Jay Cutler looked sharp, Nick Foles struggled and both the Chicago Bears and Philadelphia Eagles looked extra sloppy during the preseason opener for both teams on Friday night from Soldier Field in Chicago as the Bears prevailed 34-28.
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Cutler completed 9-13 passes for 85 yards and a touchdown to tight end Zach Miller who took advantage of the extra playing time with starting tight end Martellus Bennett serving a suspension for his role in a training camp fight earlier in the week.
He would have had 40 more yards if not for offsetting penalties that wiped out a 40-yard completion to third-year receiver Alshon Jeffery. The Pro Bowl receiver finished with a lone reception for 16 yards as he looks to build on his breakout season from a year ago.
Brandon Marshall was once again the favorite target for Cutler on the abbreviated night for the Bears starters with six targets. The leader of the Bears offense finished with five receptions, including one ridiculous one-handed grab and 31 yards.
The star of the night offensively for the Bears was Miller who had six receptions for 68 yards and two touchdowns. The free agent signee looks to be a lock to be the team’s No. 2 tight end over Dante Rosario.
For the Eagles, Foles threw two interceptions on the night, as many as he had in his magical season in 2013 when he threw 27 touchdowns to only two interceptions. Ryan Mundy and Sherrick McManis victimized Foles as he finished 6-9 passing with 44 yards and no touchdowns.
Mark Sanchez actually looked better in relief as he led the Eagles to two touchdown drives in the second quarter capped off with touchdown runs by Matthew Tucker who finished with a team-high 40 yards on the night.
Sanchez, in his first action with the Eagles went 7-10 with 79 yards and showed some chemistry with tight end Zach Ertz who finished with a team-high four receptions for 60 yards.
The Eagles took a 21-14 lead at halftime after Josh Huff returned a kick 102 yards for a touchdown.
Neither of the team’s stud running backs factored much in to the action tonight as LeSean McCoy had one carry for zero yards for the Eagles and Matt Forte had three carries for minus-five yards.
Chicago had their way with the Eagles defense tonight as they passed for 399 yards, with Jimmy Clausen leading the way with 150 yards and two touchdowns, and outgained them 491-345 for the game. The game turned in the second half, in large part because of Clausen, as they outscored Philadelphia 20-7 in the second half.
The game was marred with turnovers, penalties and shoddy special teams play, as you may expect for the first preseason game of the year. The two teams combined to commit seven turnovers and 22 penalties for 197 yards.
Next week should see more action from the starters as they should play into the second quarter, and hopefully the play should be a bit more disciplined with another week of practice to shore up the mistakes.