Ryan Poles and Gervon Dexter
(AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh)

Opportunistic Defense & Special Teams Lead Bears to Week One Win

Photo of Michael Canter Michael CanterSeptember 8, 2024

I sympathize with Titans fans this evening. The Bears lost 12 times during the past two seasons after holding double-digit leads. Chicago flipped the script on Sunday afternoon, scoring 24 unanswered points to beat the Titans after falling behind 17-0 late in the first half.

  • Cairo Santos kicked a 24-yard field goal with 27 seconds left in the first half to cut Tennessee’s lead to 17-3. DeAndre Carter gave the Bears great field position with a 67-yard kickoff return, and Caleb Williams had his best series of the game, going 3-of-6 for 28 yards.
  • Daniel Hardy blocked a punt by Ryan Stonehouse which was returned 21 yards for a touchdown by Jonathan Owens. The Bears trailed the Titans 17-10 with 9:07 left in the third quarter.
  • Santos cut the deficit to 17-13 with a  48-yard field goal with 14:47 left in the 4th quarter.
  • Santos then connected from 50 yards to cut the lead to 17-16 five minutes later.
  • The Bears took the lead when Tyrique Stevenson intercepted an ill-fated pass by Will Levis for a 43-yard pick-six. That made the score 22-17 with 7:35 left.
  • Williams connected with D’Andre Swift on the two-point attempt to put Chicago up 24-17.
  • Jaylon Johnson picked Levis off with 1:15 left in the game to seal the victory.

By The Numbers

  1. Williams finished with 93 passing yards and didn’t throw an interception, but was sacked twice for 29 yards in losses.
  2. The Bears gained 148 yards on 53 offensive snaps. The defense and special teams were great, but they won’t win many games with that lack of offensive production.
  3. Chicago won the turnover battle 3-1 with two scores.
  4. The offensive line is once again a glaring concern. Williams averaged 2.1 yards per pass attempt and Chicago averaged just 3.8 YPC. That number drops to 3.18 when you remove a 14-yard run by D.J. Moore. Coleman Shelton was awful at center on Sunday.
  5. Tory Taylor averaged 45.0 yards on six punts, including a booming 60-yard effort in the second half.
  6. Darrell Taylor had a huge game. He sacked Levis twice, registered two TFLs, and also forced a fumble. Taylor and Montez Sweat are going to be nightmares for opposing quarterbacks.
  7. Speaking of monster games, T.J. Edwards and Jaquan Brisker combined for 25 tackles, including 15 solo efforts.
  8. Santos made each of his three field goal attempts and looks as reliable as ever.
  9. Williams became the first quarterback drafted with the No. 1 pick to win his first career start since David Carr in 2002.
  10. The Bears are now tied with Lions and Vikings for first place. The Packers are a game behind after losing to the Eagles Friday night.

Williams is getting ripped on social media by the shrinking faction of fans who still pine for Justin Fields or Mitchell Trubisky. Chicago’s top 2024 draft pick was off-target on 31% of his pass attempts and that’s concerning. That said, he played like a rookie but his effort wasn’t much worse than the debut of most rookie signal-callers. I haven’t given up hope on Williams and it’s a safe bet that there will be several 300-yard passing games in his future. Coincidentally, Williams and the Bears will face Stroud and the Texans in Houston next Sunday night.

“Didn’t perform the way that I wanted to,” Williams said in a postgame interview. “I missed a few passes that I normally don’t miss, all these other things. Obviously, it’s great to get this first win. We’re all excited. Went to the locker room, and celebrated. I sat down, and enjoyed the moment, just watching all the guys celebrate understanding that I need to be better, I will be better.”

Game Balls

  1. Taylor (both Darrell and Tory)
  2. Edwards
  3. Hardy
  4. Owens
  5. Stevenson
  6. Santos

Looking Ahead

The Bears are 6.5 underdogs to the Texans. Houston beat Indianapolis 29-27, the 11th straight Opening Day loss for the Colts. Houston running back Joe Mixon carried the ball 30 times for 159 yards, while C.J. Stroud finished 24-of-32 for 234 yards and two scores. Stroud did take four sacks for 30 yards, however. Houston also held the ball for 40 minutes, so it appears the Texans are vulnerable to quick offensive strikes. Anthony Richardson averaged 11.2 yards per pass attempt and also ran the ball six times for 56 yards and a score.

Epilogue

The Bears have now won six straight games at Soldier Field going back to last season. Chicago is also the first team in NFL history to win a game in which it trailed by at least 17 points and had fewer than 150 total yards of offense. Williams’s struggles’ came in a variety of areas in his NFL debut: He was 0-of-6 under duress, 2-of-8 for 19 yards against the blitz, and 4-of-13 for 40 yards on throws of more than five yards. Still, the Bears are 1-0 and playing better than .500 football for the first time since beating the 49ers on Opening Day in 2022.

Photo of Michael Canter Michael CanterSeptember 8, 2024
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