ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. — It remains to be seen what the Bears’ eight sacks against the Bills in a preseason game on Saturday means in December.
All eight came against the Bills’ backup quarterbacks — Mitch Trubisky (two) and Shane Buechele (six). All eight came from backup players with a combined three starts in the NFL. More often than not with rookies and backups in the NFL, what happens in August stays in August.
But rookie defensive end Austin Booker’s 2 1/2 sacks in the Bears’ 33-6 victory over the Bills at Highmark Stadium were big enough for safety Kevin Byard to quibble over the total.
“I saw it was 2 1/2, but it’s three in our book,” Byard said.
On a day dominated by Caleb Williams’ NFL debut, the Bears’ defense that is likely going to have carry more than its share of the load this season was appropriately in the shadows, moving one step closer to Week 1 more than anything else.
Four starters did not play — defensive end Montez Sweat, cornerbacks Kyler Gordon and Tyrique Stevenson and safety Jaquan Brisker. The first-team defense played two series — a three-and-out to start, then an 18-play, 73-yard drive that was started by Josh Allen and finished by Trubisky. Cornerback Jaylon Johnson’s pass break-up in the end zone helped force the Bills to settle for a field goal.
“This is part of the journey,” Byard said. “Obviously we’re not going to show everything and they’re doing the same thing. But it’s good to go out there and kind of get their first time hitting and doing whatever since the last game of last season. So it’s good for guys to take that next step in their role, whatever they’re doing in the defense or offense.”
Linebacker Micah Baskerville returned an interception of Buechele 53 yards for a touchdown to give the Bears a 19-6 lead in the fourth quarter. Defensive end Daniel Hardy had 2 1/2 sacks. Defensive end Khalid Kareem, defensive tackle Zacch Pickens and linebacker Amen Ogbongbemiga had one.
But of all the supporting-role plays, Booker’s seemed to resonate a little more as a harbinger of things to come. The long-and-lean, 6-6, 245-pound Booker has been a player of intrigue since he was drafted in the fifth round out of Kansas, because of his size, athleticism and untapped potential after playing just 18 games in college.
“Booker is going to be good,” Pickens said. “He loves football. He takes it to heart. He always shows up ready to work. The guys in the room help him out. He can go far with that.”
Booker still is a project in need of a lot of development, but with his relentless aggressiveness, he’s making an impact without the polish.
“It’s what we saw coming out,” coach Matt Eberflus said. “He’s got a really good slip — an ability to rush the passer with speed and not predetermine what he’s gonna do ahead of time. I think that stresses the offensive tackles out when a guy doesn’t predetermine or shuffle his feet. He shows that speed-to-power and speed-and-spin inside — those out-and-out moves he likes to do. It’s good.”
But for the Bears’ starting defense, this was just a start. With Sweat out, defensive ends DeMarcus Walker and Dominique Robinson and defensive tackle Andrew Billings made plays in the run game, linebacker Tremaine Edmunds batted a Josh Allen pass on a blitz and Jaylon Johnson had that pass break-up in the end zone.
“It was good to get a three-and-out on the first drive,” Byard said. “Obviously nobody wants to be on the field for the 18-play drive, but it’s great to force a field goal. When the offense is on the field for 18 plays, they’re supposed to score a touchdown, so it’s good for the first-team defense to bow up and force field goals.
Edmunds’ blitz was an interesting wrinkle. Edmunds did not have a sack last season after getting 6 1/2 in five seasons with the Bills.
“I think I can do a lot of things out there,” Edmunds said. “Any opportunity that I have, I’m out there to make plays. So that’s what I’m gonna do.”
The preseason is about incremental progress, so it’s hard to tell what’s real and what’s not. But every little bit helps, even after the game. Walker, a seven-year veteran, was feeling pretty good about himself after talking to Bills offensive tackle Dion Dawkins following the game.
“We talked about each other’s game and where we can get better,” Walker said. “I got some good knowledge from him. Now it’s just continue to keep working.”
That’s just another positive step on the trek toward Week 1.
“Absolutely,” Walker said. “For him to tell me that I’ve got the potential of getting 10-plus sacks — just gotta tweak the little details — obviously that’s good, because he’s one of the best left tackles in the league. He didn’t have to tell me that. But he gave me some good things to learn on.”