Bears starters excelled in their preseason debut against the Bills, with quarterback Caleb Williams and the offense leading the game off with a 92-yard touchdown drive and the defense forcing a three-and-out and allowing the Bills only one yard on Buffalo's first possession.

After two drives by the first-team offense and one by the first-team defense, the reserves entered the game and continued where the starters left off. Here are six depth pieces who stood out in the Bears' 38-0 win Sunday night at Soldier Field:

Bagent took the bulk of the offensive snaps Sunday night and led the Bears on three consecutive scoring drives, generating a 103.6 rating, which would be the highest of his NFL career.

Completing 13 of 22 passes for 196 yards and a touchdown, Bagent distributed the ball all over the field, connecting with six different pass catchers.

While Bagent's playmaking ability, accuracy and pocket awareness were on full display against the Bills, the 25-year-old understands his place in the Bears offense moving forward.

"If everything goes well, this is it," Bagent said. "I'll be watching a lot of football this year. '18' (Caleb Williams) will go out there and do his thing, so this means the world to me. This is my life's work being put into action right here in front of everybody. It means a lot, but I'm really just trying to get better myself day in, day out, bank as many reps as possible and be as ready as I possibly can be for the long season that's coming."

The third-year pro, who went undrafted out of Division II Shepherd University in 2023, also showcased an underrated part of his game: making plays with his feet.

On multiple occasions, Bagent avoided sacks by evading oncoming rushers and completing passes on the run, including an 18-yard pass to receiver Maurice Alexander on fourth down late in the first quarter.

"I mean, how many times do you gotta do something for it to still be underrated?" Bagent joked. "No, to be serious, I've obviously been watching a lot of football the last couple years, been seeing 18 do a great job of being a magician in that way. So, I would love to be able to be dynamic both on my feet — extending plays, gaining first downs with my feet — as well as in the pocket. I just try to keep my whole game open so no one can hone in on one thing."

Aside from Bagent's dual-threat abilities, there's another piece of his game that receiver Tyler Scott feels is underrated and made a difference Sunday night.

"One thing about Tyson — his command in the huddle is phenomenal," Scott said. "The way he leads guys in the huddle, like, 'okay everyone, lock in.' He's clear, concise. If it's maybe a tough call where there's a lot of moving parts, he'll make sure to let you know to lock in, listen up. He'll say it twice for you. I think it starts there.

"He knows how to galvanize a group of players to really lock in and he just knows how to lead."

In his second NFL appearance, rookie receiver Burden caught all three of his targets for 49 yards, giving fans a peek at the skillset that led the Bears to select him No. 39 overall in this year's draft.

In the second-team offense's first drive, Bagent completed his first pass attempt to Burden, who came across the field on a crossing route, for a 22-yard pickup.

On the next Bears possession, Bagent hit Burden for 6 yards on third-and-6, moving the chains and leading to a Scott touchdown catch on the next play. Burden's third reception was his most impressive, as he took a short pass from Bagent and juked a Bills defender to pick up 21 yards.

"He was high on our list for a reason," Bagent said of Burden. "He's dangerous once he gets the ball in his hands as he was able to show a little bit today. I think the biggest thing up until this point has been getting him in the right spot at the right time. He's coming along very well and he's playing a lot faster as we can all see as well. So I thought he did a great job today."

Another area that stood out about Burden's game Sunday was his blocking ability, specifically near the goal line, which aided two of the Bears' rushing touchdowns.

"Coach harps on us every day about being physical, setting the tone," Burden said. "I feel like us as receivers can make a huge impact in the run game."

A week after his standout performance against the Dolphins where he recorded three sacks and a forced fumble, Booker continued to shine versus Buffalo. Midway through the second quarter, he dropped Bills quarterback Mike White for an 11-yard loss, bringing his preseason sack total to 4.0 sacks.

On third-and-5 from the Buffalo 35, White dropped back, but was quickly brought down with a big hit by Booker, who teamed with tackle Andrew Billings on a well-executed stunt.

While Booker left the game early with a knee injury, his back-to-back impressive performances have stood out to teammates like Pro Bowl pass rusher Montez Sweat.

"Book is relentless," Sweat said. "It's really no surprise though, Book has been a good pass rusher since he got in the building. It's really pretty fun seeing it come to fruition on the field now. He has an ability to change direction at any given point in time to affect the blocker's path with his speed and length. He uses those at his disposable and it's pretty hard to block."

Just over a year ago, Wheeler scored two touchdowns against the Bills during a preseason contest in Buffalo, but suffered a knee injury that led to him spending the entire season on injured reserve.

Sunday night, he added two more touchdowns against the Bills — runs of 1 and 10 yards — and finished the game as the Bears' leading rusher with 19 carries for 80 yards. Coming off last week against Miami where he reached the end zone, but had the score nullified by a penalty, finding the end zone twice was a great feeling for the second-year running back.

"It felt vindicating," Wheeler said. "It felt good. For some reason I keep scoring two touchdowns against the Bills, but I'm not gonna complain about it. I'm happy for it. i'm really just pleased with how my teammates performed.

"It was a complete team effort — offense, defense, special teams, O-line, tight ends, receivers — everyone doing what they're supposed to be doing, how they're supposed to be doing it. That's why the score was like that at the end."

While Wheeler led the rushing attack, recently-acquired running back Brittain Brown also excelled, adding 73 yards on 16 carries and a touchdown just six days after he signed with the Bears.

"He can run the rock," Wheeler said. "He's really good at running the ball. We're all here for a reason. We've all got our opportunities here for a reason, so just being able to go with the ebbs and flows of the game and make the right decisions, sacrifice for your teammates, that's what I really focused on today."

The other of the Bears' four touchdowns was scored by Scott, who showcased his connection with Bagent by catching all three of his targets for a team-high 54 yards.

On the same possession as his TD, Bagent connected with a wide-open Scott for 35 yards — the QB's longest completion of the night — before finding the third-year receiver for the 11-yard score.

The 35-yard reception came on first-and-10 from the Chicago 44, when Bagent rolled to his left on a play-action fake and found a wide open Scott, who caught the ball just past midfield and sprinted to the Buffalo 21.

Four plays later, on first-and-10 from the Buffalo 11, Bagent dropped back, rolled right and threw on the run to Scott, who was in the back of the end zone and got both feet down for the score.

"I feel like we were doing a lot of play-action, a lot of movement, especially with the safeties being aggressive," Scott said. "Called it at the goal line because obviously they were expecting a lot of run. Tyson did a good job just going through his progressions. I'm kind of the last resort in that because I'm backside, so popped open, he threw it to the spot — had the wherewithal of where I was at — then toe-tapped it at the end."

Playing his second game in Ben Johnson's offense, Scott praised how detailed and creative his head coach has been.

"Just starting off in practice, listening to the defense, they talk about how tough it is to get a gauge on his offense," Scott said. "It seems like he always has an answer for things. I look at some of the routes he has and it's like, 'how do I even do that?' But there's always a reason behind everything.

"It's honestly been really good just learning, and you probably hear throughout the locker room it's very detailed. Very detailed."