Thursday Night Football brought football fans a matchup between the Chicago Bears and Seattle Seahawks, but there’s only one team who should be celebrating.
While the Seahawks may have been playing with one hand tied behind their back, with potential starting quarterback Drew Lock ruled out ahead of time (COVID), the Bears led this one from wire to wire. It was never close. But the final score never really matters in exhibition play. It’s all about the individual performances.
Here are the five biggest winners and losers from Thursday’s Week 2 preseason Bears vs Seahawks game.
Loser: Justin Fields, Bears O-line stumble on Thursday Night Football
Can we get the 11th pick from the 2021 NFL Draft some protection please? Seriously, what are the Bears doing? Seeing Justin Fields under constant pressure comes as no surprise after seeing how general manager Ryan Poles handled the offseason, but one would think, as a former offensive lineman himself, he’d see the value in protecting his young QB.
But that’s the thing, the Bears just haven’t provided Fields the talent to compete as he enters his first full season under center. It’s like they’re not even invested in his development. Oh yeah, that’s right, he was the last regime’s draft pick, not theirs. Still, it makes no sense not to try and supply any young QB with NFL-level players just to see if they have a gem on their hands.
We get it, Fields has the mobility to make things happen on his own, but that doesn’t mean they have to force him to do so. So far, that appears to be the plan in the Windy City. Expect plenty of blowback from the fanbase.
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Winner: Rookie Velus Jones Jr. has some juice
We already expected to see Velus Jones Jr. on the field a lot for the Bears this season. At 25, Jones is a bit older for a rookie, but it’s clear the Bears are big fans of the third-round rookie. The pecking order after Darnell Mooney remains unestablished, and Jones figures to compete for the third receiver role at the very least.
After clocking a 4.31 40-yard dash at the NFL Scouting Combine, it’s clear Jones has the jets to fly. While he may have to compete to climb up the receiver depth chart in Chicago, the former Tennessee Vol may have first dibs on the team’s leading returner role.
We got a strong glimpse of his explosiveness in the first quarter when he returned a Michael Dickson punt 48 yards to put the Bears in scoring position.
If offensive coordinator Luke Getsy can find ways to get Jones in open space during the regular season, the Bears could have a big playmaker on their hands. Unfortunately, aside from a 31-yard kick return, Jones was only able to add one catch for four yards on the day offensively, but his impact on the fanbase is already imprinted.
Dazz Newsome and Khalil Herbert are also competing for the lead return roles, and Equanimeous St. Brown, Byron Pringle, and N’Keal Harry are all also vying for playing time as pass-catchers, so Jones faces no shortage of competition to see the field. Yet, we all know you can’t teach speed, and he’s got a lot of it.
Winner: Chicago Bears’ special teams steals the show
It wasn’t the first-team offense that led to the Bears scoring so many points. Instead it was Richard Hightower’s special teams unit who continually put the Bears in a strong starting field position. Hightower, a new hire for the Bears, is already off to a good start.
They may have had nothing to do with Seahawks receiver Cade Johnson muffing a punt, but they sure were ready to hop on the ball as soon as it slipped out of his grip. Five of the 11 players on the field for the Bears were in the vicinity of the touchdown fumble recovery. That’s hustle and effort all wrapped into one.
But that’s not all. The Bears’ special teams unit also receives a great amount of credit for breaking several large returns. It wasn’t just one player either. Velus Jones broke a 48-yard punt return, but then later on, Nsimba Webster topped it with a 58-yard kick return. Those two returns alone flipped the field and put the Bears in scoring position.
The Bears did have one goof on special teams when De’Montre Tuggle ran into Dazz Newsome late in the fourth quarter, causing a muffed punt. But they’ll take that minor L compared to their other wins on the night.
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Loser: Geno Smith flashes and flutters
It’s not that Geno Smith didn’t make some strong throws on Thursday. He made several, it’s just that he didn’t do enough to run away with the competition, and he even had DK Metcalf (only three plays) and Tyler Lockett to work with, for a bit.
Here the Bears had several of their starters rested into the second quarter, yet Smith was still unable to generate a touchdown despite leading six drives for his Seahawks. And this wasn’t the ’85 Bears.
This is not what we expect from a 10-year pro. While a Jason Myers missed field goal would have counted for three, getting your team in field goal position just once won’t cut it.
Amazingly, even though Drew Lock was unable to suit up tonight, he still pulled further ahead in this starting QB competition. Lock should return for the Seahawks this week, but he may not play much more in the preseason as the team heads into its third preseason game. For Smith and the first-team offense, this was a loss, but the scoreboard already reflects that sadness.
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Loser: Seahawks’ first-round left tackle Charles Cross
The Seahawks added nine players to their roster in the 2022 NFL Draft, but none were bigger, or are expected to make a bigger impact than the tenth overall pick, Charles Cross. Selected to be the franchise left tackle for the next decade, Cross got off to a bumpy start in his unofficial Thursday Night Football debut.
Amazingly, Cross managed four false starts and got called for holding once. Clearly he’s still trying to adjust to his new team, with an ongoing quarterback carousel. Having more consistency — the same starter, should help Cross eliminate these mistakes as he gains familiarity with Lock or Smith’s voice at the line of scrimmage.
It wasn’t all bad, Cross won this rep against Robert Quinn, who finished second in the NFL with 18.5 sacks last season. For what it’s worth, Cross also didn’t allow any pressures in his preseason debut last week.
We may not know whether Cross will be protecting Lock or Smith’s blindside, but no matter what, he’ll have to be more consistent once the regular season begins. That’s what the preseason is for, to work out the kinks and learn where he can improve. We’ll be tracking the progress of Cross closely as the Seahawks navigate their first season without Russell Wilson.
