Bears vs. Bills Preseason Week 2: Key Storylines and Prediction

Christine Tannous - USA Today Sports

Dustin Riese · Senior Writer · 7 hours ago

With the first week of the NFL Preseason now in the rear view, the Chicago Bears, along with every other team, are pressing along as they prepare for week two. Depending on the organization and how they want to go about things, the quality of play will look much different this week as more starters will see time on the field as opposed to week one.

Considering the final preseason game is a short week and will be taking place within five days from the conclusion of this week, a lot of teams are going to treat this week like a dress rehearsal, as you could see the Bears play their starters until halftime.

The same can be said about their opponents, as the Bears will be facing off against one of the best teams in the league, the Buffalo Bills. Behind a hungry Josh Allen and a brand new contract to James Cook, could this be the season where the Bills not only take down the Chiefs in the playoffs, but lock down the No. 1 seed in the AFC?

Their schedule will help with that, as they have one of the more favorable schedules in the game, and everyone knows how difficult it is to play in Buffalo during the winter. The same can be said about Chicago, although it has been a while since the Bears made the postseason, let alone hosted a playoff game.

Chicago is long overdue for a home playoff game, and the Bears are hoping this season is a step in the right direction for them as they try to turn things around and build for the future.

Here are some things to look for ahead of week 2 and a prediction for this week's game."

Caleb Williams

This is about as clear-cut and dry as it can be, as the pressure is on Caleb Williams to succeed this season. Sure, there were a lot of good moments during his rookie season, but also some bad moments as he was an inconsistent quarterback at best. That tends to happen for most rookies as they adjust to the speed of the NFL game, but this is year two, and Williams needs to take significant strides forward to give the Bears the confidence that he is their future.

Looking at how things have progressed in camp, you notice that Williams has struggled a lot, which has to be concerning if you are a fan of this team. In his defense, the Bears' defense is one of the best units in the game, so going against them every day can be difficult. He is also learning his second offensive scheme in two seasons, and you saw how that worked out with Justin Fields when he had virtually a new offense to learn each season.

Fix special teams

When you look back at the Bears' first preseason game against the Dolphins, one of their most significant areas of concern was the special teams, which has been a strength of this team for the past few seasons. Sure, Cairo Santos made all his kicks, which has come to be expected, but the Bears' lack of return coverage was a massive issue and gave the Dolphins far too many short field opportunities.

Had the Dolphins' first-string offense been playing most of that game, there is no way they would have failed to capitalize on those short fields, as the Bears didn't help their defense. Doing that against this Buffalo offense, and you are asking for a long day, as Allen knows how to make teams pay for their mistakes.

Chicago is one of those teams that is going to rely heavily on special teams this season, whether that be actual field goal and extra point tries or the kickoffs themselves. The better the coverage, the better things become for their defense, as it will allow Dennis Allen to get far more aggressive with his play calls.

Contain Josh Allen

Although this game may not count from a results side of things, it does count in terms of the confidence this team can gain from either winning this game or keeping things close. The best way to do that is to figure out a way to contain Allen, as he is going to get his during the reps he has on the field.

Allen has been a top-five quarterback in the league for quite some time, and some argue he is a top-five player who is the engine that makes this team tick. Since signing his massive extension a few years back, Allen has taken his game to a new level and has played at an MVP level the past few seasons.

For the Bears to be taken seriously this season, they are going to have to send a message to the top teams in the league, and what better way to do that than by hitting Allen in the mouth early. It will be interesting to see what Dennis Allen dials up from a pressure side this week, as the Bears need to put the pressure on early to make something happen.

Prediction: Bills 24 - Bears 17

As exciting as it will be to have the starters take the field on Sunday, this is still the preseason, so you can't expect the starters to play much into the second half, if at all. With that said, this game will come down to who has the more complete roster reserves-wise, and the Bears have the slight edge in that category as Ryan Poles has done a great job building up this roster.

The only problem is the Bills' starting unit is vastly better than Chicago's, and depending on how they do in the series they play, they could put the Bears in a massive hole that becomes too big to climb out of. Either way, look for another competitive and fun preseason game, and that is all you can ask as a fan.