Brian Callahan's coaching debut could have went better with the Titans.
The Tennessee Titans (0-1) took a Week 1 loss to the Chicago Bears (1-0), leaving the team with a bevy of questions moving forward.
This is a new era for Titans football, now that former head coach Mike Vrabel is gone and a brand new coaching staff, led by Brian Callahan, has taken over. A transition phase was expected, with kinks to work out. However, the Titans seemingly had every chance to walk out of Soldier Field with Callahan's first win as a head coach but couldn't execute offensively enough to do so.
After punting on their first two drives, the Titans scored on their next two. Tony Pollard found the end zone on a 26-yard run at the end of the first quarter. Following a Bears muffed kickoff return, Nick Folk nailed a 40-yard field goal. Tennessee added another score on a 14-play drive that drained most of the second quarter to go up 17-0. However, that would be the last time they scored all game.
So, who deserves the blame for this loss? The most obvious answer is…
Will Levis played a horrible second half against the Bears
The Titans relied on a strong ground game for most of the day. New running back Tony Pollard led the group with 82 yards on 16 carries and one touchdown, while Levis added 36 yards and Tyjae Spears chipped in 21 yards. Levis, however, still has a lot to prove as a passing quarterback in the league.
Levis went just 19-for-32 for a paltry 127 yards with one touchdown to Chig Okonkwo in the first half. But that was the peak of his game; it only went downhill from there.
Now in his second season, Levis simply fell apart in the fourth quarter. In three of the last four Titans drives, he fumbled, threw a pick-six, and then tossed a final interception that ended the team's chances of tying the game.
The worst of Levis' turnovers by far was his first interception when the Titans were up 17-16. While trying to avoid taking a sack, instead of throwing the ball out of bounds, Levis shoveled a pass toward the sideline that was picked off by Bears cornerback Tyrique Stevenson for a touchdown, giving Chicago what would be the final 24-17 lead.
“Bonehead play,” Levis said, per NFL.com. “Just recency bias from getting away with it the last time I did in the game. Just trying to throw it in the dirt, and when you're getting taken down, you don't know what's going to happen with the ball when it comes out. Was really just trying to dirt it. In that situation, you try to handle it with a zero check or something. First time bringing zero to the ballgame or just take the sack. Might be one of those times to just take the sack. So one of the things of a lot of the things that I can learn from this game.”
Callahan lamented Levis' decision-making.
“We can't have that,” Callahan said. “We can't have an interception for a touchdown when we are up 17-16 at midfield, and the way our defense was playing, it's killer. It's killer.”
The second interception wasn’t as egregious, but it came on a fourth-and-10 on a desperation drive and was still a forced pass.
Titans special teams also had a bad day against the Bears
The Bears came all the way back from a 17-3 deficit in the first half to score 21 unanswered points in the second half. Most of that was due to the defensive woes of the Titans. However, the special teams had a less-than-special day that allowed the Bears to get back into the game.
After forcing the Bears to punt to open the second half, the Titans took over on their own 25. Six plays and eight yards later, Chicago forced a punt. However, the Bears' special teams were ready and managed to block a Ryan Stonehouse punt. Chicago's Jonathan Owens then recovered the ball for a touchdown, bringing the Bears within seven points.
All in all, there couldn't have been a more disastrous second half of football than what the Titans experienced on Sunday. The bigger story here is obviously Levis, who is still trying to prove he can be a reliable starting quarterback in the NFL.
The Titans are back at home next week against what should be a tough New York Jets team, which has one of the best defenses in the league. Good luck, Levis. Perhaps at least the special teams will be improved.
