Today was supposed to be the dawn of a new era in Chicago but what transpired at Soldier Field today looked eerily similar to previous eras of Bears football as they overcame a 17-point deficit to beat the Tennessee Titans today 24-17.
#1 overall pick Caleb Williams began his career with a shaky performance and the new look Bears offense appeared more like the offense of years past – unable to move the ball and unable to protect the QB. Caleb’s stat line resembled that from Peter Tom Willis, Chad Hutchinson or any one of the litany of QBs that have put on a Bears uniform over the years. Williams finished 14 of 29 for 93 yards for a 55.7 QB rating. He also added 5 rushes for 15 yards. Williams was sacked twice for 29 yards as the offensive line had major issues protecting the QB today. Confounding the offensive problems was the lack of a running game. The Bears rushed for only 3.8 yards per rush and only mustered 84 rushing yards of offense as a team. Chicago only had the ball for a little over 25 minutes and averaged 2.8 yards per play.
The Bears had opportunities to get off to a better start with drives starting at the Bears’ 43 yard line & the Titans’ 48 yard line. They weren’t able to score and the Titans eventually struck first with a run-heavy 79 yard drive that ended with a 26-yard TD scamper by Tony Pollard. On the ensuing kickoff, Bears return man Velus Jones muffed the kickoff and the Titans recovered. That turnover turned into points as TEN built a 10-0 lead. The Titans ended their scoring in the 1st half with a 73 yard drive that resulted with a Will Levis 17-yard TD pass that extended the lead to 17-0. The Bears would add a late FG to get on the board & head into the half trailing 17-3.
The defense & special teams came alive in the 2nd half. The special teams would get a blocked punt & Jonathan Owens would scoop it up for a score to cut the lead to 17-10:
After 2 more FGs by the Bears, the defense would continue to apply pressure to Will Levis and on a 3rd & 6 at the TEN 45 Levis was hit and instead of taking the sack he tried to get rid of the ball. That poor decision led to a Tyrique Stevenson pick-6 and game winner as the Bears converted the 2-pt conversion and a 24-17 lead:
The Titans’ last gasp was snuffed out by Jaylon Johnson as he picked off Will Levis on a 4th & 10 play.
Grading The Bears
Offense: Today was a nightmarish day for the offense. They mustered only 148 net yards of offense while converting only 2 of their 13 3rd down attempts. The offensive line had trouble blocking throughout the game and C Coleman Shelton had a game that he would love to forget forever. As stated before the run game was just as ineffective today. Caleb Williams also looked shaky with some overthrows and that terrible decision in the 1st half trying to extend a play that led to a 19-yard sack. Grade: F
Defense: After two drives in the 1st half that led to 152 yards & 2 TDs for the Titans, the Bears defense settled down and began to dominate. The defense had 10 QB hits, 3 sacks, 8 TFLs and 2 turnovers. TJ Edwards was all over the place with 15 tackles & 2 TFLs. New DE Darrell Taylor was a menace with 8 tackles, 2 QB hits, 2 TFLs and 2 sacks. Tyrique Stevenson also had 4 tackles in addition to his pick-6. Grade: A-
Special Teams: A bit of Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde for the special teams today. There was a horrendous fumble by Velus Jones in the 1st half that led to a Titans FG. On the plus side, Cairo Santos drilled 3 FGs, DeAndre Carter had a 67-yard kickoff return and averaged 12.8 yards on punt returns. Jonathan Owens had a TD on a blocked punt that started the comeback. Grade: B+
Coaching: The coaching staff clearly didn’t have the team ready to get out of the gate to start the game but credit to them for making adjustments during the game. Shane Waldron’s play scheme on offense left a lot to be desired and HC Matt Ebeflus’ defensive play calling in the 1st half was what led to a 17-0 deficit. The dial up of pressure on the defensive led to the comeback so at the end of the day – a win is a win. Grade: C+
What’s Next for The Bears
The Bears will surely look over the film of this game as there is a lot to dissect particularly on the offensive end. The OL will definitely need to get back in the lab on their protection schemes. The RB crew will have to pick it up and give some comfort for Caleb Williams. Hopefully Williams gets the opening day jitters out of his system and understand NFL speed is on another level. On the DL the Bears are going to have to find ways of getting Montez Sweat free of double teams.
Next game: The Bears travel to Houston to take on CJ Stroud & the Texans on Sunday Night Football.
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