The Tennessee Titans fell to the Chicago Bears, 24-17, at Soldier Field on Sunday, as the two-tone blue completely collapsed in the second half. Chicago scored 24 unanswered points and did it without tallying a single offensive touchdown.
Tennessee had a solid first half and looked to be cruising with a 17-3 lead. The offense was creating running lanes and the defense was overwhelming rookie quarterback Caleb Williams, who couldn't get anything going.
But the second half was filled with forced errors and incompetent offense. There are a ton of losers, but there are also some bright spots from this disastrous game.
Tennessee Titans winners and losers
Winner: The defense
The Titans' defense completely confused Caleb Williams in his highly anticipated debut, as the No. 1 overall pick posted just 93 yards and a 55.7 passer rating. Dennard Wilson's aggressive pass rush and talented secondary held Chicago's offense to just 148 total yards and two third-down conversions in 14 tries.
Due to the abysmal performance of the offense, Tennessee's defense was placed into a few sticky situations but was able to keep the team in the game. There aren't many positives from this game, but the performance of the defense was definitely one of them.
Loser: QB Will Levis
Levis' atrocious performance is one of the primary reasons the Titans imploded in Chicago. The 24-year-old committed three turnovers in the second half, including a backbreaking pick-six to Tyrique Stevenson and a strip sack that led to a Bears field goal.
Levis looked out of sorts and lethargic during most of the second half, missing Calvin Ridley on a couple of deep throws and failing to sustain drives. It's only Week 1, but quarterback play could be an issue in Tennessee for another season.
Loser: The special teams
Colt Anderson's unit got off to a fantastic start, forcing a fumble on a kickoff towards the end of the first quarter, which led to a Nick Folk field goal to give the Titans a 10-0 lead.
But it all went downhill after that, as Tennessee surrendered a 67-yard kick return from DeAndre Carter in the second quarter, which led to a Chicago field goal. In the second half, the punt unit completely imploded, allowing a Stonehouse punt to be blocked and returned for a touchdown.
Levis deserves the majority of the blame for Tennessee's embarrassing loss, but the special teams play from Brian Callahan's squad was subpar.
Winner: RB Tony Pollard
Pollard was nonexistent in the second half, but the former Memphis Tiger was the best player on the field in the first half. The 27-year-old tallied 82 rushing yards and one touchdown with 5.2 yards per carry. Pollard looked explosive and fresh and established himself as Tennessee's clear-cut RB1.
Loser: RB Tyjae Spears
We all expected a 50-50 snap share between Pollard and Tyjae Spears, but that wasn't the case on Sunday.
Spears played just 44% of the offensive snaps, posting 32 scrimmage yards on eight touches. The former Tulane standout could see an increased workload in the future, but it's pretty evident he's the RB2 behind Pollard.
In between: The offensive line
Bill Callahan's unit wasn't awful on Sunday, but it didn't play winning football. No.7 overall pick JC Latham was inconsistent in pass protection, the interior surrendered some costly pressures, and running lanes were at a premium in the second half.
Tennessee rushed for 140 yards but also gave up three sacks. The offensive line is still a work in progress in Nashville.
