Chicago Bears Score and Recap (Week 1): Bears 24, Titans 17 – Defense and Special Teams Lead Bears Comeback Victory

The Caleb Williams era officially began for the Bears Sunday afternoon at Soldier Field against the Titans. The first half was a complete disaster for Chicago as they fell behind 17-0 amid completely ineffective offense. Luckily for the home team, Tennessee’s offense and special teams completely collapsed in the second half and they were able to rally for a 24-17 victory without scoring an offensive touchdown.

The Bears were completely discombobulated to begin the game Sunday with Williams unable to get any kind of rhythm behind a very shaky offensive line. The Titans were able to generate a ground game with Tony Pollard who broke free for a 26-yard touchdown to put his team ahead 7-0 late in the first quarter.

Tennessee quarterback Will Levis then hooked up with TE Chig Okonkwo who made an acrobatic 17-yard touchdown reception to give the road team a 17-0 lead as the first half wound down. A long kick off return by DeAndre Carter finally breathed some life into Chicago and set up a 24-yard Cairo Santos field goal at halftime.

It was the Bears special teams that completely changed the momentum in this one when Daniel Hardy blocked a Ryan Stonehouse punt and Jonathan Owens scooped it up and returned it for a touchdown that cut the deficit to 17-10 in the third quarter. Williams was able to drive his team into Titans’ territory to set up a 48-yard Santos kick and it was 17-13 at the beginning of the fourth quarter.

Darrell Taylor, new addition to the defensive line from Seattle, strip sacked Levis to set Chicago up in excellent field position, which led to yet another field goal to bring Matt Eberflus’ squad to within a point at 17-16. The Titans quarterback then made a disastrous decision to blindly throw away a pass when he was about to be sacked. Defensive back Tyrique Stevenson intercepted the desperation flip and returned it 43-yards for the game-winning touchdown.

Williams completed a short pass to D’Andre Swift to convert the two-point conversion and give the Bears a 24-17 advantage. Chicago’s defense put the clamps on Tennessee the rest of the game and won by that same score. (Box score)

Why the Bears Won

The defense and special teams were able to score two touchdowns to overcome a really putrid performance by the offense.

Key Moment

The Bears had almost nothing going before the blocked punt. It brought the crowd back into the game and completely unnerved Tennessee.

Stats That Matter

• Williams got absolutely no help from his line but it was a very shaky first career game with just 64 yards passing and 15 on the ground. The good news is it can only get better from here.
• 148 total yards is the fewest in a Bears victory since Rex Grossman was quarterback. This game had major Lovie Smith era vibes.
• Chicago won the turnover battle 3-1, continuing a positive trend from 2023.

Bottom Line

The Bears came into this game looking completely unprepared for the season to begin. They were able to get away with it because the Titans are not a very good team but they are not going to be able to repeat that against most of their opponents. As this game makes clear, Caleb Williams is going to have some growing pains this season, especially with the blocking issues that were evident Sunday. What you want to see is continued growth throughout the season and it’s always better to start with a win than a loss.

Next Up

The Bears head to Houston Week 2 for a Sunday night matchup against the Texans starting at 7:20pm CT on NBC.