KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Patrick Mahomes and the first-team Kansas City Chiefs offense were in midseason form in their preseason finale Friday night, scoring on each of their three opportunities with the ball before the Chicago Bears rallied for a 29-27 victory.
Mahomes was 8 of 13 for 143 yards and a touchdown in just over a quarter of work, and he'd have had another TD pass had running back Kareem Hunt not dropped a wide-open throw in the end zone. Isiah Pacheco had a touchdown run and Rashee Rice a scoring catch as the reigning AFC champs built a 20-3 lead before pulling most of their starters.
Kansas City plays its opener in two weeks against the Chargers in Sao Paulo.
“I was super excited to get out there, especially at Arrowhead (Stadium) and get real reps,” Mahomes said. “We talk about getting here and stuff like that, but to get a feel for the pocket, trust the guys, have a chance to make plays down field — it shows all the hard work that we put in training camp has paid off.
“This is a little step but it’s a step in the right direction. We’ll continue to build as we get ready for the regular season.”
The Chiefs had struggled through preseason losses to Arizona and Seattle, where they were dominated up front on both sides of the ball. But they fared better against the Bears, who had played the Dolphins to a draw before routing Buffalo last week.
“We need to finish the game, obviously, better than what we did,” Chiefs coach Andy Reid said. “but I thought the ones on both sides of the ball did well. Special teams was good throughout the night. It was a good start all the way around.”
While the Bears could seemingly do no wrong in the 38-0 win over the Bills, they had a much tougher time with the Chiefs, who forced Caleb Williams and Co. to punt on their first two possessions. The Bears finally got moving late in the second quarter, and Williams hit Rome Odunze with a touchdown pass to get within 20-10 at halftime.
That was it for Williams, who finished 11 of 15 for 113 yards and the score.
“It was not the start we wanted from our ones, really on offense, defense or special teams. It was disappointing to see how slow we started,” Bears coach Ben Johnson said. “We couldn't stop them when they got down there in the red zone. That wasn't good on that side. Offensively, the first two possessions was really sloppy football that has plagued us in and out of camp so far.”
It took the second-team offense to get the Bears in gear.
Backup quarterback Tyson Bagent, who signed a two-year, $10 million deal this week and then went viral when he grew emotional talking about it on video, played well once he took over in the second half. The former undrafted star from Shepherd University, a Division II program in West Virginia, was 20 of 28 for 212 yards and three touchdown passes.
The last of them was the go-ahead score to Jahdae Walker with 3 seconds left in the game.
The Bears have been thin at running back with Roschon Johnson out with an injury, Travis Homer dealing with a calf problem, and Kyle Monangai and Deion Hankins also out. DeAndre Swift wound up carrying seven times for 28 yards.
Bears kicker Cairo Santos banged a 47-yard field-goal try off the upright in the first half. He had a PAT blocked in the second.
Referee Craig Wrolstad called for a virtual measurement when Chicago was stopped shy of a first down with 5:38 left in the third quarter. But the system was down, Wrolstad said, so an old-school chain gang had to measure. The Bears were indeed short.
Bears: DE Austin Booker will be out “a few weeks” with a knee injury, Johnson said. LB Noah Sewell was banged up tackling the Chiefs' Xavier Worthy late in the first quarter but returned to the game.
Chiefs: WR Jaylen Royals (knee), CB Nazeeh Johnson (shoulder) and LB Jack Cochrane (knee) were among those sitting out. WR Marquise Brown also did not play despite returning to practice this week following an ankle injury.
Bears: Host the Vikings in primetime to open the season Sept. 8.
Chiefs: Head to Brazil to face the Chargers on Sept. 5.
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AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/nfl
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