Final score: Bears beat Chiefs 19-14 as Chicago backups top Kansas City’s strong start

In the three total drives that the Kansas City Chiefs’ primary starters took the field in Saturday’s preseason game against the Chicago Bears, they dominated. They scored one touchdown, while forcing the Bears’ offense into two punts. The 14-0 halftime lead didn’t hold — but even in the 19-14 loss, the first-team Chiefs started the 2022 campaign on a strong note.

After one drive, quarterback Patrick Mahomes finished with 60 passing yards and a touchdown on 6/7 passing; a 142 passer rating. Third-string signal-caller Shane Buechele went 12/19 passing, with 99 yards, one score and an interception. Wide receiver Justin Watson led the receiving corps with 45 yards and a score. Defensive linemen Chris Jones and George Karlaftis highlighted their side of the ball with a sack each.

The Bears started with the ball at their own 34-yard line after a good kick return. The Chiefs made it a quick possession, however. Safety Justin Reid flew in to make a tackle in the flat on first down, linebacker Willie Gay Jr. shot a gap to stop a run on second down, then defensive tackle Chris Jones finished it off with a dominant sack to force the punt.

Kansas City’s offense took over and started with an 11-yard completion to fullback Michael Burton from play-action. A few plays later, Burton converted a third down on a fullback dive. On second down, Mahomes found tight end Travis Kelce for 19 yards to get just outside of the red zone. An 11-yard completion to wide receiver Marquez Valdes-Scantling got them closer — and then tight end Blake Bell capped the drive off with a touchdown on a screen pass.

The first-team defense remained on the field to defend the 7-0 lead, quickly forcing the Bears into third-and-4. Cornerback L’Jarius Sneed had a chance to break up a pass down the field, but Bears’ receiver Darnell Mooney made the leaping catch to gain 26 yards and a first down. The Chiefs forced a punt quickly after that, highlighted by defensive tackle Tershawn Wharton batting down a pass.

The starting offensive line was the only part of the first-team lineup still on the field as they took possession. Backup quarterback Chad Henne found wide receiver Justin Watson to earn one first down, but then couldn’t get past the sticks again. The Chiefs punted away.

With most of the starters off the field, the defense kept the ball rolling, forcing a third-and-9. Rookie cornerback Joshua Williams held tight coverage deep down the sideline, but the ball somehow squeezed past him to became complete. Soon after, a third-down play by defensive tackle Taylor Stallworth forced a punt.

Third-string quarterback Shane Buechele then entered the game next, but he couldn’t move the sticks. The backup offensive linemen weren’t much help — either to him or running back Ronald Jones.

As the Bears took over, the Chiefs’ defensive line stood out. Defensive tackle Tershawn Wharton flew off the line for a quarterback hit on first down, then Khalen Saunders burst through for a four-yard loss on the next play. On the ensuing third down, rookie defensive end George Karlaftis finished the drive off with a sack.

The Chiefs’ next drive ended with a quick punt. But it was highlighted by a tough catch over the middle by rookie wide receiver Skyy Moore. converting a third down while taking a big hit.

As the second quarter wound down, the Bears started their possession hot with two big plays — the latter being a 27-yard run that exploited a missed tackle attempt by rookie cornerback Jaylen Watson. However, the Chiefs’ defense locked down and forced a punt soon after.

With three minutes remaining, Buechele started to orchestrate a two-minute drill. He leaned on wide receivers Justin Watson and Daurice Fountain to convert two third downs, then once again found Watson to cap off the drive with a 22-yard score. The score was 14-0 with less than 30 seconds remaining in the half.

After halftime, the Chiefs started with the ball — getting into third-and-10 after a sideline catch by wide receiver Josh Gordon was overturned. Then on the conversion attempt, Buechele threw an interception.

With the Bears in Chiefs’ territory, the drive started with a tackle at the line of scrimmage by rookie linebacker Leo Chenal. Chicago converted one third down, then another — the latter resulting in a 12-yard touchdown. Safety Deon Bush was beaten in coverage by the running back, making the score 14-6 after a stuffed run on the two-point conversion attempt.

The Chiefs’ next series started with a missed block in pass protection, leading to a 12-yard sack on Buechele. The drive couldn’t get going from there, capped by a punt two plays later.

The Bears’ offense was brought to a fourth-and-2 right off the bat — but converted situation with a 25-yard pass down the field. It got them in the red zone, where another deep pass was completed — this time for a touchdown, with safety Devon Key in chase. That brought the game to 14-13, still in the Chiefs’ favor.

Quarterback Dustin Crum entered the game for Kansas City as their fourth quarterback. Two plays into the Chiefs’ ensuing drive, running back Derrick Gore fumbled, turning the ball over to the Bears.

Chicago took advantage of the turnover, kicking a field goal a few plays later to take a 16-14 lead.

With time winding down in the third quarter, quarterback Dustin Crum converted a third-and-9 with his legs by avoiding a cluttered pocket and powering over the sticks — but the Chiefs couldn’t get anything else. Gordon almost made a sideline catch but couldn’t get both feet in-bounds, so the Chiefs punted away.

The Bears started their drive with a nice completion, but the next play resulted in a sack by blitzing safety Nasir Greer. That took the game into the fourth quarter.

A sack between defensive linemen Taylor Stallworth and Malik Herring was followed by a near interception by cornerback Brandon Dandridge. Those two plays led to another punt.

The Chiefs followed that with a quick three-and-out. The Bears followed that up by looking to have a three-and-out of their own — but they converted the third-and-10 with a 15-yard completion. Another chunk play got them into field goal range, where they converted the kick to extend their lead to 19-14.

With six minutes left in the game, Crum was sacked on first down — and couldn’t get anything going after that. The Chiefs quickly got the ball back, but failed to get into Chicago territory to threaten to score again. A fourth-down sack ended their final opportunity.

Injuries

Tight end Blake Bell came up limping with a hip injury after a play in the first quarter; later, the team announced he would not return.

Running back Derrick Gore exited the game with a neck injury in the third quarter, quickly marked as questionable to return.

Special teams

Rookie cornerback Trent McDuffie returned the first punt of the day for 11 yards. Rookie wide receiver Skyy Moore was up for the second and fair-caught it, then returned another for 12 yards. Wide receivers Corey Coleman and Omar Bayless each returned a punt for no gain.

Rookie running back Isiah Pacheco returned the opening kickoff of the second half 34 yards. Moore had a 27-yard return in the third quarter, while Corey Coleman had two returns. Rookie Jerrion Ealy took the last kick return of the game for 18 yards.

Safety (and now, apparently, backup kicker) Justin Reid converted an extra-point attempt after the team’s second touchdown. Starting kicker Harrison Butker converted his only point-after attempt.

Punter Tommy Townsend had seven opportunities to punt — averaging 44 yards on each, with three landing inside the 20-yard line.

Statistics