Takeaways from the Chicago Bears in a weather-shortened Hall of Fame Game

It was short-lived, but Chicago Bears football is back.

The Hall of Fame Game was suspended and cut short due to severe weather with the Bears leading 21-17 in the third quarter. With more lightning on the way, officials and both coaches just agreed to end the exhibition.

Brett Rypien and Collin Johnson stood out, as the duo combined for the go-ahead touchdown in the third quarter. The starters did not play, meaning Bears second-string quarterback Tyson Bagent got the start in Canton.

Here's what we took away from the first preseason game of the 2024 NFL season:

The new kickoff rules: Work in progress

For the first time, we've seen the NFL's new kick off rules at work.

And they need work, specifically some more polishing.

The Bears and Texans were going to be the first example for the rest of the league in showcasing what it all looked like. The Bears knew this going in.

"You get a lot of texts now about everybody that’s going to be watching it from the different coaches," Bears special teams coordinator Richard Hightower said. "We’re going to watch the preseason as well more in depth than we’ve ever watched it. At times coaches watch the preseason – that’s offense, defense and special teams – but people don’t really do anything in the preseason because they want to play their cards close to the vest."

On Thursday, the Bears and Texans were both flagged for leaving too early before the kick returner touched the ball. It's still something that needs to be practiced in real-time before it becomes something the Bears are comfortable with.

That was always the plan going into Thursday. Hightower talked about it at length throughout training camp. 

"This preseason, I think you’re going to have to experiment with it so we’re going to see different things on kickoff," Hightower said. "I’m excited as heck for it. Really the players and coaches have been practicing this formation – it’s a condensed kickoff return formation – that’s the way we practice, that the way we’ve practiced for – I’ve been in the league 18 years, and probably for about 15 of those years we’ve practiced the way this is going to actually play out because we want to save guys legs with the running. It’s just something where we’re going to have to see how it plays out."

Offensive line cadences are still an issue

Plenty of times in camp, we've seen the Bears' offensive line get flagged for false starts.

On Thursday, we saw multiple false starts. The cadence issue still needs to be nailed down.

Doug Kramer and Matt Pryor were tabbed for false starts on Thursday. Kramer was the third-team center, while Pryor was the starting right guard.

Pryor's false start ended the Bears' first offensive drive of the game, forcing the Bears to punt instead of going for it on fourth and one.

That will be addressed more and more in the coming week and in the weeks to come as the Bears prepare for their Week 1 game against the Titans.

This roster will be difficult to crack

Last year's first-string running back Khalil Herbert was the third-string running back. Brett Rypien started NFL games. Collin Johnson looked good on Thursday night.

It's still unsure what the final roster will look like, and that's by design.

Thursday was a reminder of that.

Some players stood out, like Brett Rypien and Collin Johnson. If they don't make the Bears' final roster or practice squad, they might find work elsewhere.

It was easy to tell with some players, too. Rypien threw for 166 yards and three touchdowns. Herbert averaged 8.8 yards per carry on four carries.

Other players need to help themselves, like receiver Dante Pettis who signed a one-year deal in March. Pettis muffed a punt on Thursday, but should have three more games to redeem himself.

Kevin Warren gave a stadium update

During the weather delay, there was some excitement on the Bears' new stadium efforts.

Bears president and CEO Kevin Warren, in a weather delay interview with ESPN, said it's still the franchise goal is to break ground on a new stadium by 2025. 

The goal is to have the new stadium open in 2028.

Here's a look at Caleb Williams in a Bears' uniform

Williams didn't play on Thursday, but he did suit up. Here's what Williams looked like donning a full Bears uniform. 

Soon, Bears fans. Soon.