Bears get pummeled by Trubisky, Bills in preseason Week 2

Excuses, excuses.

The Bears have plenty of them on offense, with a starting offensive line that's in shambles and with starters like David Montgomery, Allen Robinson, Darnell Mooney and Cole Kmet seeing limited or no playing time during a 41-15 loss to Buffalo at Soldier Field on Saturday.

But what's the excuse for allowing Mitch Trubisky to look like an All-Pro during a first half in which the Bills raced out to a 34-6 lead? Sure, the Bears' defense also wasn't 100%. Sure, this is the preseason where blitzes and disguised coverages are both rare.

Still, this was the most points allowed by the Bears in a preseason game since 2011 - and they were facing a backup in Trubisky. Imagine if Josh Allen - considered by many to be a top-5 QB - was under center.

Trubisky completed 20 of 28 passes for 221 yards and a touchdown - all in the first 30 minutes.

Missed tackles by Mario Edwards Jr. and Kindle Vildor helped lead to big plays. There was also a blown coverage on a 19-yard completion that began Buffalo's third drive.

As for the offense, we all know that unit is dealing with serious issues on the offensive line. It was also without Montgomery, Robinson and Kmet - three of the top playmakers (and Mooney barely played).

So it's hardly a surprise that QB Andy Dalton couldn't get anything going until he connected with Rodney Adams on a 73-yard TD pass on the Bears' fifth possession. Adams (3 catches, 89 yards) picked the ball off the defender's helmet, then raced to the end zone.

Before that, though, the Bears managed just 1 first down and also turned the ball over when RB Damien Williams fumbled at midfield.

Afterward, coach Matt Nagy said Dalton remains the Week 1 starter.

"We need to see him in the regular season," Nagy said.

Here's a look at the Bears' first three possessions:

• Dalton got good protection on a play-action pass and checked down to Williams in the flat after not finding an open WR downfield. But the ball got batted down at the line. After a 5-yard completion to TE Jimmy Graham, Dalton once again got solid protection on third-and-5, but nobody was open. He scrambled a bit and threw incomplete.

• Nagy then tried to establish the running game by giving Williams back-to-back carries. They went for 1 yard and no gain. On third-and-9, Dalton hit TE Jesse James near the sideline. If James makes a better move after the catch, it's a first down, but he was tripped up after a gain of 8.

• James caught a 13-yard pass for a first down, but was whistled for holding two plays later. Williams then fumbled, killing the drive.

Look, there's still time to fix these issues, but the health of the offensive line is of paramount importance. Without a strong front five, there's no way to establish a running game.

That means defenses can sit back and take away Robinson, Mooney, Kmet and Graham. Which means games could get out of control in a hurry, especially with an immobile QB like Dalton going up against the Rams at Los Angeles in the season opener on September 12.

Discipline remains an issue as well, with the Bears being penalized 10 times for 73 yards. They were also 0-for-11 on third down and 1-for-4 on fourth.

"We were one step forward, two steps backwards," Nagy said.

Well, everyone better step it up in a hurry. Or it's going to be another long season.