Chicago Bears Score and Recap (Week 16): Bills 35, Bears 13 – Bills Run Hot at Frozen Soldier Field

The Bears welcomed the AFC leading Buffalo Bills to a frigid Soldier Field Saturday. Chicago jumped ahead early but once again the better team eventually took home the win.

Justin Fields was very sharp on the opening drive leading the Bears down the field with the help of a long run from David Montgomery. Fields paid off the drive with a 6-yard touchdown pass to Dante Pettis to make it 7-0.

Buffalo answered back immediately with Josh Allen hitting Gabriel Davis for 19-yard touchdown. A missed extra point kept Chicago ahead by a point and Cairo Santos would hit a field goal to put the home team ahead 10-6 at halftime.

The Bills came out in the second half and ran wild on the Bears defense. Devin Singletary broke a 33-yard touchdown run and a two point conversion gave the road team a 7 point lead. James Cook followed with his own 27-yard scoring dash to increase the deficit to 21–10.

Linebacker Nicholas Morrow intercepted Allen in the fourth quarter and it led to a Santos field goal to cut the lead to just eight points. That was as close as the Bears would get, however, as Buffalo would add two more late touchdowns and win going away 35-13. (Box score)

Why the Bears Lost

Chicago’s undermanned secondary did a very good job keeping Josh Allen in check holding him to just 172 yards and intercepting him twice. The problem was the run defense which allowed 254 yards and three touchdowns to Buffalo.

Key Moment

After the Morrow interception, the Bears had the ball deep in Bills territory down 21-10. Unfortunately, they could only get a field goal out of the turnover and Buffalo was able to pull away.

Stats That Matter

• With almost no viable wide receivers available it was a very difficult day for Justin Fields. Buffalo was able to focus on preventing the Bears quarterback from running holding him to just 11 yards on the ground. To make matters worse, he appeared to be limping after his final play of the afternoon.
• Montgomery had a very good first half and then completely disappeared in the second half as did the rest of the offense.
• Probably the only bright spot for the Bears was rookie Velus Jones Jr. The speedy wide receiver had two catches for 52 yards and several impressive kickoff returns.

Bottom Line

Chicago fought hard but just could not keep pace with the mighty Bills. The Bears continue to hold the number two pick in the draft and with Houston winning Saturday still aren’t out of contention for the number one selection. Ryan Poles and Matt Eberflus should seriously consider shutting down Justin Fields for the rest of the season. With so little healthy talent around him, it does not seem worth it to get him further injured the last two games.

Next Up

The Bears head to Detroit for a New Year’s Day matchup with the Lions. The 12pm CT kickoff is available on FOX.