a Bears offense that had been listless most of Saturday, Connor Shaw offered a much-needed spark. The third-string quarterback led the team's only touchdown drive, finishing it with a 16-yard pass to Cameron Meredith in the fourth quarter.
Shaw had the Bears moving on the next series as well. But his day and, most likely his season, came to an abrupt end when he suffered a gruesome left leg injury with 2 minutes, 30 seconds left in the Bears' 23-7 loss. Shaw had just completed an 18-yard pass to Josh Bellamy to convert fourth-and-7 when Chiefs defensive lineman Rakeem Nunez-Roches landed on Shaw's planted left foot.
The 24-year-old quarterback went down in obvious agony, was carted off the field and later left Soldier Field in an ambulance. The injury, which coach John Fox identified as "very serious" and is presumed to be a broken leg, left many of Shaw's teammates with a pit in their stomachs.
Alshon Jeffery, who played with Shaw at South Carolina for three seasons, wished the quarterback well as he left the field.
"It's a tough break, man," Jeffery said. "He was having a hell of a camp. He was doing a hell of a job out there. … I told him 'Damn, I hate it for you. Just keep the faith. Just trust in the process with God.'"
Added backup quarterback Brian Hoyer: "It's especially (hard) with a guy like Connor, who always does the right thing. He brought some life out there. He's running around making plays and to see something like that, it's heartbreaking really."
First things first: Saturday wasn't a banner day for the Bears' most recent first-round picks. Leonard Floyd dressed but didn't play, held out after missing chunks of practice time last week with a hamstring issue. Kyle Fuller remains out after arthroscopic knee surgery earlier in the month. And Kevin White caught only one of the four passes thrown his way for 3 yards.
White dropped one Jay Cutler pass on a bubble screen early in the third quarter. On the next snap, he was the target on a Cutler incompletion deep down the field. Cutler showed his agitation after the pass, gesturing to indicate White was not on the same page on the route.
"There are going to be growing pains," Cutler said. "That's just kind of how it is. We're working with him and he's doing everything he possibly can to work through it and be where he's supposed to be."
White's stats after three exhibitions: eight targets, three catches, 12 yards.
No satisfaction: The Bears were met with a smattering of boos as they left the field at halftime. And it's no wonder why. Down 13-0 and taking over possession at the Chiefs 47 with 6 seconds left in the second quarter, the offense bumbled to the break. First, Jeffery committed a false start penalty. Then, Cutler short-hopped a pass to uncovered receiver Marc Mariani near the sideline. Finally, in a Hail Mary situation, Cutler was sacked and stripped at his own 42 as time ran out.
"We need to prepare more, obviously," Cutler said. "I'm sure we'll have that (situation) in practice next week again."
The Bears' offensive output in the first half: five possessions, 18 total yards, two first downs, four punts.
dwiederer@tribpub.com
Twitter @danwiederer
