👋 Good morning!
Well, that was fun.
Nothing like a good ol’ fashioned preseason bloodbath.
But I’m ready now. Let’s agree to skip Friday’s preseason finale in Kansas City and go straight to the fun of the regular season.
21 days until the Bears host the Vikings on Monday Night Football. 21 days too long.
Tailgate With Us!
What: CHGO Bears Official Tailgate
Where: Wabash & Cermak
When: Before every Bears home game
Perks: Beers, barbecue, vibes and a shuttle to the stadium
Quite the Debut
Caleb Williams and the Bears’ first-team offense and defense made their preseason debut on Sunday night at Soldier Field against the Buffalo Bills.
QB1: Williams finished the day 6-for-10 passing for 107 yards and a touchdown, including 97 yards on 5-for-6 in the first drive of the game. The quarterback connected with receiver Olamide Zaccheaus for a 36-yard catch and run touchdown to cap off the drive.
Williams on his budding relationship with Zaccheaus, who signed with the Bears in free agency in March: “It's been great. That's my guy on and off the field. … After practices, being able to get extra reps with him. Even if it's not maybe physical reps, it's mental reps of him and I just having open communication. … I think it shows.”
Ben Johnson on Williams’ performance: “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. He and I have been really open and honest about it as we've gone through.
“And he's had some really good practices, and he's had a couple where it's not good enough. 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.”
QB2: Tyson Bagent received plenty of run with the second and third team offenses due to Case Keenum being sidelined with a leg injury.
Bagent went 13-for-22 passing, including an 11-yard touchdown pass to Tyler Scott in the second quarter. Scott finished the game with three catches for 55 yards.
Bagent said after the game: “This means the world to me, this is my life’s work being put into work right here in front of everybody. It means a lot to me. But I’m really just trying to get better myself day in and day out. Bank as many reps as possible and be as ready as I can be for the long season that is coming.”
INJURIES: Deion Hankins (knee), Dominique Robinson (ankle), Austin Booker (knee), JP Richardson (ankle), and Terell Smith (knee) all left Sunday’s game and did not return.
Ben Johnson said the team would have more information on the injuries on Monday and Tuesday, but added: “Obviously [Smith’s] was the most concerning of that bunch — that didn't look good. Our thoughts and prayers are with him going forward.”
Now seems like an appropriate time to remind everybody that Matt Eberflus went 8-2 in the preseason as head coach of the Bears. The wins and losses don’t mean much and definitely don’t translate into automatic regular-season success…
Buuuuuut it was still fun to see and hope and dream.
And it was nice to see Ian Wheeler have a big night, too. Wheeler, who tore his ACL in last year’s preseason finale, ran the ball 19 times for 80 yards and two touchdowns.
Behind D’Andre Swift, Roschon Johnson, Kyle Monangai and Deion Hankins on the depth chart, Wheeler has an outside chance at best to crack the 53-man roster. But the best ability is availability, and Wheeler took advantage of his increased play after Hankins’ injury.
Bears 38, Bills 0
TURNING THINGS AROUND? The Cubs small-balled their way to two critical wins to finish the weekend with a series win against the Pittsburgh Pirates. With Sunday’s victory, the Cubs gained a game on the Milwaukee Brewers in the NL Central for the first time in August.
As for their slumpers, it’s a game of who’s hot and who’s not:
🔥 Pete Crow-Armstrong finished the series 5-for-8 with a double.
❄️ Kyle Tucker went 2-for-10 with two singles and a walk. Tucker still does not have an extra-base hit since July 30 and hasn’t homered since July 19.
Up next: The most important series of the Cubs’ season — a five-game set with the division-leading Brewers.
MORE: Jared Wyllys on the Cubs’ series win and their efforts to get right before the Brewers come to town.
NOT IN KANSAS [CITY] ANYMORE: And the pain and suffering continues…
After a three-game weekend sweep, the White Sox have now lost 14 consecutive games to the Royals at Kauffman Stadium.
Their last win in KC? September 6, 2023. Bryan Shaw picked up the save for the South Siders in that one.
The Sox are 3-22 in their last 25 games against the Royals. The Royals!
Davis Martin allowed just one hit in six scoreless innings for the Sox on Sunday, but the bullpen could not hold a 2-0 lead, surrendering two runs in the seventh and four in the eighth.
Ben Johnson won’t be satisfied until the parade.
— #Will DeWitt (#@Wi11DeWitt)
1:56 AM • Aug 18, 2025
📺 CHGO Bears
1:00 on YouTube
⚾️ Cubs vs. Brewers
Game 1
1:20 on Marquee
📺 CHGO Blackhawks
2:00 on YouTube
📺 CHGO Bulls
4:00 on YouTube
🐻 Hoge & Jahns
TBD on YouTube
⚾️ White Sox @ Braves
6:15 on CHSN
📺 CHGO Bears After Dark
7:00 on YouTube
⚾️ Cubs vs. Brewers
Game 2
7:05 on Marquee
📺 CHGO Cubs
POSTGAME on CHGO Cubs YT
