Mandatory Credit: Kamil Krzaczynski-Imagn Images

Who Is Ian Wheeler, the Bears Running Back Who Shined in the 38–0 Preseason Outing vs Buffalo Bills?

Wheeler is coming back from an ACL injury that kept him out for his rookie season

Mandatory Credit: Kamil Krzaczynski-Imagn Images

It’s only week 2 of the preseason, but the Chicago Bears came into their matchup against the Buffalo Bills with intent and a desire to put on a strong performance. Led by second-year quarterback Caleb Williams under center, the Bears got off to a rolling start.

Going 5 for 6 for 97 yards on Chicago’s first drive, Williams marched the Bears into the Bills’ territory, capping it off with a 36-yard touchdown to OIamide Zaccheaus. And while that set the tone for the remainder of the game, it was a scintillating display of running from second-year running back Ian Wheeler that stole the show.

Who Is Ian Wheeler?

Ian Wheeler is a second-year running back for the Chicago Bears. Undrafted in the 2024 NFL draft, the Bears signed him afterwards as an undrafted free agent. A native of Houston, Texas, Wheeler attended Howard University, a private university in Washington D.C.

Wheeler played on the Howard Bison’s football team in 2019 as a freshman and in 2020 as a sophomore; however, it was only in 2021 during his junior year that he got substantial playing time. Over the course of 5 years, Wheeler tallied 1154 rushing yards with 14 touchdowns to go along with 234 receiving yards and 1 touchdown.

.@IanWheeler_26 punches it in on 4th down 👊

📺: FOX
pic.twitter.com/vOGyfZK4af
— Chicago Bears (@ChicagoBears) August 18, 2025

After the Bears signed him in 2024, he had a decent outing in the Bears’ preseason week 1 game, which was incidentally against the same opposition, the Bills. Wheeler finished the game as the Bears’ leading rusher with 5 attempts for 43 yards and 2 touchdowns.

Unfortunately, though, Wheeler’s rookie season was cut short after he suffered an ACL injury in preseason and had to sit out the entirety of the 2024 season. Wheeler has since made a full recovery and participated in his second preseason game after rushing for 20 yards from 7 carries in week 1.

Wheeler’s Sensational Performance Against the Bills

Looking to earn a spot on the 53-man roster this year, the second-year running back was a menace to deal with for the Bills in week 2 of the preseason. Although he was up against the Bills’ backups, his effort should not be taken lightly.

Wheeler finished the game with 19 carries for 80 yards, picking up an average of 4.2 yards per carry. He also found the endzone on two occasions. There was a good chance that he would have added a third score had the Bears not run out the clock at the end of the game.

Second of the day for @IanWheeler_26 🙌

📺: FOX pic.twitter.com/hs9hVLAbjP
— Chicago Bears (@ChicagoBears) August 18, 2025

Nevertheless, Wheeler showed a tremendous burst of speed along with nifty footwork as he looked comfortable taking the ball both sideways as well as through the middle.

Fighting for a spot on the roster, the second-year rusher still has one more preseason game to show his worth. The Bears will face the Kansas City Chiefs in the final game before the start of the 2025 regular season.

Mandatory Credit: Kamil Krzaczynski-Imagn Images

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Devavrat Kulkarni

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I am a content writer for the NFL team, and joined The Playoffs after working with Sportskeeda and NFL Analysis as an NFL writer. After starting my professional career as a French-to-English translator, working as a content writer is a new adventure for me. I started out in the sports media field for two main reasons: my love for sports in general, especially the NFL, NBA, and Tennis, as well as my passion for writing. The best part of this job is that I get to write a variety of pieces with the freedom to explore content from various angles. It also enables me to stay up to date with the sporting world, which otherwise can be difficult to do in the day-to-day grind. In a world full of chaos, sports unite and entertain like nothing else!