What We Saw: Week 1

Titans @ Bears

Final Score: Bears 24 – Titans 17

Writer: Zach Whetsel

This was a fairly ugly game for both offenses, but each team still should have plenty of hope for the season. The outcome ultimately came down to Will Levis and the Titans’ failings more than the Bears taking control, but both defenses had standout days and earned their praise in this article. In what was ultimately the most Bears outcome possible, they are who we thought they were and today that was enough for a win.

Three Up

• Tony Pollard – After he was drafted late in most leagues with the expectation of a split workload with Tyjae Spears looming, he took most of the work today, and looked good doing it. He generated nearly all the offense on one of Tennessee’s only good offensive drives.
• Bears D/ST – Aside from another fumbled kick from Velus Jones Jr, the Bears looked great on defense and special teams today, even logging a score in both phases. This could be a surprisingly viable fantasy unit that is likely still sitting on waivers in many leagues.
• DJ Moore – Even though nobody had a particularly encouraging performance on day one of the new Bears offense, Moore still commanded the most touches of any receiver and looked to be the #1 option. Better days will come, and although it’s tough to call this “Up” for DJ Moore, the fact that he still commands the primary looks in this offense makes things less down for him than almost any other offensive player between the two teams.

Three Down

• Rome Odunze – The rookie receiver didn’t have any particularly bad plays today, but it does not seem encouraging that the offense had less than 150 yards total and he was clearly the third receiving option. You hope his talent gets a chance to shine soon, but until we see some very different outcomes for this offense, he will need to remain on your bench.
• Tyjae Spears – Somebody was almost surely going to land on the wrong side of the coin for this Titans backfield, and Spears is looking to be the unlucky one here early. He was only given four carries, and although he offset that with four receptions, his 32 yards of total offense did not make for an inspiring start to the season.
• Will Levis – The only guy on my 3-down list whose woes today were not related to usage, Levis had a particularly rough second half that sealed his spot on here over Caleb Williams. While neither QB had a good day, Levis made some particularly egregious decisions that almost single-handedly allowed the Bears to steal the game away.

Tennessee Titans

Quarterback

Will Levis: 19/32 for 127 yards, 1 TD, and 2 INTs, with 4 rushes for 36 yards

After a strong start, Levis had a terrible second half in a game where he just needed to keep the wheels from coming off.

Notes

• Levis looked like he got his bearings late in the first quarter and into the second. He converted a long third down to Calvin Ridley that showed off his arm strength as Ridley sat in the middle of the field, and he was making the right decisions to keep the ball moving. Nothing spectacular, but it felt solid enough that I was starting to think he’d taken the next step over the offseason toward doing the little things right as a QB. Unfortunately, his compulsion to press took the Titans down today; this Bears secondary is great at jumping on opportunities provided by overeager quarterbacks, and those tendencies bit Levis.

Missed Opportunities

• It felt like momentum started to seep away when he missed on a deep shot midway through the game. It would have put the Titans up 17-0 with a good chunk of time left in the second quarter, and due to the nature of the deep shot it would have left the Bears reeling; the Titans took that lead before halftime anyway, but the missed play still–in retrospect–felt like a foreshadowing of what was to come. Beyond leaving that long ball short, Levis shoveled the ball into the dirt midway through the third to avoid a sack, and my buddy and I both felt it was a dangerous thing to be doing even if it had worked for him that time. We remarked that trying too much might come back to bite him if he did it again, and sure enough, it was the same type of shovel pass out of a sack that the Bears took back to the house for a pick-6 and the lead late in the game. Trying too much was ultimately the theme of Will Levis’ loss today against a good Bears D.

Running Back

Tony Pollard: 16 carries, 82 yards, 1 TD, 3 receptions, 12 yards

Tony looks like he may have the juice again….

Notes

• Tony Pollard had a good day. It took a pair of 3-and-outs to start the game before the Titans offense got something going, and the spark that made that happen was Tony Pollard’s running. Covering 50+ yards of that drive on the ground himself, he opened the scoring with a 26-yard run with under a minute left in the first quarter. We all know Pollard is fast, but he looked somewhat difficult to bring down on the day as well- when the Titans were able to create space against the Bears front, Tony did his part and broke tackles on the second level. I will be keeping my eye on him as the season goes on; hopefully, the team will lean on him a bit more as well.

Missed Opportunities

• The offense made it tough for Pollard to shoulder the load, although that likely is not what they want from him anyway. With the Titans shooting themselves in the foot a fair amount this game, they seemed to never be in a great situation to let him run down the clock in the second half. Apart from his monster scoring drive, he was relatively quiet throughout the day. Look to see Pollard more involved in future match-ups, especially when they are hopefully leading late once again.

Tyjae Spears: 4 carries, 21 yards, 4 receptions, 11 yards

Tyjae did not get much run and didn’t particularly impress in his limited opportunities. He needs more chances to be effective either way.

Notes

• Unfortunately for the fantasy managers who bet on the Spears half of this backfield split, the Titans were not interested in giving him much run today. He did have one more catch than Tony Pollard, but it hardly matters when the coaches only gave him four carries in a game where they’d ideally be running the clock to protect a lead against a bad Bears offense. Not a great indication of his overall usage moving forward.

Missed Opportunities

• The biggest missed opportunity was a failure to convert a third down and 3 by Spears late in the third quarter. On a mesh crosser with Bears LB Tremaine Edmunds trailing Spears by a few yards, Spears made the catch just before the sticks and unfortunately failed to push forward for the first down. The opportunity was there and would have been a big one for a Titans offense that was struggling to stay on the field, but Tyjae allowed Edmunds to catch him and make an unlikely tackle to hold strong on defense. As much as it was a nice play by Edmunds, it highlighted the reason why Pollard may have been getting more run as well. Spears should have converted.

Wide Receiver/Tight End

Calvin Ridley: 3 receptions, 50 yards

Ridley looked fine today! He didn’t get many opportunities though…

Notes

• Calvin Ridley had a solid day. That’s about all there is to say here- he is clearly the #1 for this team, and did his job when called upon, but the offense did not handle things well against a strong Bears secondary, and there wasn’t much room for Ridley to make a difference. He won’t be a talking point this week, but hopefully, we see more of his name moving forward.

Deandre Hopkins: 1 reception, 8 yards

D-Hop continued his streak of games with a reception! Today’s game took him to 163 in a row- every game of his career.

Notes

• D-Hop is playing through a torn MCL, apparently, and his usage tracked with that today. He can be faded from here on out: with one catch on one target on a bum knee and a passing offense that looked ugly, there are surely better options elsewhere. Is Tennessee really where wide receivers go to die?

Tyler Boyd: 3 receptions, 18 yards

Boyd was more involved than the bigger-named player in Hopkins, but the WR2 on a passing offense that gained less than 130 yards through the air is not the most enticing start.

Notes

• Boyd seems to be someone that the Titans will rely on as a set of reliable hands, but he’s never been a world-beater and you shouldn’t expect this Titans offense to push him to relevancy through volume. He looked fine, but five targets won’t get him many points on this offense this season.

Treylon Burks: 1 reception, 2 yards, 2 rushes, 1 yard

Treylon Burks was a former first-round pick, but I’m here to safely say that this is not the year he will turn it around… sorry, Titans fans.

Notes

• The coaches seemed intent on getting him some manufactured touches, but it didn’t work. Not sure what’s left for him in this offense. Hopefully, a change of scenery sometime soon can breathe some life into his stat lines, but for now, stay away. Boyd is a more enticing receiver even when they feed Burks a pair of carries to try to get him going.

Chigoziem Okonkwo: 2 receptions, 15 yards, 1 TD

I saved the best for last on this one! His TD catch was truly impressive.

Notes

• Chig Okonkwo did not get the volume you’d like to see, but those who still believe in his talent will live on another week anyway. His TD catch late in the 2nd quarter (the last time the Titans scored today) was a thing of beauty. On a ball that initially seemed likely to be intercepted by a perfectly trailing Tyrique Stevenson, Chig adjusted beautifully and snagged the ball out of the air from behind the DB, leaving us wondering how it was possibly a TD as we watched live. Chig is not going to be a reliable starter in this offense, but that was a great play nonetheless against a good Bears secondary.

Chicago Bears

Quarterback

Caleb Williams: 14/29, 93 yards passing, 5 rushes for 15 yards

Caleb didn’t win this game for the Bears, but we saw what it looks like to throw it away and he managed to avoid that at least. That’s a win… right? It’s classic Bears for sure.

Notes

• At first, you wanted to think that the issue was on the offense as a whole just being rusty. Unfortunately for Caleb, he had some ugly throws that couldn’t be reduced to the team around him as the game went on. He showed the pocket awareness that was billed as his best trait, but just like everything else he did today, it got him into trouble a few times as well. He also showed some elite arm strength, especially on a completed rollout pass to DJ Moore for a first down, but then sailed his deep balls long all day. Lastly, he didn’t place the ball in any dangerous spots and as such didn’t throw any interceptions, but he also missed some throws low that were there to be hit. For as rocky as his day seemed, the lack of turnovers was a distinct positive mark… it’s something to build from on a day where not much was good for the highly-touted rookie. Consistency will be needed next.
• On a note slightly separate from Caleb’s performance, the interior offensive line for the Bears was terrible today with a capital T. It was a concern coming in, as the center position was one of dire need this past off-season and the Bears big addition was Coleman Shelton, but it was almost worse today than expected. Jeffrey Simmons and this impressive Titans defensive line manhandled the Bears all day, leaving Caleb in a tough spot off the snap on entirely too many plays. At least some part of Caleb’s poor performance can be blamed on the o-line… but that is more concerning, as it likely won’t improve throughout the year like we hope Caleb will.

Running Back

Deandre Swift: 10 carries, 30 yards

The Bears seemingly wanted to get Swift involved early, but a porous interior O-line and poor game script meant that Swift didn’t get many opportunities as the game went on.

Notes

• Swift looked pretty good, despite his extremely underwhelming stat line. He had burst and was quick to hit the holes when they were there; he even successfully hurdled a defender near the end of the game. He just never got a real chance to get going, as the offense quickly became focused on trying to get Caleb in rhythm, and the o-line fell apart in the middle. Ultimately, even though I wouldn’t fault Swift for the lack of production, it certainly scares me fantasy-wise. Unless the Bears offense takes big leaps around him, I’d be worried about his viability moving forward in fantasy.

Khalil Herbert: 2 rushes, 4 yards

The only time Herbert was given meaningful touches was when the Bears needed a conversion on 3rd/4th and short. He was run up the middle and stuffed on 3rd, and then into the C gap on the left on 4th down for the first. He was promptly subbed out again after that.

Notes

• Herbert was given a surprising lack of opportunities today. We know he’s one-dimensional, unable to proficiently pass block or catch balls, but the team seemingly had little interest in using him at all. Based on this game, I wouldn’t be shocked if he was only used this season in situations where there’s zero question that the Bears are looking to grind out a couple of yards on the ground. That’s how he was used today, and barring injury, it leaves him as a disappointing fade.

Velus Jones Jr: 2 carries, 11 yards, 1 reception, 8 yards

The WR/KR turned RB had an interesting day, to say the least. He looked like he had the juice running the ball that the team was so excited about when they moved him to RB this offseason, but he also muffed a kickoff and gave the Titans 3 points.

Notes

• The Bears moved Velus to RB in the hopes that he could have a Cordarrelle Patterson-style career arc but didn’t fully commit to keeping him off returns, and now it looks like he’ll be stuck only running moving forward. Hoping he could still return kicks, they put him back there to start the game, and he muffed his first attempted return. The Bears didn’t let him back on the field for returns after that, but they seemed to like what they saw from Velus running the ball and let him back in the game later on for that purpose. Nobody was hoping for a renaissance from Velus, but the muffed kick was more typical of him than I think the Bears would have hoped. The kick return days may be over for him, but look to see more of him as a backup running back. He does have juice there.

Wide Receiver/Tight End

DJ Moore: 5 receptions, 36 yards, 1 rush, 14 yards

Hopefully, more yardage will come to this offense across the board, but no need to panic: Moore still looked like the top dog on this team.

Notes

• Moore played tough as the WR1 for the Bears today, but there wasn’t much going for the offense as a whole. He made a great snag for a first down during the third quarter that unfortunately sidelined him for a couple of plays after he fell hard, but it seemed like it just hurt him for a moment more so than potentially being a real injury. Moore’s hands looked great and he will benefit the most from an improved offense as Caleb and the Bears begin to put things together this season.

Keenan Allen: 4 receptions, 29 yards

His newly identified heel injury may be an issue to watch for after it cropped up late in the game, which is unfortunate because Caleb seemed to like him as a safety blanket on quick throws.

Notes

• Keenan was the recipient of a few quick completions that were the most competent plays the Bears had on offense all day. Although he didn’t look incredible at any point, he did seem to play the safety blanket role that Caleb needed at a few points. As long as the heel injury doesn’t turn into something worse, look for him to be a PPR merchant, but possibly have a capped ceiling in his older age. He certainly didn’t look the fastest out there, even though thankfully that’s not where he makes his money.

Missed Opportunities

• One particularly disappointing miss was on an out-and-up route that Caleb sailed long early in the game. Keenan made his defender bite early and was wide open for a thirty-yard gain, but the interior o-line immediately let up pressure that forced Caleb to throw the ball early, and Caleb sailed it a few yards long. There were a few plays across the game where Keenan and Caleb were talking timing after missing their connection, so expect them to dial that in and miss fewer of those as the season goes on.

Rome Odunze: 1 reception, 11 yards

Rome didn’t get much of a chance to show his talent in the offense today. I’m hoping for better results all around moving forward.

Notes

• Caleb missed Rome a couple of times, and you could feel a little frustration. On the other hand, Rome dropped one that probably should have been caught over the middle; it wasn’t a perfect ball, and the contact got there immediately, but I’d expect him to make it happen. Regardless, it’s tough to glean anything about his talent from a game like today. The offense needs to take strides before he is relevant this season.

DeAndre Carter: 1 reception, 6 yards

While Carter wasn’t involved on offense, he was the best part of a masterclass special teams day from the whole team (except Velus).

Notes

• Carter is the defacto WR4 on this team, and if the offense was putting up yards and points through the passing game, he would be a fine guy to hold in deeper leagues in case of injury. He does his job as required and is shifty with the ball in his hands, even if he’s not a special WR talent. His real impact in this game, and his case for fantasy relevance in applicable leagues, was through the return game; Carter broke multiple long returns to put the offense into amazing field position. He was a real spark plug on special teams today.

Cole Kmet: 1 reception, 4 yards

If you were worried there were too many mouths to feed coming into this season, you ought to be even more worried about Kmet now. He is a talented player in real life but is also clearly the 3rd or 4th man up in the passing game on any given play. Aside from the occasional touchdown, Kmet will probably just not be startable, and the Bears have yet to find a single offensive touchdown on the season. Maybe the offense gets better, but I wouldn’t expect Kmet to be a main beneficiary.