The Chicago Bears finished the preseason with a 27-24 win over the Tennessee Titans, marking Justin Fields ’last live action until he finally took over as starting quarterback in his rookie season.
The last preseason game gave players on the list bubbles one last chance to leave an impression before Tuesday’s final list cuts, and there were several players (both in the list bubble and that they have already closed the sites on the list) that were made known, either positively or negatively.
Here are our tacos and doubts about the Bears ’victory over the Titans in the preseason finale:
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The last preseason game is where you can win or lose some jobs. In the case of Jesper Horsted, he heavily defended the spot on the roster with a three-touchdown performance, including a nice throw to Justin Fields ’back in the corner of the end zone and a one-handed catch to get the marker. Horsted led the Bears with five receptions for 104 yards.
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Saturday’s preseason finale marked the first time the Bears ’initial offensive line played live all summer. And it wasn’t enough to inspire confidence toward the regular season. Line O struggled to push up (where the inside struggled to block the race) and even gave up a first sack to Justin Fields. Next: Aaron Donald and the Rams.
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Before this training camp, Nick Foles talked about how confident he was that he would grind third-string defenses. He eventually made it to the preseason finale, where Foles mounted an audition tape for teams looking for a veteran safety quarterback. Foles completed 10 of 13 passes for 142 yards with two touchdowns to get a score of 151.3 passes.
AP Photo / Mark Zaleski
Thomas Graham Jr. he’s competing to get a spot on the roster and start working on the corner, but overall it was a tough game for the rookie in the sixth round. Graham, who finished with five attacks, saw some reps in the outside corner, where he was hit on a missing goal line in the left corner of the end zone for a touchdown. Although Graham had a great break from passes at the end of the game, he saw his amount of struggles.
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Striker Joel Iyiegbuniwe was someone who needed a strong performance against the Titans as he struggled to get a spot on the roster. And it intensified in the last preseason game, where he added five tackles, including one per loss. Iyiegbuniwe made plays on defense and on special teams, including saving a touchdown on the third low, and overall had good coverage.
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The Bears ’preseason finale marked the last time fans saw rookie quarterback Justin Fields until he finally took over as starting quarterback sometime this season. There was excitement to see what Fields could do with his first start, but his interlocutor Matt Nagy didn’t help him, who was tremendously conservative for someone who wanted to evaluate his future quarterback. Things ended up opening up during the two-minute drill, which marked the final push of Fields ’play.
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While Justin Fields didn’t get a chance to open things up, he once again showed why he deserves to win the starting job at Andy Dalton. Fields’ line of statistics wasn’t sexy (7 of 10 for 54 yards and a touchdown), but it was his last pitch in the game that reminded everyone what makes him so special, as he slipped out of his pocket and delivered a beautiful back shoulder throw towards where only Jesper Horsted was able to get the score.
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Although Duke Shelley has been in contention to start around the corner, his performance against the Titans showed nothing to suggest he won the job. Overall, Shelley has been pretty inconsistent this preseason. It has not been reliable in its coverage, which is not what you want to see from your initial nickelback. Even though Shelley had a good break from the pass, he had a chance to get an interception, which he could have really used.
AP Photo / Wade Payne
To all intents and purposes, defender Christian Jones already has a place on the list closed. But his preseason finale against the Titans showed exactly the value he can have on that team. Jones, who tied most attacks with a goal of 11 and a quarterback, played inside the side, offside and special teams, which is exactly the versatility you would want to see on a reserve side.
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Trevis Gipson looks set for a big year with the Bears coming off the edge, which has been evident throughout the preseason. But speaking of this individual game, Gipson made his presence known with two attacks, two quarterback hits and a one-pass break. He put pressure on the Titans quarterback Logan Woodside to force an interception, which was returned by Tre Roberson for a touchdown.
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Tre Roberson was a bubble player on the roster who needed a great game to impress before the final cuts, and he definitely made his presence known in a good way against the Titans. Roberson had a loss attack, a pass break and a Titans quarterback Logan Woodside. Unfortunately for Roberson, he suffered a concussion during the match.