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Chicago Bears quarterback Caleb Williams had his best moment of the summer during Sunday’s preseason win over the Buffalo Bills
After having to settle for a 24-24 tie in their preseason opener against the Miami Dolphins, the Chicago Bears returned to Soldier Field on Sunday night to host the Buffalo Bills in their second game of the preseason. Unlike last Sunday, the Bears came away as the definitive winners this time around.
Sure, the Bills didn’t play their starters on Sunday, but Ben Johnson’s starting offense did take the field for the first two drives of the game, so there was good reason for Bears fans to tune in and take a long hard look at who stood out in the second preseason game of the 2025 campaign.
Caleb Williams
Again, let me reiterate, the Bills were not playing their defensive starters at any point in this game, so Chicago’s opening drive of the game — 93 yards on 8 plays — could be taken with a grain of salt. But even still, this was the Caleb Williams that Bears fans have been dying to see, and after what had been an up-and-down first few weeks of training camp, it was good to see Williams so sharp.
Backed up at their own 7-yard line after a muffed catch by Tyler Scott on the opening kickoff, Ben Johnson dialed up a gimme pass for Caleb right out of the gate to get him a layup and some confidence early, and to get the entire offense a little bit of breathing room. But from there, Johnson didn’t dial it back. He continued to let Williams rip it.
Following the opening 8-yard completion, Williams found familiar target Cole Kmet down the middle of the field for 29 yards. Next was a short pass out on the perimeter to DJ Moore, followed by another beautiful toss over the middle of the field to the rookie Colston Loveland. Two plays later, Williams found Olamide Zaccheaus on a slant across the middle of the field, and the veteran wideout did the rest of the work.
In one drive, Caleb at least briefly dispelled some of the issues that had been plaguing him over the summer. He had full command of the offense, and he was delivering balls on time and on target. And had Rome Odunze not dropped a very catchable pass on Chicago’s second drive of the game, the second-year quarterback would’ve been right at the 70 percent mark Ben Johnson challenged him to reach this summer.
“He’s really been locked in. Anytime you’re a young player, there’s usually a couple of steps forward and one step back. And that’s really been the story of this training camp,” Johnson said of Caleb Williams after the game, per Courtney Cronin of ESPN. “I thought really the three days of practice we had this week and this game were the most he’s stacked up good days in a row right now. The challenge is going to be keep pushing that direction.”
Final Stat Line: 6-for-10, 107 yards, 1 touchdown
Tyson Bagent
Tyson Bagent’s performance on Sunday night may actually say more about Ben Johnson than it does the undrafted third-year quarterback from Canada, but regardless, Bagent’s continued emergence as a truly reliable backup quarterback remains something of a surprise.
With 13-year veteran Case Keenum out of action, Bagent took another step forward in claiming the backup quarterback job as his own. It’s expected that the Bears were going to keep three quarterbacks on the roster anyway, but Bagent has played so well that the coaching staff in Chicago has no other choice.
Final Stat Line: 13-for-22, 196 yards, 1 touchdown
Ian Wheeler / Brittain Brown
No D’Andre Swift. No Kyle Monangai. No Roschon Johnson… no problem for the Bears running back room. For one preseason game, running backs Ian Wheeler and Brittain Brown were out there carving up the Bills defense like Walter Payton and Matt Suhey, or maybe more appropriately given the fact that Ben Johnson is their head coach, Jahmyr Gibbs and David Montgomery.
Ian Wheeler’s story is inspiring, and it was well-documented on Hard Knocks last season. The fan in me hopes he finds a way to crack the 53-man roster, but he still faces an uphill battle, even after a pair of promising preseason games this summer. Brittain Brown is a new arrival, and his path to a roster spot is potentially just as unlikely as Wheeler’s. But both backs had moments on Sunday night that will at the very least make cut-down day interesting in the Windy City.
Final Stat Lines: 19 rushes, 80 yards, 2 touchdowns / 16 rushes, 73 yards, 1 touchdown
Ruben Hyppolite
When the Bears selected Ruben Hyppolite II in the 4th Round of the 2025 NFL Draft, many viewed it as a reach. Hyppolite had little fanfare heading into the NFL Draft, but it’s looking like the Bears front office may have successfully sniffed out an underrated — albeit undersized — linebacker in the pre-draft process.
Hyppolite plays with a constant burst of speed, and it’s been on display in both of Chicago’s preseason tilts so far. Hyppolite had six tackles in Chicago’s first preseason game, and added five more against the Bills. He’s leaving no doubt that he’s in line for a depth role in Chicago’s linebacker rotation.
Final Stat Line: 5 tackles
Austin Booker
Austin Booker was a preseason standout in 2024, he was the biggest star of Chicago’s preseason opener against the Dolphins last week, and he added another sack to his tally on Sunday night.
Booker is a flawed player who isn’t yet quite ready to be an every down impact kind of guy, but in a Dennis Allen defense that is designed to thrive on and create chaos, Booker and his Energizer Bunny battery will find a role on obvious passing downs.
Final Stat Line: 2 tackles, 1 sack, 1 tackle for loss, 1 pass defended, 1 QB hit
