The Chicago Bears Preseason finale proved one thing

The Chicago Bears ended their pre-season with another convincing win by beating the defending Super Bowl Champion Kansas City Chiefs 34-21 on Thursday night.

You might remember last season when these two teams played in Week 3 where Taylor Swift was seen in attendance for the first time when she and Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce officially became the hottest couple on the planet.

And the Bears became the butt of a joke nationally with a shocking resignation of then defensive coordinator Alan Williams amidst reports of police involvement. The Bears were simply not in the game mentally, resulting in a one-sided defeat.

While everyone will take this result with a grain of salt, no one can deny how much this team has come since the Week 3 debacle almost a year later. The game featured mostly second and third-stringers by both teams, but the efforts displayed by the Bears players really stood out.

The big star was backup quarterback Tyson Bagent, who was a star on this week's "Hard Knocks" on HBO along with his arm wrestling father. Bagent showed tremendous poise and confidence with his play last week against the Cincinnati Bengals and the Chiefs. He is the No.2 quarterback behind Caleb Williams over Brett Rypien, who had more experience under the new offensive coordinator Shane Waldron.

Both Rypien and undrafted free-agent Austin Reed, another star from the "Hard Knocks" series this year, both made nice throws as well. With all their star receivers on the sidelines watching, Tyler Scott, who played almost the entire game, took advantage by catching 6 passes for 99 yards. Scott needed a big game himself and showed on Thursday he should not be forgotten with all the attention being paid to DJ Moore, Keenan Allen, and the rookie Rome Odunze.

Another player who needed and had himself a big game was Velus Jones Jr., who carried the ball 13 times for 111 yards and a touchdown. He may have solidified his roster spot even though most fans are either not sure about him or not pleased since he has yet to produce entering his third season. He proved last night it is difficult to move on from him. Perhaps general manager Ryan Poles still sees the potential in Jones when we are ready to move on him.

Meanwhile, on the defensive side, both Poles and head coach Matt Eberflus will find themselves making difficult roster decisions. UDFA Reddy Steward out of Troy picked off a pass and was a star of the night as he returned an interception 48 yards for a touchdown just before halftime that ultimately sealed the game.

Also, Adrian Colbert, another player fighting to make the roster, came out of nowhere and knocked down a pass that could have been a possible touchdown. If both players make the team, the Bears secondary, already loaded with talent, just got deeper.

Meanwhile, rookie edge rusher Austin Booker finished out his pre-season with another strong game. His pre-season was one of the most impressive any Bears player I have seen in a while. He and Daniel Hardy, who also had strong pre-season himself could be counted as a major contributor this season. If Hardy does not make the 53-men roster, they better make sure to keep him on their practice squad.

General Manager Ryan Poles deserves credit for putting together a deep roster that is ready to compete now.

What stood out watching the final pre-season game was how hard everyone was competing until the end. They all showed effort. They all want to make this team because they know there is something special with the Bears. It could be because of Caleb Williams. They see him upclose every day during training camp and they know he is a real deal. He can possibly elevate the Bears to greater heights. He is someone that every player wants to play with.

After coming very close to acquiring former New England Patriots edge rusher Matthew Judon last week, who was eventually traded to the Atlanta Falcons, Poles will be aggressive in acquiring anyone that will help them win but only on his terms, which is a totally different approach than when Ryan Pace was the general manager.

It is a far cry from where they were two years ago when he was first hired and finished 3-14 in his first year. While Poles still has plenty of work left on putting the 53-men roster, the pre-season showed the team he put together has talent and depth that is ready to compete now.