BUFFALO, N.Y. (WIVB) — While resting most every starter for Sunday night’s preseason game, the Bills required little from the Soldier Field scoreboard operators in a shutout loss on the road against the Chicago Bears.
Caleb Williams led the Bears starters on an early touchdown drive and the home team’s reserves piled on for a 38-0 win against a Bills team that played without more than two dozen key players.
“Certainly not up to our standard, what we expect,” Bills coach Sean McDermott said. “Got a lot of work to do, that’s very clear. Doesn’t matter who’s out there — ones, twos, threes, fours — whoever it is, we expect them to perform and we expect our level of performance to be much better than that.”
Mike White started at quarterback for the Bills and was 4 of 11 passing for 54 yards, seeming to submarine his chances of winning the backup job.
Buffalo’s offense netted just 37 yards in the first half, and the closest the Bills came to scoring came just before halftime when Caden Davis attempted a 56-yard field goal that missed wide right.
Mitchell Trubisky was 7 of 13 passing for 56 yards against the team for which he started four seasons after being drafted second overall in 2017.
Frank Gore Jr. led the Bills with 50 yards rushing on eight attempts, while adding another 31 yards on four receptions. He also lost a fumble.
Rookie defensive back Jordan Hancock was a bright spot on defense making eight tackles before leaving the game in the third quarter with a shoulder injury. The fifth-round pick from Ohio State replaced starter Cole Bishop at safety early on before moving to nickel defender to start the second half.
Bishop, one of the few Bills starters to see the field, was beat for a long touchdown early in the game.
Rookie cornerback Dorian Strong also had eight tackles. Free agent addition Michael Hoecht had a sack.
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Jonah Bronstein joined the WIVB squad in 2022 as a digital sports reporter. The Buffalonian has covered the Bills, Sabres, Bandits, Bisons, colleges, high schools and other notable sporting events in Western New York since 2005, for publications including The Associated Press, The Buffalo News, and Niagara Gazette. Read more of his work here.