Bears and Chiefs: TV, Radio, Streaming
Kansas City Chiefs at Chicago Bears
What: Preseason Opener
When: Noon kickoff, Saturday, Aug. 13
Where: Soldier Field, Chicago
TV: Fox-32 (Adam Amin, Jim Miller, Lou Canellis)
Radio: WBBM AM-780, FM-105.9 (Jeff Joniak, Tom Thayer, Mark Grote).
Spanish broadcast, TUDN AM-1200 and Latino Mix 93.5 FM (Omar Ramos, Miguel Esparza).
SI Sports Book Line: Chiefs by half a point (over/under 37 1/2).
Streaming: FUBO-TV, free trial.
Betting Note: Chiefs coach Andy Reid has a 41-42-4 record against the spread in preseason games.
The Matchup: Former Bears coach Matt Nagy returns to Soldier Field as senior assistant coach and quarterbacks coach for Reid and Kansas City, the team he coached for before he was Bears head coach. It's the coaching debut for Matt Eberflus with the Bears, Nagy's successor. Patrick Mahomes is expected to start against the Bears and will play about a quarter. Reid says he expects each of his four quarterbacks to see about a quarter of action in the preseason opener. Reid usually uses his quarterbacks this way. Mahomes played in last year's preseason opener but threw only two passes. He could throw more this time considering the Chiefs have revamped their receiver corps after trading away Tyreek Hill to Miami. Chad Henne is the backup QB. The other two are Shane Buechele and Dustin Crum.
Bears on Offense: Bears starters will play 15-20 snaps according to Eberflus. This is a good chance to test Justin Fields in Luke Getsy's new Bears offense against a live pass rush, and with his first-team line in place except for center Lucas Patrick. Sam Mustipher has been the backup center. They won't have running back David Montgomery, tight end Cole Kmet or wide receiver Byron Pringle, their starters on offense who are injured. They haven't revealed the injuries to Montgomery or Kmet but Pringle is out for an extended period with a quad injury. Left tackle definitely bears watching as it's the first NFL action for starting rookie fifth-rounder Braxton Jones. Injuries have badly depleted the receiver corps. They might be without their top three tight ends and the top three receivers could be Darnell Mooney, Tajae Sharpe and Equanimeous St. Brown for this game.
Bears on Defense: The Bears will need to see a strong, consistent interior pass rush from defensive tackle Justin Jones in this one. They already know all of their top three edge rushers can provide heat and fourth edge Dominique Robinson has been promising, as well. With Roquan Smith holding in, Matthew Adams has manned the weak side linebacker spot. An unknown is how they'll hold up against the run. Jones lacks three technique experience inside and the linebacker corps is uncertain. They'll get a look for the first time at Nick Morrow as middle linebacker in a game, as well as strong side linebacker Joe Thomas. Second-round safety Jaquan Brisker makes his first NFL start. The rest of the secondary is going to depend on who is healthy enough to play. Second-round cornerback Kyler Gordon has missed a week of practice injured and Kindle Vildor also is injured.
Next Week: The Bears have a Thursday night preseason game No. 2 (7 p.m.) coming at Seattle after practicing on Monday and Tuesday at Halas Hall. The Chiefs have a Saturday, Aug. 20 game hosting Washington at 3 p.m.
Twitter: BearDigest@BearsOnMaven
