Bears preseason takeaways: Ben Johnson nails clock management; backup QBs show poise

New York Times

11 hours ago

CHICAGO — The result of the Chicago Bears' preseason opener matched the message head coach Ben Johnson gave his team: Preseason games don't count, but they matter, he said.
The Bears and Miami Dolphins finished in a 24-24 tie on a hot — the on-field real feel temperature reached triple digits — Sunday afternoon at Soldier Field. It was the Bears' first preseason tie in 52 years.
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With nearly every starter on both sides of the ball on the sideline and in street clothes, we weren't going to learn much that will matter for the season opener in four weeks against the Minnesota Vikings, but Johnson, general manager Ryan Poles and the rest of the staff still have plenty to evaluate. Here are my five top takeaways from Sunday's game:
The end of the first half provided Johnson with an opportunity to get some experience managing the clock. With 1:57 left, Johnson used his first timeout on defense following a Dolphins first down. Miami scored on the ensuing play, giving backup quarterback Tyson Bagent and the offense 1:40 to play with.
Bagent's two-minute drill lasted seven plays and ended with an interception. Normally, the offense wouldn't get the ball back, but the Dolphins ended up going four-and-out while using only 21 seconds. The Bears got the ball back at their own 48-yard line with just six seconds left on the clock.
If you're wondering how much can be accomplished in six seconds, that's how much time was on the clock when QB Jayden Daniels got the Washington Commanders 13 yards closer to the end zone before his Week 8 Hail Mary.
Bagent threw it to rookie receiver Luther Burden underneath, and the rookie got out of bounds with one second left, enough time for Cairo Santos to drill a 57-yard field goal — more on him in a bit.
Cairo Santos drills it from 57 yards out to end the first half 🫡
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'I knew I could get the ball and get out of bounds and get some points before going into half,' Burden said. 'Shoot, it was a big three points we needed.'
'Heads-up play by him,' Bagent added. 'Got him in the ball in space; he's able to race out of there, get out of bounds with one second to go. You got to see how much stronger Cairo got in the offseason. That was huge.'
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The clock at Soldier Field read triple zeroes at first, before referee Scott Novak added one second to the clock, enough time for Santos to drill the field goal. The result meant Johnson succeeded at his first chance to use the clock to the team's advantage. Clock management would be a closely monitored part of any new head coach's first few games, but especially in Chicago.
'You always talk about how you end halftime; you want to end with the ball and by scoring points,' Johnson said. 'That was really well done by the whole group.'
Back-to-back punts weren't what anyone on the Bears' sideline wanted to see Sunday, but then Bagent got going, leading a 9:33 touchdown drive — the Bears haven't had a drive that long in the regular season since Week 1 of 2021.
'The only un-fun part was the start we had,' Bagent said.
The second quarter was more fruitful for Bagent. He finished 13-of-19 for 103 yards with a fourth-down touchdown pass to Maurice Alexander, who high-pointed the ball in the back of the end zone and got both feet down.
Maurice Alexander with the toe tap TD 😮‍💨
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'Had a race route back line. First in the progression was the speed out by the tight end,' Bagent said. 'Kinda saw the safety react to it just enough for (Alexander) to squeeze in behind him, and then I really couldn't see the rest. I just kinda put it high where only he could get it. I can't take any credit for whatever happened after that. It was a helluva catch.'
Alexander spent the past few seasons in Detroit, so he's comfortable with Johnson and the scheme.
'No. 1 wasn't there, so Tyson got to No. 2 and gave him a chance, and he climbed the ladder, got both feet in-bounds,' Johnson said. 'Huge play for us there.'
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Case Keenum took over after halftime and threw two touchdown passes, including a pretty anticipation throw that dropped into the arms of undrafted rookie Jahdae Walker.
'I really trust Jahdae in the short time I've gotten to know him,' Keenum said. 'I thought he played really well today. He got a great release off the line, and I've just gotta give him a chance.'
.@casekeenum drops it in the bucket to @dae2walker 🪣
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Keenum, entering his 12th NFL season, was impressed with how Bagent managed a shaky start to the game.
'I really liked how he responded to not the start that we wanted, whether it was a high pass here or getting backed up or protection issue, whatever it was, there are a lot of things that go on in a football game,' Keenum said. '… He responded. He stayed the course. He wasn't freaking out. He just stayed the course, and that was really good.'
It's only preseason, of course, and the QBs' success came against backups, but Bagent and Keenum's performances still had to make Johnson feel at ease about the guys behind starter Caleb Williams.
'Both of those guys operated at a high level,' he said. 'We've been having some ups and downs over the course of camp, just operation, pre-snap penalties, all that. We weren't 100 percent, but we were pretty smooth. There were things thrown at us over the course of the game — Cover 0 or they're playing base vs. 11 (personnel) — things are changing pretty quickly there, and yet they were able to stay calm and composed and make sure we were organized and gave us a chance to have a good play.'
While the four starting offensive linemen, top three receivers, tight end and running back, as well as QB Caleb Williams all sat out, the Week 1 starting left tackle did play Sunday. We just don't know who that will be yet.
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Braxton Jones got the start and played most of the first half before second-round rookie Ozzy Trapilo replaced him for the final two drives of the half. Trapilo then played two series in the third quarter before Theo Benedet took over. Then Trapilo came back late in the fourth quarter when Austin Reed came in at quarterback.
On Bagent's touchdown to Alexander, Jones surrendered a pressure; Trapilo might have as well on his first snaps. We'll see what the film tells the coaches about how they want to proceed during Bills week. We'll also find out soon if Kiran Amegadjie has enough time to reenter the competition if he can get healthy, but he has lost a week of reps.
Keenum felt good having Trapilo protecting his blind side in the second half.
'Sometimes, at the end of preseason games, there are guys who have been hurt or pulled, and guys are playing different positions. But having Ozzy, I literally looked at him and was like, left side, it gave me a good sense. That's a good feeling as a quarterback, when you have a left tackle you feel really good about.'
Santos enters the 2025 season needing three field goals from 50 yards out or longer to pass Robbie Gould for the franchise record in 50-plus-yard field goals. He set the single-season mark last year with eight.
Despite that, there's long been a question about whether Santos has a big enough leg. Despite the success from 50 yards out last season, his career-long in the regular season is 55 yards. He infamously had a 46-yard kick blocked against the Green Bay Packers last season.
'That was pretty strong,' Johnson said of Santo's 53-yarder Sunday. 'I was joking with him that we probably didn't even need that many yards. We could've kicked it from backed up the way he nailed that thing.'
After one half, defensive end Austin Booker is the league leader in sacks this preseason. He tallied three, along with four QB hits, including a strip-sack that led to a touchdown.
Have a day, @austinbookerr 🔥
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Last preseason, Booker delivered 2.5 sacks, but that didn't translate into regular-season production. He put on eight pounds this offseason and said he's being more consistent this year. On his strip sack, Booker used his length to his advantage.
'Hit a long arm, he fell, and I kept rushing,' he said. 'He decided not to throw away, so I gave it another two steps and reached out for the ball.'
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Booker is competing with Dominique Robinson and Tanoh Kpassagnon for the No. 3 defensive end role.
'He was a factor for the entire game. He was a menace. You really feed off that,' Johnson said. '… That's obviously a huge thing as far as ending drives, but the offense, who's sitting on the sidelines, they see that, and they feel that, and that momentum carries over to the other side of the ball as well, that we look to capitalize on. We're always looking to pick each other up, and you could certainly feel his impact on the game.'
• Williams got in 70 pre-game throws with wide receivers DJ Moore, Rome Odunze and Olamide Zaccheaus, tight end Cole Kmet and running back D'Andre Swift.
'There is no substitute for real live bullets, I get that,' Johnson said, 'but at the same time, when you can accumulate 70-plus reps in a day, that's pretty good. That goes a long way in terms of where you want to go with the connection with the quarterback and his pass catchers.'
• Third-year linebacker Noah Sewell continued his push for the starting 'Sam' linebacker spot with a forced fumble and a big-time tackle for loss on fourth-and-goal.
• Safety Alex Cook, defensive end Dominique Robinson and defensive tackle Zacch Pickens each recorded a sack. Linebacker Power Echols recovered the fumble Booker forced.
• Five Bears suffered injuries in the game: linebacker Amen Ogbongbemiga (shoulder), safety Major Burns (knee), running back Travis Homer (calf), Luke Newman (concussion) and cornerback Terell Smith (groin).
(Photo of Tyson Bagent: David Banks / Imagn Images)
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