The Chicago Bears ushered in a new era of football today. After a roller coaster offseason, a hyped draft, and a more-hyped training camp / preseason, Week 1 of the Caleb Williams Era arrived.
The Bears are no stranger to renewing hope with new quarterback acquisitions. From Jay Cutler to Mitch Trubisky, Trubisky to Justin Fields, and now Fields to Williams, fans have frothed at the mouth ready to explode in support of a franchise QB.
Of course, the hype surrounding Williams' arrival is unlike anything we've seen since Cutler's first start in Green Bay 15 years ago. The presumptive #1 overall pick for two seasons, the Bears finally made the call on a fateful April night and have supercharged his development ever since.
The stage was set -- welcoming Caleb, Keenan Allen, Rome Odunze, D'Andre Swift, Shane Waldron, and many other pieces to join a foundation that was promising to end last season. Going against an interesting - if not fully formed - Tennessee Titans team at Soldier Field was as friendly a start as the Bears could imagine.
And in the end, the Bears played a roller coaster, but ultimately vintage, football game on the lake front -- smothering the Titans in the second half defensively (and scoring multiple D/ST touchdowns) to escape with a win.
I shared my in-game reactions, thoughts and observations below. Follow me on X (Twitter) @DhruvKoul to continue the conversation!
Thoughts and Observations
1. (PREGAME) -- The first list of inactives is out, and a couple of genuine surprises are here:
Tyler Scott and Roschon Johnson being out tells me two things:
- The game plan will call for a LOT of "over the middle" reads for TEs like Cole Kmet and Gerald Everett, along with D'Andre Swift. They don't feel the need for WR4 to be active. And with a secondary like Tennessee's, I get it.
- Johnson being inactive was slightly more surprising to me - Velus Jones Jr. will of course be the kick returner, but this tells me they intend to run wide concepts in the ground game (Swift, Khalil Herbert and Jones Jr. are better fits for that) -- rather than go up the middle into Jeffrey Simmons (never a good idea!). For short yardage situations, they must feel Velus can still be a battering ram when needed.
2. This first quarter has looked... a lot like many for the Bears over the years. The defense on the first two drives was stifling - limiting the Titans to zero net yards on six plays.
The offense, however, squandered excellent field position twice. The second one, though, was more egregious. Set up in plus territory after a nice punt return, Caleb missed Keenan Allen on a sure-fire touchdown on a third down (overthrow) before converting on 4th and 3 right back to Allen. But a disgusting 19-yard sack killed the drive. Just can't happen -- rookie or not.
I was in favor of Ryan Poles turning down the trade offer we heard about in Hard Knocks, but it's simply not possible to justify anymore. Luckily, the defense held for a field goal.
5. The first half ends simply with more and more nightmare stuff. To summarize:
- Will Levis converts and 3rd and 15 deep in his own territory -- en route to a touchdown drive that should've seen two interceptions.
- The Bears get a 66-yard kick return after the Titans go up 17-0 and Keenan Allen drops a touchdown on the goal line. The Bears settle for three points to go into the half down 17-3.
A few tweets to illustrate:
Chicago is getting dominated in the trenches on both sides of the ball. The coaching decisions - especially Shane Waldron's debut here - are strange. Caleb looks overwhelmed. It's a whole lot of bad. You have to hope the second half can see this guys come out calmer and more composed.
<HALFTIME>
6. More of the season to open the second half... one nice timing throw from Caleb to DJ Moore got a first down, otherwise a couple of presnap penalties and a woeful stunt play from Coleman Shelton led to a sack. The Titans' DL is good, no doubt. But this is a varsity vs. middle school matchup right now. Harold Landry came in fast and furious on the stunt.
7. Shortly after, a turn of events. After Levis just missed Calvin Ridely on a deep throw, Daniel Hardy blocked the punt and Jonathan Owens scooped it up and returned it for a touchdown. Huge play.
The Titans took the ensuing drive and went three and out. Gervon Dexter with a big sack on third down - getting him going will be huge for this defense.
But the Bears took the ensuring possession and went three and out. More interior line woes for the Bears. Also, Caleb misfiring big time on a couple throws. He just looks miserable out there so far.
8. So far, the verdict on some of the Bears' newcomers is:
Darrell Taylor is a BEAST. A strip-sack of Will Levis set up the Bears with good field position (led to a field goal).
Coleman Shelton is getting overrun by Jeffrey Simmons. It's bad.
Chicago will need to figure out a way to improve that OL... it's been a dominant day from Tennessee.
Alas, with 10 minutes left in the game it's 17-16 Tennessee with the Titans about to get the ball.
9. I don't believe this. On a 3rd and 6, the Bears send a ton of pressure and Will Levis tries to flip the ball away as he's getting sacked.
Tyrique Stevenson pulls down the floater and motors to the house. A Caleb-to-Swift two-point conversion puts the Bears up 24-17. Just sensational stuff from the defense in the second half.
10. D'Andre Swift is a weapon. Wait until the Bears can actually figure out some of the kinks in the offense.
11. A 4th and 10 interception from Jaylon Johnson wins it for the Bears. I can genuinely say I can't believe what we saw on the lakefront today. Making corrections after a win is a lot better than the alternative.
Key difference on the "close out" drive? A genuine pass rush!
12. The more things change, the more things the stay the same. Vintage Bears. But a win is a win!
13. The Bears travel to Houston for a Sunday Night Football showdown with C.J. Stroud and the Texans. The Texans went to the AFC Divisional Round last year and Stroud is playing great football. It's too tough a test too early in the season for a rookie QB against a team with legitimate Super Bowl aspirations.
Early prediction: Texans 27, Bears 17.
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