Ben Johnson didn’t specify how much action Caleb Williams and other Bears offensive and defensive starters would receive in Friday night’s preseason finale in Kansas City.

Whether or not it was the original plan, Johnson left Williams and most of the first-team offense on the field for the entire first half — four drives total.

Williams finished the day throwing for 113 yards on 11-of-15 passing with one touchdown and a 116.8 passer rating. But it was hardly an unequivocal success for the second-year quarterback and his fellow starters.

Against the Chiefs’ first-team defense, the Bears struggled to find a rhythm, falling victim to blunders caused by the road environment.

On the first drive, Williams fumbled the ball in an awkward transition from snap to backfield exchange. Before the second-down play, Colston Loveland was whistled for a false start. Williams was chased out of the pocket and forced to throw the ball away on second-and-19, and with Chiefs defenders guarding the first-down marker, a third-down completion fell well short of the line to gain.

One drive later, already down 10-0, the Bears turned to the run game before Caleb Williams was sacked for a five-yard loss on second-and-3.

In the Bears’ third drive and last against the Chiefs’ starters, Williams and the run game pressed downfield before a misfire intended for Rome Odunze in the end zone on third-and-5 stalled the drive, forcing the Bears to settle for a short field goal.

The unexpected fourth drive came with the Chiefs’ backups in the game. But Johnson opted to take advantage of the two-minute situation and sent his starters out for one final drive.

Things clicked for Williams and his receiving corps, finding Olamide Zaccheaus for a 25-yard reception and Odunze for a 37-yard catch-and-run before hitting Odunze for a 3-yard touchdown.

Not a perfect day, but one that ended on a positive note.

Adam Hoge

Well, if we’ve learned anything about the Bears this preseason, it’s that they’re somewhere between beating the Bills’ backups 38-0 and losing to the Chiefs’ starters 17-3. In all seriousness, I liked that Ben Johnson left Caleb Williams and the starters in until halftime. Even though it was against backups, Williams looked much more comfortable and even overcame a tough drop by Rome Odunze.

Overall, Williams only had four incompletions, with two throwaways and a drop. The sack and the high incompletion to Odunze in the end zone were the only two negative plays I saw. It would have been nice to see him more in rhythm against the Chiefs’ starters, but Steve Spagnuolo provided the Bears with a tough test that you don’t usually get in the preseason. They will benefit from it.

Adam Jahns

Some questions definitely emerged on defense. Is the Bears’ pass rush good enough? Or will defensive tackle Grady Jarrett be that much of a difference-maker? Can cornerback Nahshon Wright really be a starter? Or will Jaylon Johnson’s return change everything? The Bears’ No. 1 defense struggled against quarterback Patrick Mahomes but a lot of teams do.

It’s the preseason, and the Bears were without Johnson, Jarrett, linebacker Tremaine Edmunds and nickel back Kyler Gordon. There is no reason to panic. If anything, it should be a welcome wake-up call. The Bears defense felt it belonged on the field against quarterback Josh Allen and the Buffalo Bills during their joint practice. Defensive coordinator Dennis Allen said that himself. His unit has also handled quarterback Caleb Williams and the Bears’ starters in camp, too. But Mahomes’ success on Friday night was a reminder that they still have work to do. That could be a good thing.

Mark Carman

Ben Johnson wins the first half. After the offense looked bad to start the game, Johnson had them play the entire first half to find their rhythm. Caleb to Rome came alive late against the Chiefs’ second-teamers, but at least it was there. And, the run game was showing some steady footing to get the Bears offense moving initially. As for the defense, well, at least they don’t have to see Patrick Mahomes again until the Super Bowl.

Patrick Norton

In an ideal world for Caleb Williams and Ben Johnson, the Bears’ offense would look like a well-oiled machine in their preseason finale. But that wasn’t a realistic possibility in year one of this quarterback-coach marriage. Instead, they’ll take the next best thing: several looks against a playoff-caliber Steve Spagnuolo-led defense.

It wasn’t pretty at times, but Williams got through it relatively unscathed and with plenty of moments to learn from before the regular season begins in a couple of weeks. Progress. Wake me up when September begins.

Greg Braggs Jr.

Preseason reps matter! Shoutout to the Chiefs for playing their starters. The Bears needed to see what that looked like. A real challenge. The experience they got tonight can’t be replicated in any practice, joint or not. And shoutout to Ben Johnson for recognizing the Bears needed every single replicate. Played them all the way to the half.

What did we learn? As has been said numerous times, this will be a work in progress but progress nonetheless. All eyes on the offense. Yes, they got smacked in the mouth in the 1st quarter and had some sloppy operations of their own, but responded with two scoring drives to finish, a 12-play and a seven-play, where they started to win the line of scrimmage and cleaned up those operations.

The first team defense on the other hand? They got smacked in the mouth and never responded. Not easy going up against the G.O.A.T., Patrick Mahomes. But the bigger concern was the lack of pass rush. Even without intricate defensive looks, you just didn’t see very much burst or push, or really any, for that matter.

Regardless, this was valuable experience for the players and coaching staff with 17 days to figure it all out before the real tests begin.

Stephen Nicholas

When I watch the Chiefs’ first-team offense, I can’t help but remember thinking that this is what I hoped the Bears’ offense was going to look like after they drafted Caleb Williams.

Fumble. False start. Sack. This wasn’t it. I spent a lot of time watching the offseason’s hottest free agent target for the Bears, Trey Smith, manhandle Bears defensive tackles. What could have been if not for a franchise tag. It was encouraging to see D’Andre Swift run through would-be tacklers instead of trying to bounce it outside like we all saw all of last season.

Caleb’s final drive looked good, albeit against backups. Three consecutive well-placed balls to Rome Odunze (two of which were caught) was encouraging. That connection is growing. Big step backward for the first-team offense AND defense today. The next 16 days just got way more important before the season opener against the Minnesota Vikings on September 8th.