Bagent, Thomas steal the Bears' preseason finale
Tyson Bagent was nearly perfect and Zavion Thomas turned one snap into a highlight reel as Chicago closed the preseason 2-1 with a win over Tennessee.
One target turned into the best thing Bagent's ever done
Tyson Bagent completed 16 of 17 passes for 208 yards and two touchdowns Saturday night in Nashville, and the one incompletion barely counts against a 156.9 passer rating. "It obviously feels good to execute. This is my life's work," Bagent told reporters after the 24-15 win over the Titans, per the Chicago Sun-Times. He also called Zavion Thomas's opening play "the greatest start in NFL history" — a rookie fifth-round pick catching a slant on the game's first offensive snap from scrimmage and outrunning the Titans' secondary for a 97-yard touchdown. Ben Johnson, asked afterward about Thomas's speed, just smiled and said, "Four-two-eight. Great coaching," a reference to the receiver's pro-day 40 time, also via the Sun-Times.
Titans24-15
Bengals9-27
Browns34-10Thomas didn't stop there. He finished with five catches for 140 yards and the score, added a 39-yard punt return and a 22-yard kickoff return, and was the best player on the field for either team before halftime. He wasn't alone — Sam Roush caught one of two targets for 19 yards and Jahdae Walker turned his lone target into 12 — but Thomas is the name that has Bears fans buzzing two weeks out from a season opener that suddenly looks a little deeper at receiver than it did a month ago.
None of Chicago's real starters played a snap, which is the other half of the story. Caleb Williams watched from the sideline, and Johnson made clear why: "If I didn't feel good about him for Week 1, he probably would have played tonight." The Bears close the preseason at 2-1, with the loss at Cincinnati the one game that didn't go their way, and turn now to a roster that has to be cut in half by tonight.
Cutdown day brings the calls Ben Johnson couldn't put off any longer
Sunday is the deadline to get to 53, and Brad Biggs of the Chicago Tribune filed his early read on the roster crunch hours after the Titans win — including a hunch that Ozzy Trapilo, working back from injury, lands on injured reserve rather than active on offensive line depth, and an open question on what happens with Kyler Gordon, whose own timeline could push him to the reserve/PUP list rather than a straight roster spot. Both calls sit on top of an offensive and defensive line picture Johnson himself has said isn't as settled as he'd like this deep into camp.
Ahead of a busy Sunday, early 10 Thoughts on #Bears victory in preseason finale. 🏈"Fighting their tails off to get back out on the field." 🏈Ozzy Trapilo talks about the long road back. 🏈Kyler Gordon's situation? 🏈Roster projections & much more. t.co/6BZAASy6r1
The injury report clears in one spot and stays cloudy in others. Luther Burden III (groin) didn't suit up Saturday but was running full routes pregame, "maybe not 100% but he's running routes and getting in and out his breaks," per Biggs — a real sign for his Week 1 availability. Gervon Dexter Sr. (hamstring) and Austin Booker, week-to-week with a groin injury, both sat out the finale, also per Biggs. On the other side of the ball, Jaylon Johnson is dealing with an arm injury, according to Patrick Finley of the Chicago Sun-Times, adding a third banged-up piece to a secondary already replacing snaps.
The running back room is the other job still being sorted at the position group level: Salvon Ahmed rushed for 53 yards on eight carries and caught six passes for 69 yards across the preseason, including a 49-yard touchdown screen, enough that ESPN's Courtney Cronin has him projected to push incumbent Roschon Johnson off the 53. Whatever Chicago decides, it has to decide it today.
The real thing opens on the road, in Carolina
Chicago's actual season opener is Sunday afternoon in Carolina, against a Panthers team that closed its own preseason 3-1 with a 16-13 win over Houston. Carolina went 3-1 in exhibition play behind Bryce Young, and the Bears arrive at Bank of America Stadium as the reigning NFC North champions looking to open the regular season the way they'd like to finish it — on the road, favored, against a team building around a young quarterback of its own.
The line opened with Chicago favored by 2.5 points, and the total was set at 47.5 — a middling number for a Week 1 game between two teams that spent August still figuring out who they are. Nothing that happened in the preseason, good or bad, changes that this is the first game that counts.