The Chicago Bears second preseason game against the Buffalo Bills was a dominating performance on both sides of the ball, long after the starters exited the game .
While the team's defensive line wreaked havoc all game long, the Bears run game is ultimately what helped put the game out of reach for good.
Offensive coordinator Shane Waldron's unit saw success and efficient carries from multiple backs during the win with three players finishing with over 30 rushing yards. Second-year running back Roschon Johnson did not play in the win against Buffalo after seeing six carries last week in the Hall of Fame Game.
Newly signed back D'Andre Swift started the game on offense for the Bears and while he didn't do much on the ground, his 42-yard screen pass on the opening drive ended up being the team's biggest play of the game. Khalil Herbert took over as the primary back on the second drive and finished the game with nine carries for 31 yards.
The biggest play-maker on the ground for the Bears was undrafted free agent rookie Ian Wheeler, who scored the final two touchdowns of the game. Wheeler was inactive last week and shined down the stretch today with the game out of reach.
The real surprising performance out of the backfield came from wide receiver Velus Jones Jr. who started taking reps at running back this week at practice. The experiment proved to be an outstanding success with Jones adding 34 yards and a touchdown on the ground as well.
"I thought it was positive," Bears head coach Matt Eberflus said after the game about Jones playing in the backfield. "He did a nice job of really getting north. He's got really good lean mass and he's a physical player. You could see that to fall forward for those positive yards. He's been good back there."
It was great to see Wheeler make the most out of his opportunities during his NFL debut after being forced to sit out last week due to an injury that popped up in practice. Wheeler will need to continue doing so if he wants to land on the roster.
Wheeler will be in a direct competition with veteran Travis Homer, who had four carries for 18 yards during the win. The real deciding factor to determine who gets kept on the 53-man roster will come down to their value on special teams.
Seeing all these different players get involved on the ground in the win is a great sign and really shows how strong the Bears backfield can look going into the season.
Related: Bears young defensive line answers the team's biggest question against the Bills in route to a dominating preseason victory
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