Bears’ starting defense doesn’t hold up well vs. Bengals’ backups in preseason game

CINCINNATI — With a mix of second- and third-stringers, the Bengals drove 67 yards for a field goal on their first possession against most of the Bears’ first-team defense to begin their preseason game Saturday.

For a unit that has plenty of question marks three weeks ahead of the regular season, that sequence didn’t help.

Bengals coach Zac Taylor held out quarterback Joe Burrow and the rest of his starters on both sides of the ball, as well as 41-year-old backup Joe Flacco, which meant journeyman Josh Johnson got the start.

Johnson completed 7 of 10 passes for 55 yards and pushed the Bengals to the Bears’ 7-yard line before setting for Evan McPherson’s 25-yard field goal. His offensive line, comprised of four second-stringers and one from the third team, held up fine and did not allow a quarterback hit against the Bears’ starting defensive line of Montez Sweat, Dayo Odeyingbo, Gervon Dexter and Kentavius Street.

The Bears’ starting defense performed much better in the joint practice Thursday, when it spent the day dealing with Burrow and the Bengals’ starters.

The Bears kept Dexter, Odeyingbo and rookie cornerback Malik Muhammad in for the Bengals’ second possession, but pulled the rest of their starters. Dexter broke into the backfield and flushed Johnson out of the pocket on second-and-10, but Johnson bought enough time to throw the ball away.

Odeyingbo hit Johnson as he looked to throw on third down, helping force an incomplete pass, and the Bears forced a three-and-out on that possession.

While the Bears were one of the top scoring teams in the NFL last season, their defense was inconsistent. They struggled to stop the run or generate a pass rush and finished 29th in total defense, but negated a lot of that by leading the league with 33 takeaways.