What we learned in Bears’ weather-shortened 21-17 preseason-opening win vs. Texans

What we learned in Bears’ weather-shortened 21-17 preseason-opening win vs. Texans originally appeared on NBC Sports Chicago

With Caleb Williams and the starters watching from the sideline Thursday, the Bears opened their 2024 preseason slate with a sloppy 21-17 win against the Houston Texans at Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium in Canton, Ohio.

That’s expected in what is the ultimate exhibition game. These teams have had less than two weeks of training camp and used Thursday’s preseason opener to get an extended look at those battling for fringe roster spots.

Bears third-string quarterback Brett Rypien was crisp in relief of starter Tyson Bagent, going 11-for-15 for 166 yards and three touchdowns. Two of those scoring strikes went to wide receiver Collin Johnson.

On defense, the Bears’ backups had issues slowing down backup quarterbacks Davis Mills and Case Keenum but were able to do enough against Tim Boyle to earn the win in a game that was called with 3:31 left in the third quarter due to weather.

Here’s what we learned from the Bears’ 21-17 win over the Texans in Canton:

RB2 Battle Begins

The Bears brought in D’Andre Swift to headline their rushing attack, leaving second-year running back Roschon Johnson and Khalil Herbert to fight for the backup job.

Johnson and Herbert have split reps evenly in camp behind Swift, but one got more work than the other in the first half of Thursday’s game.

Johnson started the game with backup quarterback Tyson Bagent, which could signal that he has a leg up for the moment. During the opening series, Johnson rushed for 17 yards on four carries.

Herbert entered the game for the second series, showing great vision and burst while racking up 35 yards on four carries.

Johnson returned for the third and fourth series of the night but struggled to get going behind the Bears’ ever-shifting backup offensive line. He rushed for 24 yards on six carries.

Herbert did not re-enter the game after his lone series.

An interesting Velus-Scott decision

DJ…

Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/learned-bears-weather-shortened-21-025314019.html

Author : NBC Sports Chicago

Publish date : 2024-08-02 02:53:14

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