5 big takeaways from Chicago Bears’ preseason win over Kansas City Chiefs

The preseason is in the books. The Chicago Bears beat the Kansas City Chiefs, 34-21, during their preseason finale Thursday night in Kansas City, Missouri.

Caleb Williams and the Bears’ starters didn’t play in the game and neither did any of the Chiefs’ starters. Instead, Bears backup Tyson Bagent took on the starting role for the Bears.

Head coach Matt Eberflus’ Bears finish the preseason with a perfect 4-0 record. The Bears will open the regular season on Sept. 8 against the Tennessee Titans at Soldier Field in Chicago.

Here are the major takeaways from Thursday’s preseason finale.

1. Quick night for Tyson Bagent

Bagent played only two possessions, the first of which was a 73-yard scoring drive capped by his own 5-yard touchdown run.

Bagent came into training camp as the clear No. 2 quarterback on this roster behind Williams. His preseason cemented his spot as the lead backup. Bagent threw two touchdowns last week against Cincinnati, then led the scoring drive to start Thursday’s game. The Bears turned it over on downs during Bagent’s second possession Thursday.

At that point, Eberflus determined that he’d seen enough of Bagent. The 24-year-old QB was 3-for-6 passing for 57 yards. That included a 44-yard pass to receiver Nsimba Webster on a rollout to his left. Bagent also ran for five yards with the diving touchdown effort.

Third-string QB Brett Rypien took over for the remainder of the first half. Undrafted rookie Austin Reed played a fair amount in the second half. Reed tossed a touchdown pass to tight end Tommy Sweeney in the third quarter.

2. Punt return is a question mark

The Bears appear to be nowhere near settled on who their punt returner is. Receiver DeAndre Carter had first crack at punt returns on Thursday, but his night was highlighted by a bad error.

Carter, who the Bears signed this summer to be a return specialist, let a first-half punt hit the ground inside the 10-yard line. Carter moved forward, ahead of where the ball was going to land, and engaged with Kansas City’s Cole Christiansen. Christiansen pushed Carter backward and Carter’s cleat hit the football – making it a live ball.

The Chiefs pounced on the football for a special teams takeaway. It was an unexpected error from a veteran punt returner.

The Bears have concluded their final preseason game and they still don’t appear to have a clear sense of who the punt return man is going to be come Week 1. Cornerback Josh Blackwell and receiver Dante Pettis appear to both be front-runners for the job, along with Carter and cornerback Greg Stroman.

3. Reddy Steward shines with 2 picks

Bears undrafted rookie cornerback Reddy Steward had himself a night. Steward had two interceptions, including a pick-six touchdown late in the first half.

The first one came just moments after Carter muffed the punt. The Chiefs took over inside the 10-yard line. On second-and-goal from the 3-yard line, Steward jumped in front of a Chiefs receiver and snagged an interception to pull back the momentum for the Bears.

Later, in the waning seconds of the first half, the Bears got good pressure on Chiefs quarterback Chris Oladokun and Steward stepped in front of receiver Mecole Hardman. It was an easy catch for Steward, who had nothing but green grass in front of him. He ran it back 48 yards for a touchdown.

Steward was a ballhawk in college at Troy. He totaled nine interceptions in 60 career college games.

4. Velus Jones runs for 39-yard touchdown

Undrafted rookie running back Ian Wheeler from Howard University saw a fair amount of action at running back in the first half. He and third-year pro Velus Jones Jr. have been sharing reps at the back end of the running back depth chart.

It felt notable that Wheeler saw a handful of carries before Jones, but it could also mean nothing. Wheeler finished his night with five yards on five carries.

In the second half, Jones took on the star role at running back. Jones, who recently switched from wide receiver to running back, took a pitch from Reed and hit an open hole with a burst of speed. He cut back across the middle of the field and blew past the entire Chiefs defense for a 39-yard touchdown.

Jones ended his night with 111 yards and a touchdown on 13 carries.

5. Injury updates

Bears tackle Larry Borom exited the game in the first quarter with an apparent leg injury. Borom needed to be carted off the field. With the starters sitting out, Borom was the starting left tackle on Thursday.

Borom is one of the few remaining players on the roster who was drafted by the previous front office. The 6-foot-5, 333-pound tackle is likely to be the Bears’ top backup tackle when healthy. He has appeared in 39 career games and started 23 games over his first three NFL seasons. Losing Borom could be a blow for the Bears’ depth on the offensive line.

Just after halftime, Bears safety Douglas Coleman needed to be taken off the field on a stretcher. The entire Bears team walked out to the far side of the field as Coleman was taken off the field. Coleman appeared to be responsive with the medical staff as he was taken away on the stretcher.