Bears vs. Chiefs: 4 biggest storylines ahead of Week 3 preseason game

Meaningful Chicago Bears football is only a couple weeks away – we’ve endured a harsh summer that’s had little football activity, and now our patience is about to be awarded in abundance.

First, of course, we’ll have to power through Chicago’s last preseason game against the Kansas City Chiefs, with the last exhibition game usually being the least anticipated by fans. The reason? The starters almost never play in them, and tonight’s match is no exception – both teams have announced that their starters will sit out.

Perhaps HBO’s “Hard Knocks,” in which the Bears are featured this year, may sway more fans to watch the final preseason game this year, and it will be worth it. The game will be anything but dull: several jobs, both starting spots and backup roles, are up for grabs and, best of all, they have something to play for. An undefeated preseason hangs in the balance, something that hasn’t happened in 30 years.

Tonight’s game gives the fans one final chance to sit back and enjoy Bears football worry-free, a grace period to enjoy the game with no strings attached – before the inevitable toil of the 2024 regular season takes us on a thrill ride. It’s Bears, it’s Chiefs, and this is the four biggest storylines ahead of the Week 3 preseason game:

1. Can Chicago close out the preseason undefeated?

Let’s address the first retort some will immediately invoke when discussing the preseason: yes, it does not matter whether the Bears win or lose. Scores recorded at the end of Chicago’s exhibition games have no bearing on the regular season. The preseason is of vital importance to the players, however. Specifically, it matters to the unproven players that are not guaranteed a job by the beginning of September, as those often overlooked players have treated each of the Bears' four preseason games as if it were a playoff game. To everyone else, the last preseason game is the last irksome obstacle to get around before the regular season gets underway; to the dozens of players fighting tooth-and-nail for a roster spot, it’s their Super Bowl.

Needless to say, the backups will be giving all they have to ensure Chicago comes out the preseason undefeated, but the Chiefs won’t just roll over for them. Kansas City has already made it known that they also won’t be playing the starters on Thursday, giving their aspiring understudies an entire game to secure a spot on the 53-man roster. This week’s contest won’t be the titanic battle of quarterbacks Caleb Williams and Patrick Mahomes, like many had hoped for, but there will still be plenty to keep an eye out for in the final preseason game.

2. Can the backups continue their strong play?

It’s quite refreshing to watch a team that clearly has a deep roster, something Chicago hasn’t had in a long time. Even if the Bears had suitable weapons down the depth chart at certain positions, they always were hindered by razor thin depth at another crucial position – a weakness that would almost always come back to bite them. I’m not claiming Chicago’s depth is on the same level of the Super Bowl-caliber Patriots of the 2000’s, of course, but it’s clear the club’s efforts to round out the team has begun to pay off.

The Bears’ backups have outclassed their preseason opponents thus far, outscoring the Texans, Bills and Bengals by a wide 81-26 margin. All three phases seamlessly picked up where the first-team left in each of the contests, maintaining a high level of play that never wavered. The challenge that’s now presented to the second-string players and beyond is clear: finish the job. Despite their impressive streak, everyone past the starters still has to earn their spot on the roster when it’s all said and done. Coaches put massive stake into how players finish as opposed to how they start. They’ll have to maintain that same focus and discipline that’s allowed them to succeed if they want to put together a complete body of work.

Chicago’s backups have proved that the fireworks don’t have to stop after the headliners exit the show, so let’s see if they can keep the good times rolling in tonight’s game.

3. Which players competing for a starting spot will make an impact?

We’ve all been constantly monitoring how players at volatile positions have performed in recent weeks, trying to discern who has even the smallest edge over their peers at each position. Luckily for both the fans and the team, players in the position battles have not backed down, matching each other’s effort and productivity on the field. Many of those competitions will be decided after tonight’s game against the Chiefs, with some retaining their title as a regular contributor and some losing grip of a starting spot as another will fill the role.

The offensive line was a weakness coming into training camp and it continues to be a crack in the Bears’ armor now, as they still haven’t decided who will be part of the starting five on Sundays. Nate Davis has a tentative hold of the starting spot, but his frequent absences from team activities and average play could have coaches considering a change down the line. Two new arrivals to the squad, centers Ryan Bates and Coleman Shelton, have been competing for the right to snap to quarterback Caleb Williams in the regular season, with Shelton seeming to have just a head up on Bates, who is week-to-week with an injury. But Bates could also replace Davis at right guard if he struggles.

The starting defensive end spot opposite Montez Sweat still could be subject to change as well; rookie Austin Booker and second-year pro Daniel Hardy have been incredibly impressive in the preseason. There’s been little discussion on demoting current starter DeMarcus Walker from his role, however, so the competition may be more of a slow burn in an effort to see how the young pass rushers play in the regular season. Who says the preseason is boring? Plenty of enticing competitions will be finalized following tonight’s game.

4. Will players on the bubble save or doom their chances of making the roster?

Anyone who’s seen the early episodes of HBO’s “Hard Knocks” knows the dark side of a team’s ratcheting intensity toward the regular season: guys are going to be left behind. Palpable tensions will be thick within the walls of Halas Hall following the club’s fourth and final preseason game, as the team is required to gut their current roster of 90-plus players to the NFL standard 53, meaning many careers will be ended in the next week and a half. It’s a cutthroat, yet necessary practice that’s conducted every year, and the players well understand that. That means tonight, at Kansas City’s Arrowhead stadium, players on the bubble have to put up the performances of their lives.

Several positions down the depth chart are engaged in an open competition. Converted running back Velus Jones Jr. and undrafted rookie Ian Wheeler have been dueling for the last bit of rope that clings to the final running back spot on the roster – Wheeler has far outclassed the at-one-time promising Jones thus far. The wide receivers are faced with a similar predicament, with Hall of Fame Game standout Collin Johnson and veterans Dante Pettis and Nsimba Webster fighting for their position’s final spot. Pettis stood out in the Bears’ last outing against the Bills, catching two touchdowns on the day.

The defensive line continues their duel for better positioning, with guys like Dominique Robinson, Jacob Martin and Khalid Kareem doing all they can to remain a Bear in 2024. Even the quarterback position has a bit of a showdown between undrafted rookie Austin Reed and veteran Brett Rypien, with Rypien making noise early but petering off. They’ll duke it out for the right to be Chicago’s third-string passer, behind Williams and fan-favorite Tyson Bagent.

This article originally appeared on Bears Wire: Bears vs. Chiefs: 4 biggest storylines ahead of Week 3 preseason game