Game Balls in Bears' Humiliating Preseason Week 2 Loss to Bengals

One week after a dominant preseason Week 1 win over the Cleveland Browns, the Chicago Bears got thoroughly humiliated by the Cincinnati Bengals. The starters got their first preseason action, one drive for each unit, but failed to impress against Cincinnati's backups; the offense stalled in the red zone and the defense gave up multiple third-down conversions and a successful field goal. About the only positive to come from the starters' limited action was that there were no injuries.

Even the special teams unit struggled, an ill omen considering the fact that Ben Johnson's focus in their joint practice with the Bengals was special teams. Kaden Davis muffed a punt return, JP Richardson added a muffed kickoff return, a play which was further marred by an illegal block in the back penalty, and Cairo Santos missed a 53-yard field goal attempt in the fourth quarter.

One would have to imagine that the film review from this preseason game is going to be ugly, and head coach Ben Johnson will certainly have some choice words for his squad. It wasn't all bad, however. Mostly bad, sure. But not all. A few players shone in what was otherwise a total fiasco, and they deserve their flowers. So without further ado, let's hand out some game balls.

1. Jahdae Walker

One of the heroes of Chicago's Week 15 overtime victory over the Green Bay Packers last year made arguably the best catch of the day early in the second quarter. On first-and-10, Case Keenum fired the ball 36 yards down the field to Walker, who made a leaping grab to reel it in and earn himself this first game ball. Even though that was his only catch of the night, it's moments like that one that will make it difficult for the Bears to leave Walker off of their final 53-man roster on cutdown day.

2. Jordan van den Berg

The sixth-round rookie continues to impress in preseason action. Last week, van den Berg got pressure on Cleveland's quarterbacks repeatedly, and Saturday night was no different. Though he still hasn't found his first NFL sack yet, van den Berg keeps getting close, and he also showcased his chops defending the run, chasing down a running back midway through the second quarter on an outside run and bringing him down for no gain. In a game like this one, that's enough for a game ball.

3. Skyler Thomas

The Bears didn't make many big plays on Saturday, but Skyler Thomas, an undrafted free agent (UDFA) out of Oregon State, made one when he intercepted a pass by Sean Clifford early in the fourth quarter and secured this final game ball. Thomas was tabbed as one of six rookie UDFA's with the best odds to make the Bears' roster this year, and pulling in nifty interceptions like this one will certainly help.

Honorable Mention: Dayo Odeyingbo

For as much as I've criticized Odeyingbo over the past year, I have to give credit where credit it's due. In his one drive of the game, Odeyingbo almost hit Bengals quarterback Josh Johnson with a monster sack, getting home a split-second after Johnson got rid of the ball. It was an encouraging sign for a player who badly needs a rebound season.

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