NFL

Chicago Bears at Buffalo Bills

· National Football League
2-0, 1-0 Away
Final
33 - 6
0-1, 0-1 Home

QB Caleb Williams oversees 2 field-goal drives in preseason debut, and Bears rout Bills 33-6

After all, it had been nearly nine months since the rookie No. 1 draft pick handled a snap in a competitive setting.

“Last time I was out there on a field other than practice was November 18th,” Williams said, referring to Southern California’s regular season-ending 38-20 loss to UCLA, before he sat out playing in the Holiday Bowl. “You go that long without something, it’s tough. But no, it’s been great. The guys made it fun. They made it easy on me.”

His Bears teammates could say the same about Williams, who showed awareness and poise in the pocket, hit receivers on the run, and displayed his dual-threat ability by scrambling 13 yards for a first down on third-and-9.

“It was great. Everybody was open today,” receiver DJ Moore said. “Yeah, it gives you hell of a confidence going into the season.”

The 22-year-old Williams went 4 of 7 for 95 yards in overseeing two drives that ended with field goals. Though he wasn’t perfect — Williams was late in nearly throwing an interception on a play wiped out by a Bills defensive penalty away from the ball — the quarterback headed an offense that gained a combined 152 yards and seven first downs on 20 plays over two possessions.

The game was decided a minute into the fourth quarter when Bears linebacker Micah Baskerville intercepted Shane Buechele’s pass and returned it 53 yards for a touchdown to put Chicago up 19-6. Velus Jones scored on a 4-yard run in the third quarter, and Ian Wheeler scored on runs from 7 and 8 yards in the final six minutes.

For Buffalo, Josh Allen went 2 for 3 for 22 yards, and also had a 7-yard run while playing the first quarter of the Bills' preseason opener. Though the Bills had the ball, Allen gave way to backup Mitch Trubisky to open the second quarter on a drive that ended with Tyler Bass making a 24-yard field goal to cut Chicago’s lead to 6-3.

Bills coach Sean McDermott wasn’t pleased with an outing in which the four-time defending AFC East champions allowed 340 yards and gained just 200, while crossing midfield twice on 11 possessions.

“Our standard was not out there today. That’s not how we play,” McDermott said. “If you had a blood pressure cuff on me during that game, it probably would have exploded.”

The coach had calmed down enough following the game to credit Bass for also hitting a 49-yard field goal. McDermott also said Buffalo came out of the game injury free.

For the Bears, Williams was the focus after he and the starters were held out of their preseason-opening and storm-shortened 21-17 win over Housto n in the Hall of Fame Game on Aug. 1.

Already in line to become the Bears’ second rookie quarterback since the NFL merger in 1970 to start a season, Williams showed no signs of having issues with his cadence or getting in and out of the huddle efficiently as he experienced at times during training camp.

Williams showed zip and accuracy on his first attempt by completing a 12-yard pass to a tightly covered Moore to convert third and 12. His longest completion was a 42-yarder off a screen pass over the middle to running back D’Andre Swift. Cole Kmet in which the quarterback faked a handoff left, rolled to his right and, on the run, hit the tight end along the sideline.

Chicago’s opening drive stalled at Buffalo’s 12 following three straight runs, and the Bears settled for Cairo Santos’ 30-yard field goal. The second drive ended at Buffalo’s 15, after Williams was under pressure and overthrew fellow rookie Rome Odunze in the right corner of the end zone.

“There’s certainly positivity there, and we’re not going to squash that,” Bears coach Matt Eberflus said of Williams’ debut, while stressing the quarterback and the team need to build on this.

Williams was in agreement.

“To get out there and have the confidence that we had out there, it’s only going to get better. And we can’t wait,” Williams said.

Up Next

Bears: Host the Cincinnati Bengals on Saturday, Aug. 17.

Bills: At the Pittsburgh Steelers on Saturday, Aug. 17.

How can I watch Bears vs. Bills?

  • TV Channel: Bears at Bills 2021-22 NFL, week 2 is broadcasted nationally on NFL Net and NFL+.
  • Online streaming: Sign up for Fubo.
    In Canada, viewers can watch Bears vs. Bills on DAZN.

Scoring Summary

CHI FG 1st Period 10:03 Cairo Santos 30 Yd Field Goal
CHI FG 1st Period 2:13 Cairo Santos 31 Yd Field Goal
BUF FG 2nd Period 9:15 Tyler Bass 24 Yd Field Goal
CHI TD 3rd Period 7:46 Velus Jones Jr. 4 Yd Run (Cairo Santos Kick)
BUF FG 3rd Period 2:54 Tyler Bass 49 Yd Field Goal
CHI TD 4th Period 14:08 Micah Baskerville 53 Yd Interception Return (Cairo Santos PAT failed)
CHI TD 4th Period 6:03 Ian Wheeler 7 Yd Run (Cairo Santos Kick)
CHI TD 4th Period 2:24 Ian Wheeler 8 Yd Run (Cairo Santos Kick)

Statistics

https://a.espncdn.com/combiner/i?img=/i/teamlogos/nfl/500/chi.png&h=100&scale=crop&w=100&location=originCHI https://a.espncdn.com/combiner/i?img=/i/teamlogos/nfl/500/buf.png&h=100&scale=crop&w=100&location=originBUF
19 1st Downs 13
8 Passing 1st downs 9
9 Rushing 1st downs 3
2 1st downs from penalties 1
3-9 3rd down efficiency 6-17
0-0 4th down efficiency 1-2
52 Total Plays 65
340 Total Yards 200
6.5 Yards per Play 3.1
10 Total Drives 11
199 Passing 123
12/21 Comp/Att 18/31
9.0 Yards per pass 3.2
0 Interceptions thrown 1
1-3 Sacks-Yards Lost 8-34
141 Rushing 77
30 Rushing Attempts 26
4.7 Yards per rush 3.0
3-5 Red Zone (Made-Att) 0-2
8-55 Penalties 11-75
0 Turnovers 1
0 Fumbles lost 0
0 Interceptions thrown 1
1 Defensive / Special Teams TDs 0
27:52 Possession 32:08

Game Information

Highmark Stadium

Location: Orchard Park, NY
Attendance: 69,126 · Capacity:

2024 NFC North Standings

TEAM W L PCT T PF PA
Detroit 13 2 .867 0 493 299
Minnesota 13 2 .867 0 396 276
Green Bay 11 4 .733 0 413 287
Chicago 4 11 .267 0 283 342

2024 AFC East Standings

TEAM W L PCT T PF PA
Buffalo 12 3 .800 0 469 331
Miami 7 8 .467 0 305 329
New York 4 11 .267 0 292 344
New England 3 12 .200 0 259 361
Full Standings

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