Bears offense sputters early, defensive pieces shine late in Ben Johnson’s preseason debut as head coach

CHICAGO (WGN) — The Chicago Bears’ offense sputtered early before gaining a bit of rhythm, and several pieces on Chicago’s defense shone over the back half of their first preseason game against the Miami Dolphins.

The game ended in a 24-24 tie after five ties and lead changes between the two teams. Here’s how the action played out at Soldier Field in Ben Johnson’s preseason debut as head coach of the Bears.

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class="wp-block-heading">Game Recap

The vast majority of the first team offense didn’t see the field against the Dolphins, and it’s the preseason, so everything that transpires on the field should be taken with a grain of salt.

But the Bears’ offense still went three-and-out on their first two possessions and generated only 8 yards of offense.

The offense came alive on their third drive of the game, though.

Following a 7-play, 51-yard drive by Miami that ended in an Alexander Mattison touchdown run, Chicago went 93 yards on 16 plays and chewed 9:33 of the clock on a touchdown drive of their own.

Tyson Bagent finished off the drive with a dart up high to Maurice Alexander for a toe-tap touchdown in the back of the end zone. According to The Athletic’s Kevin Fishbain, The Bears haven’t had a drive that long since the 2021 season opener when they had a drive eat up 9:38 of clock.

However, the Dolphins added a second consecutive touchdown on their next drive, this time on a 7-yard touchdown run by Jaylen Wright to make it a 14-7 ballgame.

Bagent was picked off on a tipped pass intended for Samori Toure, but Chicago’s defense notched a pair of sacks on Zach Wilson to force Miami out of field goal range during the two-minute drill near the end of the first half.

That set up the Bears for a last-minute scoring opportunity, when Bagent connected with Luther Burden III with one second to go in the second quarter on a 13-yard crosser out of bounds.

Cairo Santos then came in and promptly booted a 57-yard field goal to shave the deficit to 14-10 at the half.

An Austin Booker strip-sack recovered by Power Echols set up Chicago to take the lead for the first time with just under three minutes to go in the third quarter. It was a part of a huge performance for Booker, who finished with three sacks and a forced fumble on the day.

On third and goal from the Dolphins’ 4-yard line, Case Keenum stepped up in the pocket and sprinted toward the goal line. At the last second, he slung a sidearm dart to running back Deion Hankins from just behind the line of scrimmage for a Bears TD pass and a 17-14 lead.

Miami and Chicago traded touchdowns on their next two offensive possessions. Ollie Gordon II punched in a 1-yard TD run, then Keenum connected with Jahdae Walker for a 15-yard TD pass to bring the score to 24-21 in favor of the Bears.

Jason Sanders hit a 56-yard field goal to tie the game with 6:22 to go in the 4th quarter to knot things up at 24-24.

A chaotic back and forth played out in the last two minutes of the game where neither team could generate enough offensive momentum to get into field goal range before time expired.