurich native who went undrafted out of Wisconsin, picked off a pass from Chiefs third-string QB Shane Buechele in the second half. Sanborn also recovered fumble and totaled five tackles.

“[Chiefs tight end Jordan Franks] just so happened to stop in front and he made a decent break,” Sanborn said. “I was able to box him out and ended up catching it.”

Sanborn said he had yet to answer any of the countless text messages he received from friends and family.

Brisker, a second-round pick out of Penn State, had four tackles, one tackle for loss and one pass defended. He had one particularly nice drive where he had a pair of tackles and nearly picked off a Buechele pass.

Field conditions lacking: The grass at Soldier Field was still in rough shape following last weekend’s Elton John concert.

It was bad enough that NFLPA president JC Tretter weighed in on Twitter.

“We clearly need to re-evaluate what is an acceptable surface for players to compete on,” Tretter wrote.

Fields noted that the grass was in better shape than it was Tuesday, when the Bears held their family fest practice at Soldier Field, but said it “could definitely be better.”