'Some loose pieces' in Soldier Field turf for Bears' preseason game vs. Bengals

Turf talk is back at Soldier Field, and that’s never a good thing.

For the Bears’ lone home preseason game, the grass looked discolored and worn before kickoff against the Bengals on Saturday. It wasn’t the worst condition the field has been in, and coach Matt Eberflus said it passed NFL inspection, but it wasn’t ideal.

“I didn’t like it at all, really,” left guard Teven Jenkins said. “It was a little slippery in some parts, and then some parts were sticky.”

It didn’t help that it rained during pre-game warmups and poured in the fourth quarter.

The stadium hadn’t hosted any events since two Metallica concerts last weekend, though it rained heavily throughout the Chicago area Thursday and Friday.

Eberflus described the turf as fine and good but said it was resodded “a little bit later because of the concerts and everything like that.” Kicker Cairo Santos was told the grass was installed Thursday, but a Bears spokesperson didn’t specify beyond saying it was done sometime after the Metallica show Sunday.

“There were some loose pieces we felt,” Santos said. “The length was great. Some soft spots here and there.

“It was things we’ve seen in the past. We don’t have a game here again for a couple of weeks, so I imagine it’ll be amazing by Week 1. But it was just a little loose today. We were able to overcome that because we’ve known how bad that grass has been for a couple of years now.”

It was nowhere near as bad as it was two years ago for a preseason game against the Chiefs when NFLPA president JC Tretter blasted the playing conditions and said, “The NFL can and should do better.”

That was part of the motivation for Eberflus to push for a change from the stadium’s traditional Kentucky bluegrass to Tahoma 31 Bermuda for the 2022 season. The grass had mostly been a non-issue since.

The Bears’ next home game is their season opener Sept. 8.

Gordon back with sack

Cornerback Kyler Gordon, who hadn’t practiced in full between July 25 and Thursday because of injury, started and had the hardest hit of the game. Midway through the first quarter, he blitzed, untouched, to sack Logan Woodside. Even though Gordon blitzed from Woodside’s right, the Bengals quarterback never saw him coming.

“I was waiting for him to look,” Gordon said. “I was prepared for that. He wasn’t looking. . . . It’s a good feeling. That changed the whole game. Put a little pressure on him. Getting hit, you don’t want to get no more, so you’re going to start looking around and being more aware.”

Biles sighting

Fresh off winning three gold medals in the Olympics, Simone Biles went to Soldier Field to watch husband Jonathan Owens, a Bears safety.

Biles wore a denim jacket with images of Owens — in a Packers uniform — on it. She put out a social-media video from the sideline before the game, saying, “Go Bears.”

She likely will be at plenty of games this season. Owens said the plan is for her to live here with him rather than at their permanent residence in Houston.

This and that

Running back Khalil Herbert led the Bears with five carries for 31 yards, including a 21-yard gain. Velus Jones ran six times for 13 yards. D’Andre Swift and Roschon Johnson didn’t play.

† Undrafted quarterback Austin Reed didn’t play as the Bears stuck with Tyson Bagent and Brett Rypien in the second half. With Bagent and Rypien seemingly establishing their spots on the depth chart, Reed is a candidate to be waived, then brought back on the practice squad.

† The Bears came out of the two-minute warning with a first-and-goal at the Bengals’ 9-yard line, but Eberflus, likely in the name of sportsmanship and safety, called for Rypien to kneel three times and run out the clock on a 27-3 victory.