Bears give up TD on opening kickoff

CINCINNATI — The Bears gave up a touchdown on the opening kickoff Sunday for the first time in a decade.

Bengals returner Charlie Jones, a Deerfield native, ran back the opening kickoff for a 98-yard touchdown to start the game at Paycor Stadium. The closest any Bears player came to Jones was kicker Cairo Santos, who dove for him along the left sideline. Jones broke the tackle and kept running.

The last time the Bears gave up a kick return touchdown to start a game was in 2015, when the Vikings’ Cordarrelle Patterson went for 105 yards.

On Thursday, Bears special teams coordinator Richard Hightower called Jones “a really good football player,” pointing out that he has returned both a kickoff and punt for a touchdown in his career.

“That’s hard to do in this league — and he hasn’t been in the league that long,” he said. “But I see a player with really good vision, does a really nice job catching the football, no wasted steps, very aggressive returner. It will be a good challenge for us to go up against these guys.”