Preseason Week 3 Pre-Gamin’: Bears vs. Chiefs (Noon CT) – Lineups, Broadcast Info, Game Thread

Preseason Week 3 is traditionally a game where starters play into the second half in what is generally regarded as a dress rehearsal. As you might know by now, the Chicago Bears aren’t following conventional methods and have decided to sit their starters.

At least the Bears had that extra week of practice and the additional scrimmages against the Broncos to work some things out. Still, it’s a bold strategy that will certainly open the Bears up to criticism in Week 1 if the team gets off to a slow start. And while it’s easy to default to thinking this is a scared move, I suppose you could counter it by saying it’s the opposite of it because it takes some real cojones to do something that results in as much negative backlash as this decision.

You could also make a strong case that this move allows the Bears’ decision-makers to better evaluate their own players. We’ll get a chance to see how wide receiver Kevin White, center James Daniels, and cornerback Kevin Toliver II perform against their first-string counterparts, which could help shed some light on how the roster will look moving forward.

In any case, we’re ready to see what the Bears have in store as they make their triumphant return to Soldier Field.

Game Info

Chicago Bears (2017: 5-11, 4th NFC North) vs. Kansas City Chiefs (10-6, 1st AFC West) – FOX-TV (Adam Amin, Jim Miller); WBBM-AM 780, FM 105.9 (Jeff Joniak, Tom Thayer, Mark Grote)

Site: Soldier Field, Chicago

Referee (via FootballZebras.com): Clete Blakeman

Odds: Chiefs -3.5, via Westgate Las Vegas Superbook

Seriously, check out how this line moved:

Here's what happened to KC/CHI odds after Bears tweeted that starters (including Trubisky) would not play. pic.twitter.com/LcOoOJWKpk

— Doug Kezirian (@DougESPN) August 25, 2018

Game Thread

Your game thread is down in the comments, so let’s have some good, clean (safe-for-work) fun. And hopefully, we can keep the good times rolling throughout the preseason and into the regular season.

Coaches

Bears Matt Nagy (first year with team) vs. Chiefs Andy Reid (53-27 with Chiefs; 183-120-1 overall)

Projected Week 1 Starting Quarterbacks

Bears: Mitch Trubisky: 2,193 passing yards, 7 touchdowns, 7 interceptions, 59.4 completion percentage, 77.5 quarterback rating (12 games in 2017)

versus

Chiefs: Patrick Mahomes: 284 yards, 0 touchdowns, 1 interception, 62.9 completion percentage, 76.4 passer rating (1 game in 2017)

Bears Starting Offense

QB Chase Daniel

RB Benny Cunningham

WR Kevin White, Javon Wims*, Bennie Fowler

TE Ben Braunecker

LT Bradley Sowell

LG Eric Kush

C James Daniels*

RG Earl Watfort

RT Rashaad Coward

Bears First-String Defense

DE Jonathan Bullard, Roy Robertson-Harris

NT John Jenkins

OLB Kasim Edebali, Isaiah Irving

ILB Nick Kwiatkosi, John Timu

CB Doran Grant, Kevin Toliver II*

S Deon Bush, Deiondre’ Hall

Bears Special Teams

Place kicker: Cody Parkey

Punter: Pat O’Donnell, Ryan Winslow*

Long snapper: Patrick Scales, Tanner Carew*

*-Bears rookie

Chiefs Projected Starting Offense

QB Patrick Mahomes

RB Kareem Hunt

FB Anthony SHerman

WR Sammy Watkins, Tarik Hill

TE Travis Kelce

LT Eric Fisher

LG Cameron Erving

C Mitch Morse

RG Laurent Duvernay-Tardif

RT Mitchell Schwartz

Chiefs First-String Defense

DE Chris Jones, Allen Bailey

NT Xavier Williams

OLB Justin Houston, Dee Ford

ILB Anthony Hitchens, Reggie Ragland

CB Steven Nelson, Kendall Fuller

S Eric Berry, Daniel Sorensen

Chiefs Special Teams

Place kicker: Harrison Butker

Punter: Dustin Colquitt

Return specialists: Tyreek Hill, De’Anthony Thomas

Long snapper: James Winchester