CHICAGO (670 The Score) — The dawn of a new day for the Bears felt far too familiar Sunday.
Bears rookie quarterback Caleb Williams struggled in his NFL debut as the team’s offense posted just 148 total yards. But Chicago’s defense and special teams led the way to a 24-17 victory against the Tennessee Titans. Here are the observations from the Bears' win in their season opener.
Williams has uneven debut
Looking ahead to the opener, Williams made a proclamation that he didn’t expect to become a reality.
"The wins are the most important thing,” Williams said last week. “As long as we get that win at the end of the day, 100 yards (or) 400, it’s all the same."
Williams didn't even register 100 passing yards. He was 14-of-29 for 93 yards, struggling in part due to his own miscues but mostly because of those around him.
For all the anticipation for Williams’ first regular-season start, Soldier Field at times featured the familiar refrain of boos and frustration. The Bears trailed 17-0 late in the first half and couldn’t do much of anything right.
It would've been quite the story if Williams had led the ferocious comeback win. Instead, this felt like a Bears victory from the Lovie Smith era, with the defense and special teams saving a scuffling offense.
The 22-year-old Williams had his issues, such as poor footwork at times and rushed reads with a clean pocket, but those around him also let him down in his debut.
On second-and-goal from the 6-yard line late in the second quarter, veteran receiver Keenan Allen dropped a pass from Williams near the left pylon that would've been a touchdown. Shortly after that, Williams had a pass knocked down at the line of scrimmage and nearly intercepted as center Coleman Shelton was knocked to his back by a blitzing linebacker. It’s possible that Williams and Shelton share responsibility for not marking the linebacker, but there was no excuse for Shelton getting beat so badly.
Shelton had a poor debut for the Bears, getting beat by rushers multiple times, which forced Williams to scramble. Another glaring miss by Shelton came on Chicago’s second series of the game when Williams was sacked for a 19-yard loss after the Bears had driven the ball to the Titans' 25-yard line.
Williams will be coached to surrender himself if the A gap is compromised so badly, but there was nothing he could’ve done to save that play. Shelton was manhandled off the snap.
With veteran offensive lineman Ryan Bates having returned last week from a groin injury, the Bears elected to rotate him in at right guard with Nate Davis. Entering training camp, the Bears' original plan was for Bates to compete with Shelton for the starting center spot.
Shelton didn’t win the starting center role as much as Bates bowed out of the competition due to injury. In the aftermath of Shelton's ugly first game, the Bears now need to consider a change at center.
Among Bears offensive linemen, Shelton’s performance trailed only Davis’ for the lowest-graded effort on Pro Football Focus. That underscored the poor play of the interior offensive line. Left tackle Braxton Jones, left guard Teven Jenkins and right tackle Darnell Wright left more to be desired as well. Bates was the Bears’ top-graded offensive lineman by PFF on Sunday.
Bears running back D’Andre Swift had 10 carries for just 30 yards as he failed to establish a rhythm behind poor run blocking. Swift was the leading rusher for a Bears ground game that averaged 3.8 yards per carry.
The Bears’ offense struggled to sustain drives. Taking away the final two kneeldowns in victory formation, Chicago averaged 16.2 yards on its first nine series. The Bears' longest drive in plays went 11 snaps for 44 yards, while the longest drive in net yards went six plays for 46 yards.
The Bears only entered the red zone once, settling for a chip-shot field goal from kicker Cairo Santos.
It's worth noting this was often how the Bears' offense looked in training camp leading up to the regular season. There were many days in which the defense took it to the offense and the offensive line struggled to give Williams a fair chance.
The miscues Sunday were disappointing given the excitement surrounding Williams’ debut, but they're fixable. They're part of the growing pains as the Bears look to establish continuity around a young quarterback. The Bears should be fine in the long run.
Bears defense is legit
In a great performance, the Bears defense dictated the game and led Chicago to victory.
Second-year cornerback Tyrique Stevenson changed the game with a go-ahead pick-six in the fourth quarter, and Pro Bowl cornerback Jaylon Johnson sealed the victory with a late interception of Titans quarterback Will Levis. Veteran pass rusher Darrell Taylor, whom the Bears acquired in a trade with the Seahawks on Aug. 23, posted two sacks and a forced fumble in his debut with the team. Linebacker T.J. Edwards was all over the field as he posted 18 total tackles.
The unsung hero was veteran edge rusher DeMarcus Walker, who seemed to hear the talk about his underwhelming 2023 season. He registered four quarterback hurries and was a constant presence in the Titans’ backfield. The Bears recorded 10 hurries as a team.
The Bears looked like a top-five defense Sunday and are optimistic their offense will come around.
"This is one hell of a team, a team full of dawgs,” Stevenson said. “At some point, it's going to be the offense helping us out. It is what it is. We still got the win. I'm happy for the guys. But it's back to the drawing board Tuesday."
Priority on special teams
The life of a special teams coordinator involves constant change and the need to adapt. It’s a difficult job given the turnover on each NFL team's roster.
Bears special teams coordinator Richard Hightower deserves praise for the performance of his group Sunday. The highlight, of course, was Daniel Hardy's blocked punt, which was scooped up by Jonathan Owens and returned for Chicago’s first touchdown of the season.
The block stemmed from a read in film study, resulting in Hardy bull-rushing his way through the Titans' line and getting a hand on the football.
The Bears also had great production from returner DeAndre Carter, who averaged 12.8 yards per punt return and had a 67-yard kick return.
Bears general manager Ryan Poles has placed a priority on special teams, saving roster spots for players like Owens, Travis Homer, Amen Ogbongbemiga and others who play key roles on special teams. From there, Hightower has maximized the talent he has, and his units delivered Sunday.
More miscues for Velus
Bears receiver-turned-running back Velus Jones Jr. was a fun story for "Hard Knocks" to share with the nation, but those in Chicago know to be wary.
Jones struggled mightily to protect the football in his first two NFL seasons, and that trend continued Sunday. He muffed a catch on a kickoff and then accidentally kicked the ball more than 15 yards forward to the Titans’ coverage team for a turnover. Jones was removed from his kick return role after that miscue.
Coach Matt Eberflus expressed pride in how Jones responded from that mistake as he carried twice for 11 yards as a halfback and had one catch for eight yards. But Jones is going to have a hard time being active on game day without being a reliable player on special teams.
Extra points
--- For just the third time since 2013, Chicago opened its season with a victory.
--- The Titans' first touchdown drive went eight plays and 79 yards. In order, the plays went for 8, 7, 14, 5, 6, 6, 7 and 26 yards. The Bears held the Titans to just 3.1 yards per play outside of that series.
--- It was odd that Bears tight end Cole Kmet played on just 48% of the team's offensive snaps Sunday, compared to a 61% share for veteran tight end Gerald Everett.
--- It was also odd that the Bears opened the game with Terell Smith taking the first snap at cornerback before stepping out for Stevenson. Was it a punishment of sorts or an equipment issue? That was one answer I couldn't immediately get after the game.
--- There was one other team to win Sunday without recording an offensive touchdown. That was the Steelers, who were led by former Bears quarterback Justin Fields. Pittsburgh beat Atlanta, 18-10, on six field goals by kicker Chris Boswell.
-- The Bears were one of three teams around the NFL on Sunday to earn a comeback victory after trailing by 14 points or more. The last time Chicago came back from down 17 or more points to win was in its 2020 season opener. The Bears trailed 23-6 in the third quarter before scoring 21 unanswered points to beat the Lions, 27-23, at Ford Field.
--- The Bears avoided disaster but didn't inspire much reason for hope.
--- I stand by my prediction of 10-7 for the Bears in 2024.
Chris Emma covers the Bears, Chicago’s sports scene and more for 670TheScore.com. Follow him on Twitter @CEmma670.