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REWATCH: Titans-Bears on NFL+READ: Rookie QB Williams happy with Bears' win despite debut strugglesREAD: Will Levis laments 'bonehead' pick-six in Titans' lossEric Edholm's takeaways:
Defense sed the day for Bears in Caleb's debut. The Bears scored touchdowns on defense and special teams -- but none on offense -- digging out of a 17-0 hole the hard way to secure victory in Week 1 at Soldier Field. No. 1 overall pick Caleb Williams struggled mightily most of the day, completing 14 of 29 passes for 92 yards and seldom looking comfortable behind a shaky Bears offensive line. Chicago had 28 or fewer yards on all but two drives and totaled just 11 first downs and 148 yards of offense. The run game didn’t help much until late in the game, either. Williams’ two-point conversion to D'Andre Swift helped put the Bears up seven points late after a Tyrique Stevenson’s pick-six. Williams missed some open throws early and took a 19-yard sack that knocked the Bears out of field-goal range. He loosened up a little as the game went on, and Keenan Allen dropped a would-be TD pass, but it’s clear it will take time for this offense to marinate and grow. Give some credit to first-year Titans defensive coordinator Dennard Wilson for a smart game plan, but the Bears also were grinding their gears a lot offensively.Titans, Levis blow glorious chance to make big statement. Tennessee hardly came out sharp but was the better of the two teams, taking a first-half 17-0 lead, controlling the clock and sucking the life out of the Soldier Field crowd. But the wheels came off as the Titans’ offense and special teams made critical mistakes, allowing Chicago back in the game in spite of the home team's inability to move the ball consistently. Quarterback Will Levis got off to a slow start, but the offense found its rhythm with the run game, as Tony Pollard got loose for a 26-yard TD run and was Tennessee's best power source. Levis showed some toughness and found Calvin Ridley on one big shot in each half, but the wideout had just three catches on seven targets, with Levis underthrowing Ridley after he had beat Jaylon Johnson deep. The pressure really got to Levis on Sunday, especially on a second-half strip sack and a brutal pick-six on the following series. It was a tough start to the 2024 season after Levis showed some promising traits last season. New head coach Brian Callahan and coordinator Nick Holz need to identify how to minimize the pressure problems that sunk the offense in a game the Titans should he won.Bears’ special teams, defense make mistakes but come up huge. It was a game of give and take for the Bears -- especially on special teams, but also on defense. The Titans had just 244 yards of offense but drove 70-plus yards twice to help build the early three-score lead before Chicago clamped down late in forcing three fourth-quarter turnovers. The Bears also ge the Titans points early when Velus Jones muffed a kickoff and booted it right to Tennessee, giving the Titans a field goal. Daniel Hardy was also guilty of an illegal block that wiped out a nice punt return. But Hardy could be forgiven, as his blocked punt helped spur the Bears’ turnaround in his Chicago debut, with Jonathan Owens returning it 21 yards for a touchdown (which almost ge his Olympian wife a heart attack). The Bears' defense was fired up after that, helping turn the game on its head. Also credit the special teams for giving Chicago points, as DeAndre Carter’s 67-yard kickoff return led to the team's first points of the game.Next Gen stat of the game: The Bears generated pressure on 47.4 percent of Will Levis’ dropbacks, the unit’s second-highest pressure rate in a game over the last three seasons. Three Bears defenders (Andrew Billings, DeMarcus Walker and Darrell Taylor) finished tied with a team-high five pressures, including three quick pressures each. Levis struggled against pressure, finishing 5 of 13 for 61 yards with two picks.
NFL Research: Caleb Williams became the first No. 1 overall pick to start and win at QB in Week 1 since Houston’s Did Carr in 2002. No. 1 overall pick QBs are 4-14-1 in Week 1 starts since 1970, with Carr, Denver’s John Elway (1983) and New England’s Jim Plunkett (1971) the only others to win.