The Bears started three rookie cornerbacks in Saturday’s game against the Bills, featuring top draft pick Kyler Gordon and undrafted free agents Jaylon Jones and Josh Blackwell.
It was a potential recipe for disaster going against one of the league’s best passing offenses featuring Bills quarterback Josh Allen and receiver Stefon Diggs.
“We get hype about that,” Gordon said, via NBC Sports Chicago. “Before the game we’re all looking at each other, like it’s all rookies. We get to go out here and we get this opportunity to go and show the whole world how we go and how our secondary is. It’s so exciting, so we’re all hyped to do that and we have fun.”
No one saw what came next: The Bears held Allen to 172 passing yards with two touchdowns and two interceptions, and they held Diggs to just two catches for 26 yards.
“You’ve gotta show up and give him respect, but at the same time they tie their shoes just like us and they had to show us today,” Jones said, via NBC Sports Chicago. “I feel like we did pretty good.”
People expected Gordon to be in this position as a second-round draft pick. But for guys like Jones and Blackwell, who went undrafted, watching them step up with guys injured and perform as they have against some of the top talent in the NFL has been impressive.
“To fast forward four months and I’m starting against one of the best quarterbacks in the league, it’s a blessing for sure,” Blackwell said, via NBC Sports Chicago. “I’m humbled to even have this opportunity but I think it’s something that I really worked for and to get that opportunity you’ve just got to make the most of it.
“When you play Josh Allen, Stefon Diggs, it’s always fun to have that challenge. Then you play a game like this and it’s like, ‘You know what, I actually do kinda belong. I can play with anybody. That’s arguably one of the best offenses in the league and you learn that you’re more than capable to be in this league.”
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