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The Chicago Bears fell to the Buffalo Bills 35 to 13 in a game where MVP candidate Josh Allen turned the ball over twice for Buffalo and was held under his season passing and rushing yards average. But the Bills have one of the best top to bottom rosters in the NFL, and they can overcome Allen not playing up to his usual high standards.
Chicago fought as hard as they could, even leading 10 to 6 at the half, but Buffalo's talent came through. This is despite the Bills being flagged 9 times for 72 yards to just 2 for 15 for the Bears.
Even with offensive coordinator Luke Getsy calling the game like he was looking forward to getting home for Christmas Eve, there wasn't much of a chance the Bears would topple the AFC's best team.
The overall numbers favored the Bills in total yards (426 to 209), first downs (20 to 11), and third-down conversions (54.5% to 16.7%).
Now let's take a closer look at the playing time breakdowns for the Bears and also some individual stats.
OFFENSE
Justin Fields was 15 of 23 passing for 119 yards with 1 touchdown and a passer rating of 92.5, and he ran 7 times for 11 yards. It was a down game for him in the chilly conditions at Soldier Field, but he still managed to uncork this pass for 44 yards.
JF1 with an absolute bomb to V12 ⚡️
— Chicago Bears (@ChicagoBears) December 24, 2022
: #BUFvsCHI on CBS pic.twitter.com/Or6sAvlkYl
Velus Jones Jr. had 2 grabs for 52 yards and averaged 28.3 yards per kick return.
David Montgomery ran the ball 16 times for 62 yards and caught 4 for 22.
Cole Kmet had 5 receptions for 27 yards.
Dante Pettis caught 2 for 11 yards and snagged Fields' TD pass while adding a 12-yard punt return.
Byron Pringle had 2 receptions for 34 yards.
Khalil Herbert had 3 yards on 8 offensive touches.
DEFENSE
Nicholas Morrow had an interception and 8 tackles.
Joe Thomas racked up 7 tackles.
Jaquan Brisker had 7 tackels and a sack.
Kyler Gordon had 5 tackles and an interception.
Matt Adams had 2 tackles and a forced fumble, and Elijah Hicks recovered it.
The Bears allowed 254 yards rushing to Buffalo at an 8.2 average per carry.
SPECIAL TEAMS*
*The above image has players that only played in the third phase.
Cairo Santos was 2 for 3 on field goals, and he made his only extra point.
Trenton Gill had a 49.3-yard punting average, and he hit one inside the 20-yard line.
Elijah Hicks and the newly signed Elijah Lee both had 2 special team tackles.
To check out the complete Bears vs Bills box score, I find that ESPN has an easy-to-navigate site.
All statistics and snap counts are taken directly from the NFL's Game Statistic and Information System, as are the accompanying pictures.
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