The Bears lost to the Titans 244-148 and didn’t score a single offensive touchdown. Williams completed 14 of 29 passes for 93 yards and had a passer rating of 55.7. Swift was the Bears’ leading rusher with 30 yards on 10 carries.
“Offensive play, we obviously didn’t play the way we wanted to,” Williams said. “We want to be the most efficient team out there, myself included. Didn’t play the way I wanted to. I missed a couple passes that I don’t usually miss… I felt like I was in the right place at the right time and I’d say I saw it well. Just missed the shot and didn’t put the ball where I wanted to.”
The Titans took a 7-0 lead with 41 minutes left in the first quarter on Tony Pollard’s 26-yard touchdown run, capping an eight-play, 79-yard run after the Bears defense forced three-and-outs on Tennessee’s first two possessions.
Velus Jones Jr. dropped the ball on the ensuing kickoff and kicked it forward, where it was recovered by Julius Chestnut of the Titans at the Chicago 23-yard line.
Taylor recorded the Bears’ first sack of the season and Tennessee settled for Nick Folk’s 40-yard field goal, increasing the lead to 10-0.
The Titans increased their lead to 17-0 when Levis completed a 17-yard touchdown pass to tight end Chig Okonkwo with 3:44 left in the first half. The touchdown capped a 14-play, 73-yard run that was sustained by Levis’ 22-yard pass to Calvin Ridley on third-and-15 and an offsides penalty on Montez Sweat on third-and-5.
DeAndre Carter, who had already returned punts of 16 and 20 yards, returned the ensuing kickoff 67 yards to the Titans’ 34, setting up Santos’ 24-yard field goal that brought the Bears within 17-3 with 27 minutes left in the first half.
The Titans outscored the Bears 88-5 in the first quarter and 179-51 in the first half.
The Bears offense stalled again on their first drive of the second half, punting on fourth-and-30 after two incomplete passes, two penalties and a sack.
But the defense and special teams saved the day and helped the Bears win the season opener.
After allowing two touchdowns and a field goal on three consecutive possessions in the first half, the defense held the Titans scoreless in the second half.
“I think we had to sit back and realize who we are,” Stevenson said. “Stop playing for the hype, stop playing for everything else around us and just realize that we were just working for a moment like this.”
“We just reacted,” Johnson added. “We knew that wasn’t our style. We had a couple of big, explosive plays where we lost runs and there were a couple of miscommunications. But overall we kept pushing and kept going. We know we have a dominant defense and we showed that.”
