CHICAGO — Special teams and defensive touchdowns in the second half sparked the Chicago Bears to a 24-17 victory against the Tennessee Titans on Sunday in quarterback Caleb Williams’ NFL debut.
Chicago scored 24 unanswered points to rally past Tennessee, which outgained the Bears 244-148.
Tyrique Stevenson gave the Bears (1-0) their first lead of the game on a 43-yard interception return touchdown with 7:35 to play. Trying to escape the pass rush, Titans quarterback Will Levis flipped the ball away but Stevenson was waiting.
Chicago notched its first TD with 9:07 left in the third quarter. Daniel Hardy blocked a Ryan Stonehouse punt and Jonathan Owens recovered the ball and raced 21 yards for a touchdown.
Cairo Santos kicked field goals of 24, 50 and 48 yards for the Bears.
Williams, the No. 1 overall pick in the April draft out of Southern California, struggled to ignite a Chicago attack that included several offseason additions acquired to help get his career off to a fast start.
Williams went 14-of-29 passing for 93 yards, connecting with veteran receiver DJ Moore five times for 36 yards. New Chicago running back D’Andre Swift had 10 carries for 30 yards.
Levis was 19 of 32 for 127 yards with a touchdown and two interceptions for the Titans (0-1). Tony Pollard had 16 carries for 82 yards and a score, and Calvin Ridley contributed three catches for 50 yards.
After gaining zero net yards on their first two possessions, the Titans tallied 17 points over their next three drives.
Pollard started the scoring with a 26-yard touchdown run with 41 seconds left in the first quarter. Nick Folk added a 40-yard goal in the first minute of the second quarter as Tennessee capitalized on a short field when the Bears fumbled the kickoff after Pollard’s TD.
The Titans capped a 14-play, 73-yard drive that took 8:23 of clock time when Levis found Chig Okonkwo for a 17-yard score with 3:44 remaining in the second quarter and a 17-0 lead.
Chicago got on the board on Santos’ 24-yard field goal with 27 seconds left before halftime.
Chicago went three and out on its first possession, beginning a string of three straight punts to start the game. The Bears’ second drive showed promise but ultimately ended with zero points after Williams took a 19-yard sack shortly after a fourth-down conversion.
–Kevin Druley, Field Level Media
