March 28, 2024


News

Bears tight end Jesper Horsted scores 3 touchdowns in preseason finale

Tight end Jesper Horsted had a heck of a night Saturday, catching three touchdown passes in a Bears preseason victory, 27-24, against the Tennessee Titans at Nissan Stadium in Nashville, Tennessee.

The highlight of the game was rookie quarterback Justin Fields’ first-half touchdown pass, and Horsted was on the receiving end. Horsted made a tough grab in traffic in the waning minutes of the first half. Bears receiver Dazz Newsome was also in the area.

“I saw the ball coming my way,” Horsted said. “I also saw one of my teammates cross in front of me. I’m not sure if the ball was supposed to go to him or me, but I didn’t stop to ask that question.”

For Horsted, his night was only just beginning.

In the second half, he caught a 6-yard touchdown pass from third-string quarterback Nick Foles. It capped a 10-play, 69-yard touchdown drive that opened the third quarter for the Bears.

Finally, a one-handed grab midway through the fourth quarter might’ve been the most impressive catch of the night for Horsted. He found open space after the catch and finished off a 54-yard touchdown. That pass also came from Foles.

“[The one-handed catch] just felt like that was my best chance because it was a little bit out in front of me,” Horsted said. “Not to say it wasn’t a good ball by Nick. I just threw the hand out and I felt very confident making that play and getting up field.”

Horsted finished his night with five catches for 104 yards and three touchdowns. He’s a guy who might have helped his stock as the Bears prepare to cut their roster to 53 players on Tuesday.

Roberson finds the end zone: Bears defensive back Tre Roberson scored a pick-six touchdown midway through the second quarter.

Outside linebacker Trevis Gipson reached Titans quarterback Logan Woodside and disrupted his pass. The ball fluttered out of Woodside’s hand and Roberson camped underneath it to grab the interception. Roberson ran back a 27-yard return for a touchdown.

At some point later in the game, Roberson went into concussion protocol, according to coach Matt Nagy.

Roberson’s pick marked the second interception of the game for the Bears defense. Linebacker Danny Trevathan had an interception in the first quarter. Trevathan played only two series, but looked good, totaling two tackles, an interception and two passes defended.

Offensive line woes: One of the few areas where the Bears did play their starters Saturday was on the offensive line. That lineup featured Jason Peters at left tackle, Cody Whitehair at left guard, Sam Mustipher at center, James Daniels at right guard and Germain Ifedi at right tackle.

The results in the first half were inconsistent. Early in the game, Ifedi was beat badly by Tennessee’s Ola Adeniyi for a sack. Ifedi later was called for a false start. Through the first three possessions of the game, there seemed to be little cohesion for the Bears offense as a whole.

Ifedi, Peters and Daniels haven’t had much practice time together. Only this week has that group of five gotten to see the practice field together.

“[We’re] just working on being on the same page,” Mustipher said. “Seeing things from one set of eyes as a unit. That’s critical for offensive line play. If we can get that down, just work on getting reps together, working on double-teams, combinations, understanding protections, different alignments on defenses and how we can do that to make everybody’s job easier, that’s going to be a huge part.”

Sean Hammond

Sean Hammond

Sean is the Chicago Bears beat reporter for the Shaw Local News Network. He has covered the Bears since 2020. Prior to writing about the Bears, he covered high school sports for the Northwest Herald and contributed to Friday Night Drive. Sean joined Shaw Media in 2016.