Mahomes leads sharp Chiefs offense
before Bears rally for 29-27 win in preseason finale
[August 23, 2025]
By DAVE SKRETTA
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.
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Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes (15) scrambles as
Chicago Bears linebacker Ruben Hyppolite II (47) defends during the
first half of a preseason NFL football game Friday, Aug. 22, 2025,
in Kansas City, Mo. (AP Photo/Ed Zurga)
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.
Kicking woes
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.
System outage
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.
Injuries
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.
Up next
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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