Bears 27, Titans 24: Moments That Mattered

Tennessee managed to maintain sideline order without its head coach but dealt with some things that were not issues in the first two preseason games.

Andrew Nelles / Tennessean.com via Imagn Content Services, LLC

NASHVILLE – So much for the notion that the Tennessee Titans were unbeatable in the preseason.

After two blowout victories, the Titans fell 27-24 to the Chicago Bears before an announced crowd of 64,079 Saturday at Nissan Stadium despite the fact that they scored first, led in the fourth quarter and outgained the Bears by a sizable margin (407-252).

The big news of the night was that Tennessee played without head coach Mike Vrabel, two of his assistants and eight players who all were subject to the NFL’s COVID-19 protocols at the end of a week in which the team dealt with an unexpected outbreak. Among those sidelined by issues related to the coronavirus were quarterback Ryan Tannehill and outside linebacker Harold Landry, which meant the Titans could not have played all of their starters on offense and defense – even if they wanted to. Of course, they did not want to as other notable players such as running back Derrick Henry and wide receivers A.J. Brown and Julio Jones were held out.

Still, it was the last chance for coaches, personnel staff and even fans to evaluate players ahead of the regular season, and there were some meaningful moments. Here is a look.

Pick-six: Exactly halfway through the second quarter, quarterback Logan Woodside was hit as he threw a pass intended for wide receiver Fred Brown. The floated off target and into the hands of cornerback Tre Roberson, who returned it 27 yards for a touchdown. That tied the score at 7-7 a little more than six minutes after the Titans had gone in front.

Coming into the contest, Tennessee was one of two NFL teams (Denver was the other) that had not committed a turnover or allowed a touchdown through the first two weeks of the preseason. Woodside’s interception was the second giveaway of the night (starting quarterback Matt Barkley was intercepted on his second possession) and the touchdown was the first allowed by the Titans – and it was the offense that gave it up. It opened a door in the defense, and Chicago’s offense scored touchdowns the next two times it got the ball.

Ball in hand: Just under four minutes into the contest, the Titans handed the ball to fullback Khari Blasingame, who converted a third-and-3 with a five-yard run. It was Tennessee’s first first down of the contest and the first third-down conversion on a night in which the offense moved the chains seven times in 17 tries.

It also was the start of a relatively big night for Blasingame, who finished with two carries for six yards and two receptions for 56 yards. His 50-yard reception (pictured) led to a second-quarter field goal and was the longest gain for the offense. Consider that in the 21 games he has played in his NFL career (all with the Titans), Blasingame has yet to have a rushing attempt (he has caught eight passes). He was a hybrid back at Vanderbilt who ran the ball well over 300 times in three years, so he has that ability. Now, it’s clear that there are opportunities in the playbook for him to run the ball.

Rough stuff: Cornerback Breon Borders was flagged for unnecessary roughness when he tackled wide receiver Rodney Adams with a little more than a minute to play in the first half. Officials took issue with the fact that Borders slung the 188-pound Adams to the ground violently rather than just drag him to the ground. On the next snap, the Bears offense scored for the first time on Jesper Horsted’s 20-yard touchdown reception (it was the first of three Horsted touchdowns in the contest).

The call against Borders came immediately after safety Matthias Farley was flagged for pass interference, and those two calls gave Chicago’s offense 35 yards. For the game, the Titans were penalized 10 times for 109 yards, by far the worst performance of the preseason in that regard. Only two of those penalties resulted in first downs, and it was those two – which combined to set up a touchdown.

Throw the flag: With 11:42 to play in the second quarter, it looked as if Chicago would have an opportunity to answer Tennessee’s first touchdown sooner than it actually did. Quarterback Justin Fields connected with Adams for an 11-yard gain on third down that gave the Bears a first down at their own 43 – or so the officials thought. The Titans challenged the play and video review determined that Adams was out of bounds. Chicago was forced to punt.

Without Vrabel, it was coordinator of football development John Streicher who was in charge of the in-game decisions. Streicher was the one who threw the challenge flag, and he did so as the Bears hurried up to try and run their next play. The incident showed that minus the head coach and two of his assistants, the Tennessee sideline still functioned well and managed the game in a way that gave the team a better chance at victory.

Four score: Wide receiver Cameron Batson scored the Titans’ final touchdown and gave them the lead in the fourth quarter with a 6-yard reception on a pass from quarterback Logan Woodside. It was fourth-and-1 and the coaches opted to go for it rather than attempt a field goal, and they ultimately did much more than just pick up a first down.

It was the second time in as many games the offense scored a touchdown on a fourth-down pass. At Tampa Bay, it was running back Mekhi Sargent who scored in the final minute of the first quarter with a five-yard reception on fourth-and-1. One of the great mysteries about this team headed into 2021 is what Todd Downing’s promotion to offensive coordinator will mean to that unit. In the three preseason games combined, Tennessee was 4-for-6 on third down. So, it seems clear at this point that Downing is comfortable, confident and capable with the calls when he has the smallest margin for error.