6 things to watch for when the Chicago Bears face the Kansas City Chiefs

The Chicago Bears will finally be back on the gridiron as they host the Kansas City Chiefs at Soldier Field in the preseason opener. Bears nation gets a glimpse into what this team is capable of doing on the field–even if many are predicting the Chicago Bears to be horrible this season.

Remember folks, it is just a preseason game. One poor performance or one great performance is not going to predict the outcome of the regular season.

Please try not to fall too in love with any Jesper Horsted-like performances. He is one of the many past preseason heroes to show out when the games do not count only to hardly be active during the regular season.

This game marks Matt Eberflus’ unofficial debut as the new Bears head coach (consider it a cold open as the games do not count until Week 1 on September 11th). Eberflus plans to play the starters 15-20 snaps in the preseason opener. Unless the Bears’ offense has a long opening drive resulting in a touchdown, that probably means the offensive starters will probably play the entire first quarter.

The Bears did release their unofficial depth chart for the preseason and they have one starter on the offensive line that is a bit of a surprise but we will get to that later.

The Chicago Bears will be without center Lucas Patrick as he recovers from a hand injury that required surgery. Also, Cole Kmet and David Montegomery are unlikely to suit up as they are battling injuries picked up in training camp.

In addition, the Chicago Bears are still dealing with linebacker Roquan Smith’s training camp hold-in as he tries to negotiate a contract extension.

Former MVP and four-time Pro Bowl quarterback Patrick Mahomes is set to play a quarter for the Chiefs.

So it is a game worth watching, at least the first quarter. But if you are a true diehard Chicago Bears fan, you want to consume every second of this preseason game for a few reasons.