Bengals substitutes get a lot of attention in loss to Bears

CHICAGO – The Bengals were able to test their reserve players extensively during a rainy preseason game at Soldier Field on Saturday, while the Bears sent their regular players onto the field and took a 27-3 victory.

While their regular players sit on the bench and their reserves fight their way through a soaked field, the Bengals will play their last preseason game against the Colts at Paycor Stadium on Thursday, where the two teams will also practice together on Tuesday.

Caleb Williams, the Bears' quarterback and No. 1 pick in the 2024 NFL Draft, spiced up his home debut with a seven-yard touchdown that gave him a 10-0 lead late in the first half, but the Bengals' secondary defense didn't give him much room to maneuver.

The only Bengals starters on the field Saturday were the two vying for the spot opposite No. 1 cornerback Cam Taylor-Britt. Dax Hill and DJ Turner had their hands full against Williams and the Bears' fleet of receivers, but that second defense did well against the Bears' ones.

They opened the game with three three-and-outs. Backup slot cornerback Jalen Davis made two big plays early: a pass that was deflected by perennial Pro Bowler Keenan Allen and a third-down stop on a dump pass over the middle to tight end Gerald Everett.

Rookie cornerback Josh Newton in the slot stopped the third series on third-and-2 when he caught a slant pass to 1,300-yard receiver DJ Moore.

At this point, Hill had finished after two series, while Turner was completing the third.

They were both out for the fourth series when the Bears finally got their first first down three minutes into the second quarter: They had to resort to a 16-yard end-around by rookie wide receiver Rome Oduzne when the first-round pick flew away from rookie linebacker Maema Njongmeta.

Njongmeta, who led the team with 10 tackles last Saturday, had another successful performance, adding eight more tackles in the first three quarters.

Williams then finally made a big play, but it was penalized when Newton was penalized for pass interference on a 43-yard route by wide receiver Tyler Scott through the middle of the field. That put the ball at the Bengals' 15-yard line, but the defense was able to recover with a sack by rookie tackle Kris Jenkins Jr. and a stop on a short pass by tackle Zach Carter, forcing a field goal.

Williams scored his touchdown in the final two minutes of the half, showing the athleticism that won him the Heisman Trophy. The right-hander rolled left and threw a dime to Odunze, who ran with Newton for 45 yards.

Then, on third down from the Bengals' 7, he eluded two defenders in the backfield and rolled down the right sideline for a touchdown. Williams finished the game six-of-3 for 75 yards and a 64.6 passer rating.

Evan McPherson's first kick as a $16.5 million man was successful from 54 yards on the last play of the half, cutting the Bears' lead to 10-3.

A strong kick return by rookie wide receiver Jermaine Burton, this time for 29 yards on a kickoff with 1:26 left in the half, allowed quarterback Logan Woodside to score the points. Woodside finished the half 15 of 20 passing for 119 yards, and many of his passes were marred by penalties. The Bengals completed six passes for 83 yards in the half, three of them on third down attempts.

With punt returner Charlie Jones (knee) recovering but not playing Saturday and kick returner Chris Evans (knee) out for the rest of the year, Burton did both in the first half and showed some power. In addition to the 29-yard kick return, a 24-yard punt return was canceled by a penalty.

The Bengals struggled with penalties. Under the new kickoff rules, they were penalized for holding on the first three kickoffs of the second half.