The Bears took an early 7-0 lead on the game’s opening possession as quarterback Tyson Bagent raced around right end for a 5-yard touchdown. The TD run capped a 7-play, 73-yard drive that was highlighted by Bagent’s 44-yard pass to receiver Nsimba Webster. Bagent sprinted to his left and threw downfield to a wide-open Webster.
The Bears defense followed by stuffing back-to-back running plays, forcing the Chiefs to turn the ball over on downs. On third-and-1 from the Chicago 43, linebacker Amen Ogbongbemiga and nickel back Reddy Steward teamed up to stop running back Deneric Prince for no gain. Then on fourth-and-1, safety Tarvarius Moore rocketed up field and dropped Prince for a three-yard loss.
The Chiefs later had a chance to get on the board, but kicker Harrison Butker missed a 59-yard field goal attempt wide right.
Bagent exited the game after two possessions, having completed 3 of 6 passes for 57 yards and an 83.3 passer rating, though one of his incompletions was a drop.
The Bears increased their lead to 10-0 on Cairo Santos’ 32-yard field goal early in the second quarter. The kick was set up by a pair of Brett Rypien 17-yard completions to Webster and receiver Tyler Scott.
After the Bears defense stopped the Chiefs, Matt Araiza’s punt from the 50 bounced off the back of return specialist DeAndre Carter’s leg and Kansas City’s Jaden Hicks recovered it at the Chicago 9. Carter was shoved back into the ball by a Chiefs player.
Two plays later, Steward stepped in front of tight end Jared Wiley and intercepted a Chris Oladokun pass at the goal line, returning it 11 yards.
The Chiefs cut the deficit to 10-7 on fullback Carson Steele’s 1-yard touchdown run midway through the second period. On the previous play, Steele broke three tackles on a 31-yard run that was initially ruled a TD, but the ball was placed at the 1 after a replay review showed he was tackled out of bounds short of the end zone.
The Bears then scored 10 points in a :21 span in the final minute of the second quarter to take a 20-7 halftime lead. First, Rypien’s 37-yard completion to Scott down the left sideline set up Santos’ 37-yard field goal with :43 remaining.
“We were expecting a lot of man coverage and so [I was] pressed up on that particular route,” said Scott, who led the Bears with six catches for 99 yards. “I had a go [route]. I knew ‘Ryp’ was going to throw it to me, so just get open and [I] got an opportunity.”
