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• READ: Bears TE Cole Kmet flashes promise in brief preseason outing

1. More of the same for the Bears. Unfortunately, Thursday’s game featured some of the same issues that plagued the Bears’ offense last season. Justin Fields only played one series, but in that drive he ended up scrambling or making dicey short throws, resulting in minimal to no yardage. This can be partially attributed to the lack of protection he was getting from his offensive line, another issue that has carried over from 2021. The combination of a struggling O-line and an uneasy QB doesn’t bode well for Chicago, unless the team can improve significantly on both counts before Week 1. However, one spark of hope came when Fields rolled out of the pocket and made a pretty 19-yard pass to tight end Cole Kmet to extend the drive. The Fields-Kmet connection appeared strong in the limited snaps they played together, as Fields targeted him three times, completing two passes for 31 yards on the first drive.
2. Geno can’t seal the deal. With Drew Lock unable to start Thursday’s game as planned due to COVID, Geno Smith had a golden opportunity to potentially wrap up the QB competition and support Pete Carroll's comments from earlier this week that he was the team's No. 1 quarterback. But faced with the opportunity to solidify his position, Smith was unable to lead a scoring drive. Seattle only had one first down in its first three drives, and that came on a 33-yard run from RB Travis Homer. The offense just couldn’t get anything going. Smith made a few nice passes, but he couldn’t string a series of plays together and convert yards into points. Not all of this can be blamed on the QB, as there were some big drops by his receivers, but some other throws could have been placed better. Smith finished 10 for 18 for 112 yards and no touchdowns in two quarters of play, and suffered a bruise knee, according to Carroll. It wasn’t the kind of performance he needed to all but secure him the starting role. Instead, he left the door open for Lock to make his case for being the starter when he returns for Seattle’s final preseason game next week.