Bears' hot start spoiled by Rolling Meadows grad Garoppolo

The Bears made progress in their second preseason game, but it wasn't enough to prevent another defeat.

Coach John Fox's team got off to an impressive start, building an 11-0, first-quarter lead Thursday over the New England Patriots in Foxborough, Massachusetts.

But former Rolling Meadows High School star Jimmy Garoppolo led the home team to 17 unanswered points in the final 3:52 of the first half to turn the tide on the Bears' quick start.

The 23-22 victory elevated the Patriots to 2-0, while the Bears fell to 0-2.

Garoppolo's 16-yard TD pass to tight end A.J. Derby gave the Patriots' their first lead, 15-11, and he connected with Chris Hogan for the 2-point conversion with 17 seconds left in the first half. On his TD pass, Garoppolo squeezed the ball into a tight window in the end zone between Bears backup safeties Deon Bush and Chris Prosinski.

Garoppolo's performance was sure to ease the minds of the Patriots, who will be without starter and future Hall of Fame quarterback Tom Brady for the first four regular-season games because of his role in the "Deflategate" scandal. Brady, who is eligible to play in the preseason, was supposed to start Thursday night but accidentally cut his thumb with a scissors shortly before game time.

Garoppolo, the 2014 second-round pick out of Eastern Illinois, has never started a regular-season game in the NFL and has thrown just 31 passes. But he riddled the Bears with 16 completions on 21 attempts for 181 yards and a 117.4 passer rating.

Before Garoppolo stole the show, the Bears' offense showed significant improvement from Week 1, when it was shut out.

On the Bears' second possession, Jeremy Langford took advantage of some running room created by a much more assertive offensive line. He bolted 34 yards up the middle showing some nifty cuts and making tacklers miss, while setting to set up his 5-yard TD run. Langford finished with 55 yards on 8 carries.

Jay Cutler's pass to tight end Rob Housler for the 2-point conversion gave the Bears an 11-0 lead with 2:33 left in the first quarter. Housler later had a 52-yard reception from backup Brian Hoyer.

"We still shot ourselves in the foot some," Cutler said. "But the guys outside played well, and Jeremy ran well. We definitely improved, but we have to keep getting better."

The Bears surpassed last week's offensive scoring output on their first possession, as Robbie Gould's 36-yard field goal gave them a 3-0 lead 6:01 into the first quarter. Alshon Jeffery had back-to-back receptions of 29 and 12 yards to get the Bears inside the opponents' 40-yard line, which they failed to do in the opener.

Tight end Tony Moeaki, who started his second straight game in place of Zach Miller (concussion) was Cutler's favorite target with 4 receptions for 28 yards.

After running 21 plays on their first two possessions, the Bears' offense cooled off quickly. Cutler played just one possession in the second quarter and suffered his only sack but completed 8 of 12 passes for 83 yards and an 86.5 passer rating.

Hoyer was intercepted on his first play by Cyrus Jones, who returned the pick 15 yards to the Bears' 15, setting up the Patriots' first touchdown. Connor Shaw followed Hoyer in the fourth quarter and threw a 22-yard TD pass to B.J. Daniels as time expired.

Update on Fuller:

Bears cornerback Kyle Fuller, who didn't travel with the Bears, had his knee scoped and is "week to week" according to head coach John Fox.

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