With the game ball secured in his left arm, rookie quarterback Caleb Williams threw up his signature Bear claw with his right hand in response to the ovation he received from fans upon exiting the tunnel at Soldier Field.
In Chicago’s 24-17 win over the Tennessee Titans, Williams became the first quarterback drafted with the No. 1 pick to win his first career start since David Carr in 2002. His performance, however, left the quarterback frustrated.
Williams completed 14 of 29 passes for 93 yards, did not throw a touchdown or an interception, fumbled once and was sacked twice. The rookie quarterback was off target on 31% of his throws and averaged 3.2 yards per pass attempt.
The Bears were nearly shutout in the first half before Cairo Santos kicked a 24-yard field goal to give Chicago its first points of the 2024 season. Santos connected on two more field goals, from 50 and 48 yards, respectively, after the Bears’ punt coverage unit broke open the game.
According to ESPN Analytics, the Bears had a 14% chance to beat the Titans before defensive end Daniel Hardy blocked a Tennessee punt with 3:19 remaining in the third quarter. Safety Jonathan Owens recovered the football and ran 21 yards for a touchdown to cut the Titans lead to 17-10.
Chicago’s defense, which ranked No. 1 against the run in 2023 (86.4 yards allowed per game) struggled to contain Tennessee’s rushing attack in the first half. The Titans churned out 115 yards on 16 carries in the first two quarters before the Bears clamped down after halftime (25 yards on 10 rushes in the second half, 0.7 yards allowed before first contact).
The Bears are the first team in NFL history to win a game in which they trailed by at least 17 points and had fewer than 150 total yards. Williams 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 5 air yards.
The Bears next game is Sunday night in Houston against the Texans.
