Chicago Bears cap a perfect preseason with a 34-21 victory against the Kansas City Chiefs

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — The Chicago Bears finished the preseason 4-0 with a 34-21 victory against the Kansas City Chiefs on Thursday night at Arrowhead Stadium.

Here’s our quick recap of the game.

Bagent scores on TD run

In his final tuneup as the backup to Caleb Williams, Tyson Bagent led the Bears on a touchdown drive in his first of two series.

Bagent converted a third-and-6 pass to DeAndre Carter, hit wide receiver Nsimba Webster for a 44-yard gain and capped the drive with a 5-yard touchdown run. On the score, he rolled out to his right, looked to throw, sprinted toward the goal line and then dived to hit the pylon in the right corner of the end zone.

Bagent finished 3-for-6 for 57 yards and had the TD run before third-stringer Brett Rypien replaced him on the third drive.

Multiple injuries

Bears defensive back Douglas Coleman III was immobilized and taken off the field on a stretcher in the third quarter after he was injured on a tackle of wide receiver Cornell Powell.

It was one of three big injuries for the Bears on Thursday.

Offensive tackle Larry Borom suffered an apparent right leg injury on the offense’s second drive and needed to ride a cart off the field. And Webster also left the field on a cart after he was injured in the second quarter.

Punt return watch

The question of who will be the Bears punt returner remains.

Wide receiver/returner Dante Pettis didn’t play Thursday after missing practice earlier in the week because of an apparent injury.

The Bears had DeAndre Carter back to return the Chiefs’ first punt. But the ball dropped behind Carter, and linebacker Cole Christiansen pushed Carter back into the ball. Chiefs defensive back Jaden Hicks recovered the ball, and the Chiefs took over at the Bears 9-yard line.

The play could have been more costly, but undrafted rookie cornerback Reddy Steward intercepted Chiefs third-string quarterback Chris Oladokun at the goal line two plays later.

Carter was back for the next punt, and he had more success, returning it 16 yards.

Steward’s big night

Steward, who played at Troy, turned some heads early in camp when the Bears gave him first-team practice reps at nickel.

He had a good showing Thursday with two interceptions, including a 48-yard pick-six. Steward jumped in front of Oladokun’s underthrown pass intended for Mecole Hardman and ran untouched into the end zone.

Other notes

Defensive end Austin Booker, a fifth-round pick this spring, made a huge play in the first quarter. On third-and-7, Booker spun by two blockers and then launched himself to hit Oladokun just as he was trying to throw.

The Bears’ Velus Jones Jr., runs past Chiefs linebacker Curtis Jacobs for a 39-yard touchdown during the third quarter of a preseason game on Aug. 22, 2024, in Kansas City, Mo. (Ed Zurga/AP)

• The Bears continued to try Velus Jones Jr. at running back, though Travis Homer started at the position Thursday and undrafted rookie Ian Wheeler got carries before Jones did.

But Jones had the most productive showing, including breaking free for a 39-yard touchdown in the third quarter and a 33-yard run in the fourth. He finished with 13 carries for 111 yards and two catches for 11 yards.
• Safety Adrian Colbert had a huge diving pass breakup against Kadarius Toney on an Oladokun deep shot on third-and-11 in the second quarter. Colbert also hit Oladokun on Steward’s pick-six.

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