Now that the Bears have finally played in their first game of the 2022-2023 season. Let’s look at the best and worst of the Chicago Bears’ preseason week one.
The Best
Offense
The best of the offense in the 1st preseason game hands down is Tajae Sharpe. Sharpe made several acrobatic catches including a one-handed grab along the sidelines. The Bears receiving corps outside of Darnell Mooney is a big question mark. There are even more questions since many of the presumed starters are down with injuries. Through Sharpe stepping up there is an answer to the question of who besides Mooney can Justin Fields throw to. It is only one preseason game, however, so Sharpe has to continue what he started during this game. At least Sharpe’s performance is someone stepping up in a real game environment.Defense
The best of the defense is the Bears depth players. The Bears 2nd string and lower defense held the Chiefs scoreless in the 2nd half. They did this by tallying up 4 sacks and 2 turnovers. Many players made contributions to the effort including new LB DeMarquis Gates who made immediate impact plays. Rookie DE Dominique Robinson continues to display his athleticism racking up a sack and multiple pressures. Rookie free agent Safety A.J. Thomas had a really good tackle on a 3rd and 4 to force a punt. He made several other plays as well. The best of the best is rookie free agent LB Jack Sanborn . Sanborn had one interception, one fumble recovery, and one tackle for loss. Sanborn was stout in the middle and really shined. He did well enough that he should move up the depth chart to possibly enter into the discussion of starting if Roquan Smith’s hold in continues.The Worst
Offense
The worst of the offense is a familiar one for Bears fans, the starting offensive line. The offensive line continues to break down too many times. Michael Schofield the starting right guard was absolutely torched by Chris Jones on the opening drive. This lead to Fields having no time to even try to escape leading to a sack. Jones was on him immediately after the snap. Also, Braxton Jones the rookie left tackle allowed himself to get bull rushed and nearly stepped on Fields’s ankle which would have been disastrous. Jones appears to rake his cleat against Fields’s leg, but fortunately that was all. The run blocking is also not where it needs to be. This offense is run heavy. There were some nice runs by Khalil Herbert, but most of the time he was bottled up at the line. Just OK run blocking is not going to be good enough for this scheme.Defense
The worst of the defense was the starting linebackers. Nicholas Morrow and Matt Adams were beat many times in coverage. One of the worst was a long gain by Travis Kelce with Matt Adams on the coverage. Kelce did a shimmy and out ran Adams. Kelce isn’t a speedy TE and the move didn’t break Adam’s ankles, but it was enough to get separation for the catch. Patrick Mahomes kept picking on the middle of the field where the LBs in a 4-3 defense roam. He kept finding the holes in the zone coverage. Going forward the linebackers have to lock down the middle of the field. The performance of Morrow and Adams definitely left something to be desired.For More Bears Content Click Here
More must-reads: