In their final preseason tune up game before the start of the 2023-24 NFL season, the Chicago Bears fell to the Buffalo Bills 24-21, on Saturday, August 26, at Soldier Field.
Following the game, Coach Matt Eberflus thanked every player for their hard work and contributions during training camp.
“I was just in the locker room thanking the players for the time and attention they put into training camp and really wanted to appreciate those guys for the hard work and dedication they put into it. It’s a good camp,” said Eberflus.
“It’s a long camp, and the guys did a really nice job. Also, I complimented those guys in terms of this game week, the preparation they put in for a mock game week, doing that. We had a lot of volume of offense and defense in there for the preparation part of it.”
Eberflus said his team didn’t show everything during their final preseason game against the Bills or do anything differently than they were going to do against any other opponent. Eberflus said the players executed well during the course of the week and he was excited about their overall effort.
In terms of the game, Eberflus said he was impressed with the performances of certain players.
“Certainly like[d] Tyler Scott in his return game, I really liked that. That was good to see. Made a nice tackle as a gunner. That was also good to see. Then Cairo went 2 for 2 again, 51 yards, that was excellent. He was 6 for 6 during the course of the preseason, so that was really good, too. Overall I thought we got a lot of good evaluation tape to look at, and we’ll see where it goes.”
In addition to Eberflus’ evaluation of the team, quarterback Justin Fields made a few big plays of his own during his return against the Bills after a one-week layoff. One of those big plays came on a 40-yard, play action pass play to wide receiver DJ Moore.
“Yeah, just play action pass, one of the plays we’ve been running for a little bit now,” said Fields. “But, yeah, got a little bit of separation from the play fake by the linebackers, and they’re trying to drop back into their zone, and he was open in the middle, so that’s a play you’re probably going to see again sometime this year.”
Fields said the play by Moore was a good catch and good play overall. He also shared his goals for the year entering his third season as QB.
“Make the playoffs is one. Make the playoffs and have a chance to run for the Super Bowl,” said Fields.
“Number two would be really just to be the best leader I can be for my team and really elevate all of the guys around me to really just influence them and encourage them to take a step that they’ve never seen themselves taking. I don’t know. Just try to be that leader for all of my teammates and my coaches and just really show them how much I love the game, how much I put into the game and really would just be to, I don’t know, win, win and have fun and just enjoy this year because, again, like I always say, you never know when your last day of football is going to be played.
“Really just enjoy it to the fullest and, yeah, just have fun. That was the three.”
Final Score: Bears 21, Bills 24
With the loss, the Bears finished 1-2 in preseason play. Up next, the Bears will play archrivals, the Green Bay Packers, Sunday, September 10, at Soldier Field. Game time is 3:25 p.m.
Joseph Phillips is the Sports Editor for the Chicago Crusader Newspaper. He is a Chicago native, who has been a sports writer for over 17 years. He also hosts the SC Media News and Sports Network Q&A radio show on WHPK 88.5 FM Chicago.
