The Buffalo Bills improve to 2-0 on the 2021 preseason following an impressive 41-15 win over the Chicago Bears on Saturday afternoon Soldier Field.
The star of the game was Bills backup quarterback Mitchell Trubiskuy, who got the start for Buffalo as Josh Allen did not play for a second-consecutive preseason game.
Saturday marked the first game back in Chicago for Trubisky after the Bears let the 27-year-old quarterback walk in free agency this offseason. Trubisky was Chicago's former first round pick (second overall) in the 2017 NFL Draft out of the University of North Carolina.
Trubisky went on to play the first two quarters against his former team on Saturday, and finished the game by going 20-of-28 for an impressive 221 yards and a touchdown pass.
After the Buffalo defense forced a three-and-out of the Bears on their opening drive, Trubisky immediately went to work under center.
On a drive that started at the Bills' 28-yard line, Trubisky and the Buffalo offense pushed down the field and deep into Chicago territory. He put up a decent opening drive for Buffalo, going 5-of-7 for 53 yards and connecting on some nice quick passes with players like Gabriel Davis and Isaiah McKenzie.
Facing a 4th-and-1 at the Chicago 14-yard line, head coach Sean McDermott kept the Bills offense on the field and it resulted in seven points. After a fake handoff to the fullback, Trubisky flicked the ball back to running back Devin Singletary, who found a hole and found his way into the end zone for a 7-0 Buffalo lead.
After another forced three-and-out by the Buffalo defense, the offense went right back to work to put up six more point on the board.
This time, Trubisky led the Bills 64 yards down the field on an 11-play drive that was capped off by a four-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Jake Kumerow. Instead of going for the extra point attempt, the Bills attempted to go for a two-point conversion. However, Buffalo was unsuccessful on both of their attempts after the Bears were called for a defensive hold on the first attempt.
On the very next drive for Chicago, the Bears got as far as the Bills' 47-yard line before linebacker Tyler Matakevich forced a turnover of running back Damien Williams. As Williams fought for extra yardage on the ground, Matakevich's helmet forced the ball loose, and rookie safety Damar Hamlin jumped on the fumble.
The turnover would be costly for the Bears, as Buffalo turned the mistake into eight more points on their third offensive drive.
After getting down to the Bears' one-yard line, it was fullback Reggie Gilliam who was denied, at first, at the line of scrimmage, but was able to find open space to his right for the touchdown. After missing on the two-point conversion following the last score for Buffalo, Trubisky was able to find tight end Jacob Hollister in the end zone for a successful attempt to make the score 21-0.
Buffalo's defense forced another three-and-out for the Bears on their next drive after rookie defensive end Greg Rousseau made a couple of nice plays. The one included a second down sack of quarterback Andy Dalton for a loss of seven yards.
The Bills inflated the score to 28-0 on their next offensive drive, as it was Gilliam finding the end zone once again from one-yard out. The score for Buffalo was set up after a nice 18-yard run for running back Matt Breida to get the Bills to the Bears' one-yard line.
Chicago finally found themselves on the board less than a minute after the Bills' fourth touchdown of the game, as Dalton connected with wide receiver Rodney Adams for a 73-yard catch-and-run touchdown. Adams was able to use the top of Siran Neal's head to make the catch, and then he broke free to get Chicago their first points of the game.
Chicago's extra point attempt was blocked by rookie pass rusher Carlos "Boogie" Basham, as he got a piece of Cairo Santos' kick.
At the two-minute warning, the Bears faced a 4th-and-8 with the hopes of closing the gap at the Bills' 45-yard line. However, second-year defensive end A.J. Epenesa came up with quite a rush of Dalton and forced an incomplete pass.
After adding three more points on the board with a Tyler Bass 33-yard field goal, the Buffalo defense came up with another turnover with less than 10 second left in the half. This time, Dalton tossed an interception to rookie cornerback Nick McCloud, who returned the football 20 yards into Chicago territory.
After a quick 16-yard pass from Trubisky to Kumerow to the Bears' 23-yard line, Bass added three more points to Buffalo's lead with a 41-yard field goal to make the score 34-6 as time expired on the half.
It was Jake Fromm who get the first offensive series for the Bills in the third quarter and led a drive as far as the Bears' 43-yard line. However, the drive ended with a punt after Fromm was sacked on third down for a six-yard loss.
As for Chicago, rookie quarterback Justin Fields entered the game to start the third quarter. His first drive of the game did not last too long, though, as the Bears were forced to punt after just five plays.
During that punt, Bills rookie wide receiver Marquez Stevenson was able to show off his speed by bursting through the Bears' punt coverage and returning the play 79 yards for a touchdown.
Early in the fourth quarter, the Bears managed to put up another six points on the scoreboard with a 13-yard touchdown run from running back Khalil Herbert. However, Chicago's two-point conversion attempt was unsuccessful as Fields was forced to throw the ball away under pressure.
Davis Webb came into the game for the Bills at quarterback in the fourth quarter, and on his third series on offense, he got stripped of the football and lost his second fumble in as many series.
On the series prior, he had a bad exchange with his center and turned the ball over. That turnover resulted in three points for the Bears, thanks to a Brian Johnson 54-yard field goal.
That was the final scoring play of the game, as time ran down in the fourth quarter on a 41-15 win in Chicago.
----------
GAME SUMMARY:
First quarter:
- 7-0 BILLS: Bills touchdown (9:54) - Devin Singletary runs for a 14-yard touchdown (Tyler Bass' extra point attempt is good).
Drive info: 10 plays, 72 yards, 4:03
- 13-0 BILLS: Bills touchdown (3:00) - Mitchell Trubisky tosses a four-yard touchdown pass to Jake Kumerow (Buffalo's two-point conversion attempt was unsuccessful).
Drive info: 11 plays, 64 yards, 4:26
Second quarter:
- 21-0 BILLS: Bills touchdown (11:28) - Reggie Gilliam rushes in for a one-yard touchdown run (Mitchell Trubisky's two-point conversion attempt to Jacob Hollister is successful).
Drive info: 8 plays, 53 yards, 4:17
- 28-0 BILLS: Bills touchdown (8:24) - Reggie Gilliam runs it in for a one-yard touchdown (Tyler Bass' extra point attempt is good).
Drive info: 4 plays, 37 yards, 1:27
- 28-6 BILLS: Bears touchdown (7:36) - Andy Dalton fires a 73-yard touchdown pass to Rodney Adams (Cairo Santos' extra point attempt was blocked).
Drive info: 2 plays, 75 yards, 0:48
- 31-6 BILLS: Bills field goal (0:47) - Tyler Bass' 33-yard field goal attempt is good.
Drive info: 6 plays, 40 yards, 1:08
- 34-6 BILLS: Bills field goal (0:00) - Tyler Bass' 41-yard field goal attempt is good.
Drive info: 2 plays, 16 yards, 0:09
Third quarter:
- 41-6 BILLS: Bills touchdown (8:23) - Marquez Stevenson returns a punt 79 yards for a touchdown.
Fourth quarter:
- 41-12 BILLS: Bears touchdown (14:48) - Khalil Herbert runs it in for a 13-yard touchdown (Chicago's two-point conversion attempt is unsuccessful).
Drive info: 3 plays, 43 yards, 1:36
- 41-15 BILLS: Bears field goal (5:29) - Brian Johnson's 54-yard field goal attempt is good.
Drive info: 9 plays, 30 yards, 3:48
----------
----------
WHAT'S NEXT:
The Bills will close out the 2021 preseason on Saturday, Aug. 28 when the team welcomes in Aaron Rodgers and the Green Bay Packers to Highmark Stadium in Orchard Park. Kickoff is scheduled for 1 p.m. ET with pregame coverage on WGR starting at 8 a.m. ET.