The Tennessee Titans lost what could have been a win in their season opener against the Chicago Bears. The Titans and their defense controlled the game for most of the afternoon and were on the verge of spoiling the debut of first overall pick Caleb Williams, but costly mistakes by the offense and special teams virtually told the Bears the victory. The Titans jumped out to a 17-3 halftime lead over the Bears, and head coach Brian Callahan knew the team would have to continue to play good defense and take care of the ball to seal the victory. “We played really well defensively,” Callahan said Monday, via ESPN’s TurronDavenport . “It’s almost like if we had hit the ball early and 10 every time, we could have won the game the way we gave it up.” Instead, the Titans rallied in the second half and saw their first field goal attempt of the half blocked by the Bears’ Daniel Hardy. Jonathan Owens recovered the block and returned it for a Bears touchdown.
Read more at: https://www.kansas.com/sports/article292232685.html#storylink=cpy Knowing that the Titans still had a lead and could win as long as they took care of the ball, Callahan faced the quarterback Will Levis. sideline at the end of the third quarter and reminded him to be smart and not to force anything. “It was like we were telling them, ‘Look, they didn’t do anything offensively.’ Our defense plays hard. We don’t need to be outstanding in attack now. “We’re always trying to score, but limiting mistakes is what’s going to win us this game,” Callahan said, via Davenport. Levis was unable to act on Callahan’s message. On the Bears’ first possession of the fourth quarter, quarterback Will Levis was stripped and sacked, leading to a Bears field goal. Even with the scratch, the Titans still have a narrow one-point lead over the Bears. On the Titans’ next possession, Levis pulled the ball to avoid a sack, but the ball landed right in the hands of Bears’ Tyrique Stevenson, who returned the interception for the game-tying touchdown. The Titans turned the ball over, but their last attempt at a comeback was stopped by another Levis interception. “Stupid mistakes” cost Tennessee a huge defensive effort. The Titans held the Bears to just 148 yards of total offense, 2-13 on third down and Williams to just 93 passing yards. Callahan hopes to see Levis learn from his mistakes as they prepare to face a New York Jets defense next week.