Tag: Chicago Bears vs. Buffalo Bills

5 Bills to watch on Christmas Eve vs. the Bears

Here are five Bills players we’ll be keeping an eye on this weekend against the Bears.

The Chicago Bears are getting their fill of elite competition this holiday season. Last weekend, they faced off the NFC’s best in the Philadelphia Eagles. This week, it’s the AFC-best Buffalo Bills in a game that could feature frigid temperatures and snowy conditions.

Not only will the Bears (3-11) need to battle the elements, but they have to contend with a loaded Bills (11-3) roster that is looking to hold onto the top seed in the AFC. Like the Eagles, they’re dangerous on both offense and defense and are well coached in all phases of the game.

Here are five Bills players we’ll be watching on Saturday when they face the Bears.

Bears designate RB Khalil Herbert to return from IR

Bears RB Khalil Herbert returns to practice this week and is expected to be active against the Buffalo Bills on Saturday.

Reinforcements are on the way for the Chicago Bears offense. The Bears designated running back Khalil Herbert to return from injured reserve on Tuesday. Herbert can begin practicing with the team, but still remains on injured reserve until he’s officially activated. The second-year running back has missed the last four games due to a hip injury he suffered in the 31-30 loss against the Detroit Lions in November.

Prior to his injury, Herbert was the Bears’ most effective running back on the NFL’s best rushing team. He had 108 carries for 643 yards with four rushing touchdowns and one receiving touchdown in 10 games. Herbert is averaging 6.0 yards per carry.

Head coach Matt Eberflus said on Monday he expects Herbert to be active for this week’s game against the Buffalo Bills.

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Can we expect to see more of Bears rookie Justin Fields in Week 2?

Matt Nagy didn’t confirm whether we’ll see more of rookie Justin Fields in Week 2, but how could the Bears not continue to utilize him?

Rookie quarterback Justin Fields made his Bears debut on the fourth play of Sunday night’s loss to the Rams, where he completed a 9-yard pass to wide receiver Marquise Goodwin before jogging to the sideline.

Two plays later, starting quarterback Andy Dalton tossed an ill-advised interception in the end zone to halt a potential game-opening scoring drive.

While Fields didn’t see the field in any sort of starting capacity, Bears fans did get a quick glimpse at their hopeful franchise savior in five plays. Fields didn’t light the world on fire, but he did show what he brings to the table that Dalton doesn’t, which included his mobility on a three-yard touchdown run late in the third quarter that brought the Bears to within six points and explosiveness on offense.

Matt Nagy better get used to fielding questions about Fields’ usage in games until he’s inevitably named the starter. During his Monday press conference, Nagy was asked if we could see more of Fields against the Bengals on Sunday.

“I don’t know. We’ll see. I think he did a good job while he was in there,” Nagy said with a smile.

While Nagy’s answer alluded to nothing — did we really expect him to give an actual answer — it was easy to read between the lines that we should expect to see more of Fields when the Bears host the Bengals in Week 2. And hopefully it’s for more than just five snaps.

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Bears stock watch: Who’s up, who’s down following preseason loss to Bills

Here’s a look at which Bears players are trending up or down following Saturday’s preseason game against the Bills.

The Chicago Bears dropped a disappointing 41-15 loss to the Buffalo Bills in their second preseason, which gave us a glimpse at a few concerns facing this team moving forward.

There were players who impressed and some who disappointed, which could ultimately be the difference between winning losing a roster spot. With the second roster cut deadline coming Tuesday, there’s still one more preseason game players to continue making a case for a roster spot or perhaps find themselves on the outside looking in.

Here’s a look at which players are trending up or down following Saturday’s preseason game against the Bills:

8 standouts from Bears’ preseason loss vs. Bills

Following Chicago’s preseason loss to Buffalo, here are nine Bears who made a positive impression in Week 2.

The Chicago Bears were dealt a 41-15 defeat by the Buffalo Bills in their second preseason game, where there were certainly concerns raised by Chicago’s performance.

While that’s the case, there were also a handful of players who had impressive outings against the Bills, including some familiar names and some under-the-radar players.

Following Chicago’s preseason loss to Buffalo, here are nine Bears who made a positive impression in Week 2.

WATCH: Bears’ Justin Fields is just fine following vicious hit vs. Bills

Bears QB Justin Fields took a brutal helmet hit vs. Bills. Afterward, he laughed it off: “I’m alive. I got smacked though.”

Bears rookie quarterback Justin Fields got his “welcome to the NFL” moment Saturday when he took a vicious hit to the helmet from Bills linebacker Andre Smith — which was flagged as roughing the passer — which sent Fields’ helmet flying 15 yards.

For a few second, Bears fans held their collective breath before Fields shook it off like it was nothing and continued playing. Still, it was the very thing you don’t want to see with your quarterback of the future.

“It didn’t really hurt, to be honest with you,” Fields told reporters after the game. “I think the one thing that hurt was my helmet coming off and hitting me in the eye. But the actual hit, it wasn’t that crazy.”

Following the game, Fields’ friend Simeon Kelley shared a video of the pair laughing off the vicious hit Fields took.

“I’m alive,” Fields says with a laugh. “I got smacked though. Still going, still going.”

Fields might be fine, but I think it’s safe to say the Bears don’t want to see him taking any more licks like that.

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Bears roster bubble: Which players helped or hurt their cause in Week 2

Following the Bears’ Week 2 preseason loss, here’s a look at which roster-bubble players impressed and disappointed vs. Bills.

The Chicago Bears suffered a 41-15 blowout loss to the Buffalo Bills during Week 2 of the preseason, where there were plenty of players who stood out — either in a good way or bad way.

With the second roster cuts set for Tuesday — where GM Ryan Pace will have to trim the roster from 85 to 80 — there were a handful of players who helped their chances of competing for a spot on the 53-man roster with strong preseason outings against the Bills. And there were others who might’ve hurt their chances.

Following Chicago’s Week 2 preseason loss, here’s a look at which roster-bubble players helped or hurt their cause in Week 2.

6 takeaways from Bears’ preseason loss to the Bills

From Justin Fields earning reps with starters to concerns on defense and special teams, here’s our takeaways from the Bears’ loss to Bills.

For much of Saturday afternoon, the Chicago Bears played uninspiring football in their 41-15 preseason loss to the Buffalo Bills. The starting offense struggled to get anything going, sans one big play from quarterback Andy Dalton. Meanwhile, Bills quarterback Mitchell Trubisky got the revenge he was seeking against the Bears defense, putting on a show for his former team as he got the start for Buffalo.

The second half was better for both sides of the ball as rookie quarterback Justin Fields looked great in sports with his arm and his legs, but also struggled due to the lack of protection on the offensive line. The defense, meanwhile, was able to create a few turnovers against the Buffalo reserves after getting gashed in the first half.

All in all, though, it wasn’t a pretty day on the lakefront and with just one preseason game left, the Bears have a lot of questions to answer in a short amount of time. Here are my takeaways from Saturday’s preseason game.

Bears’ Justin Fields clarifies his ‘the game was kind of slow to me’ comment

Justin Fields explained how going against the Bears’ starting defense helped slow the game down for him.

Following last week’s preseason opener, Bears rookie quarterback Justin Fields was asked about adjusting to the speed of the NFL game.

“It was actually kind of slow to me,” he said, explaining that’s because he’s used to practicing against the Bears’ starting defense.

Fields’ remarks — specifically the “it was actually kind of slow to me” — was a hot topic of discussion throughout the week, where he was the subject of criticism and warned that the game will indeed speed up.

So, following Chicago’s 41-15 preseason loss to Buffalo, Fields took a moment to clarify his comments, specifically how practicing against the Bears’ first-team defense helps slow things down.

“Let me tidy that up because that came out totally wrong…Apparently the narrative was that, I’m just that good that the game is too slow. What I meant to say was, I go up against our first-team defense a lot throughout the week, so me going against them and playing these preseason games when starters aren’t in, that’s going to slow the game down for me. Again, I wanted to clear that up because I don’t want to come off as cocky or act like I already made it because I know I’ve got a lot of work to do and get better at.”

Fields had his “welcome to the NFL” moment in Saturday’s game, when he took a brutal hit to the helmet from Bills linebacker Andre Smith — which was flagged as roughing the passer — which knocked Fields’ helmet off.

Fields merely shook it off and continued playing.

“It didn’t really hurt, to be honest with you,” he told reporters after the game. “I think the one thing that hurt was my helmet coming off and hitting me in the eye. But the actual hit, it wasn’t that crazy.”

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Bears’ Rodney Adams made strong impression vs. Bills

Rodney Adams had the play of the game vs. Bills and continues to impress, which is why he’s Bears Wire’s Player of the Game.

The Chicago Bears faced off against the Buffalo Bills in their second preseason game, but it wasn’t an overall encouraging performance in a 41-15 blowout on Saturday at Soldier Field. But there were a few players who stood out in a good way.

Our Bears player of the game is wide receiver Rodney Adams, who for the second consecutive week has come down with an impressive catch that helped move the chains.

For the second straight week, Adams led the Bears in receiving. He had 89 yards on three receptions, which included this beauty of a catch-and-run for a 73-yard touchdown from Andy Dalton.

 

Adams has made a strong case for a roster spot. But with final roster cuts just over a week away, Adams is trying not to think about it.

“I mean, I don’t want to,” he said. “But I’m trying to get 100% better every single day. I’m not thinking about 10 days ahead. What’s the challenge tomorrow? What’s the challenge the next day ? I’m not thinking 10 days ahead, I’m thinking, ‘What’s going to happen tomorrow?’”

If Adams can stack a third straight solid preseason game, it’ll be hard to argue against not giving him a spot on this team.

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