Which Chicago Bears starters will play the third preseason game?

The Chicago Bears will play their third game of the 2024 NFL preseason on Saturday when they host the Cincinnati Bengals at Soldier Field.

At the beginning of the week, there was some debate over whether or not the Bears would play their starters against the Bengals. The Bears and Bengals held a joint practice at Halas Hall, and there was speculation that Eberflus may sit his starters for Saturday's game as he did last season when the team had a joint practice with the Indianapolis Colts.

Instead, Eberflus announced after practice on Thursday that the Bears starters will play.

When Eberflus first made the announcement, we touched on how important that is for Caleb Williams. Regardless of what Williams showed on Thursday—reports are he was very good—there still is a need for him to get reps in-game action. At the beginning of Training Camp, Eberflus mentioned that the goal was for Williams to have between 45 and 55 snaps in-game action, and his decision to play the starters on Saturday will certainly help accomplish that goal.

Overall, however, Eberflus' decision to play the starters is an example of how the organization has learned from its past mistakes and is no longer afraid to go against the trend. It's become the norm for teams to sit their starters after having a joint practice with other teams and the Bears followed suit with that trend last preseason. The result was the Bears opening the 2023 season with a four-game losing streak with the offensive, in particular, looking flat.

Which Chicago Bears starters will start on Saturday?

Assuming Eberflus follows through with the approach that he had last Saturday, it would seem that all of the Bears' healthy starters will play. Ryan Bates is listed as week-to-week, so expect Coleman Shelton to be the center with the first-team offense on Saturday. Veteran offensive lineman Nate Davis, who returned to practice this week, is also expected to start on Saturday.