Bears beat Chiefs: six winners and five losers

The Chicago Bears beat the Kansas City Chiefs, 27-20, on Saturday afternoon at Soldier Field in Chicago, Illinois. We recapped the game here.

Here are the game’s winner and losers:

Winners

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• Patrick Mahomes did not dazzle with something like The Throw, but I liked that aspect of the game. Magical, home-run plays aren’t going to happen every single game, yet you still need to find a way to win. Mahomes was extremely efficient, and though he wasn’t able to cash in on his lone second-half drive, you have the like the rhythm he was able to establish twice. Mahomes finished 18 of 24 for 196 yards and a touchdown.
• The Chiefs first-team run defense felt better, as long as Chase Daniel didn’t have the ball in his hands. Daniel looking like Michael Vick in running for 47 yards on six tries is not a good thing and will need to be addressed (the Chiefs have a Week 16 date will Russell Wilson this season), but when the Bears running backs tried to gain yards, the Chiefs defense came up big. You could tell Reggie Ragland and Anthony Hitchens are still working into football shape, but they should make a difference this season.
• I know it was called back on a very controversial call, but how long have we been waiting for a hit like that out of outside linebacker Tanoh Kpassagnon? Kpassagnon absolutely crushed Daniel for a sack, and if that translates for the regular season, the Chiefs may have to think about mixing in the 6-foot-7, 290-pounder a bit more than originally planned for.

• Marcus Kemp was very impressive on his 55-yard touchdown, and that kind of play is one that will make the Chiefs think twice about cutting you. If the Chiefs do pass on Kemp, I expect him to find a home this time around.
• Chase Litton continues to distance himself from Matt McGloin as the No. 3 quarterback, at least in my mind. Litton finished 4 of 7 for 67 yards and the 55-yard touchdown he threw to Kemp.
• De’Anthony Thomas looked really sharp in his debut. He seems to have regained his explosion, and special teams coordinator Uncle Dave Toub loves him. I think he makes this team as the fifth wide receiver, making the battle for No. 6 all the more interesting.

Losers

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• The Chiefs first-team pass defense, particularly cornerbacks David Amerson and Orlando Scandrick, looked absolutely outmatched against Daniel and the second-team Bears offense. With Mitchell Trubisky on the sideline and the Bears pretty much writing off this game as meaning much, you would have like to see Amerson and Scandrick look good. They did not.
• The Chiefs run game did very little to impress me. It was good for the Chiefs to see Kareem Hunt manage the receiving touchdown, but on the ground he had three rushes for seven yards. Spencer Ware, Damien Williams and Darrel Williams combined for six rushes for three yards.
• Every action has an equal and opposite reaction. The wide receiver duo of Jehu Chesson and Gehrig Dieter did not benefit from Kemp’s shifty touchdown reception on Saturday afternoon. They could be on the outside looking in at that coveted No. 6 wide receiver position.
• Speaking of the wide receiver position, Saturday did little to make me feel better about Sammy Watkins. Watkins finished with just one catch on four targets for 15 yards. It’s hard to watch Watkins’ preseason production for the salary he’s making as the secondary struggles mightily. Perhaps those funds should have been allocated elsewhere.
• The referees calling penalties like that on Kpassagnon need to readdress what roughing the passer is. I get there was a change to the rule to prevent defensive players from landing on quarterbacks, but no matter what language that is decided upon, the Kpassagnon sack should never be a penalty. That’s just football.