Willis, Levis Do Some Good Things, But Final Drives Fall Short in 23-17 Loss to Bears

Young Tennessee Titans quarterbacks Malik Willis and Will Levis played well in their preseason opener against the Chicago Bears, but a pair of last-minute drives fell short in a 23-17 loss to the Bears.

Tom Brew | Aug 12, 2023

Willis, Levis Do Some Good Things, But Final Drives Fall Short in 23-17 Loss to Bears /

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Tennessee Titans

CHICAGO — It's just an exhibition game, and a lot of times there are things that are more important than the final score. But for Tennessee second-year quarterback Malik Willis, it's still ALWAYS about winning.

Willis and rookie Will Levis split the quarterback duties on Saturday in the Titans' first preseason game against the Chicago Bears at Soldier Field with starter Ryan Tannehill watching from the sidelines. Willis, a third-round pick a year ago who struggled mightily in his rookie campaign, led the Titans to a touchdown on their first possession but then came up short in the final few minutes, with the Titans falling 23-17.

He and Levis both did a lot of good things all day, and it was three hours of great learning against a live defense for the first time, but it still hurt, Willis said, when they couldn't convert that game-winning touchdown drive at the end of the game

"Winning is the objective every time you step out on the field, and I'm just trying to go out there and execute to the best of our ability and that's what we were focused. I needed to throw that one a little lower (in the back of the end zone to Mason Kinsey) but I was trying to get it over two (line) backers.

"You want to end the game on a TD," Willis said. "You want to go out there and win. But that’s the way the game goes."

Willis finished the day 16-for-25 passing for 189 yards, and he was mostly accurate throughout the day. He had one interception, where he threw high to wide-open rookie tight end Josh Whyle, and it went off his fingertips at the top of his leap.

Willis liked that they were able to move the ball well for much of the day, with all the work in practice to install Tim Kelly's new offense already paying dividends.

"I think it was awesome we could do stuff in practice and consistently rep stuff, and then you get the opportunity in the game and you take advantage of it,'' Willis said "That's just awesome. Kudos to the guys who were out there with me.''

Willis feels much more comfortable, too. Being a second-year guy makes a world of difference. The game is slowing down for him now.

"It definitely feels different from last year,'' Willis said. "Last year was my first time seeing all this stuff and now after a whole year of seeing different (defenses) across the league and understanding what we're trying to do offensively, it's so much better. I understand better what we're expecting from each play, and that makes a big difference.''

The Bears had a 23-17 lead late, kicking three straight second-half field goals to pull ahead. Willis came in with 4:24 to go and quickly moved the ball downfield, getting all the way to the Bears' 12-yard line at the two-minute warning.

Running back Julius Chestnut, who led the Titans with 42 yards rushing on seven carries, gained 7 yards on first down, but then the Titans were called for a false start penalty, pushing the ball back to the 10-yard line. But then Willis threw three straight incompletions, and the Bears took over on downs.

Chicago should have been able to run out most of the clock, but ran out of bounds on third down. Tennessee got one last chance, this time with Levis at the helm. He took over at the Chicago 43 after a punt, but there were only 31 seconds left. He picked 7 yards on first down with a pass to Chestnut, and then on second down, he stepped around a rush and tried to hit a wide-open Gavin Holmes over the middle, but led him just a bit too much.

"I mentioned just the second-to-last play there," Levis said of the Holmes play. "I’m moving out of the pocket, and I’m throwing off-platform. It’s a throw that I can make — and I know I can make that throw. If I put that on him, he can catch and run and it’s a different ballgame."

On the next play, there was confusion on a route run by rookie Kearis Jackson, and Levis threw an interception under duress. This time, the Bears ran out the clock. Levis finished the day 9-for-14 passing for 85 yards.

The result wasn't what the Titans wanted, but they did a lot of good things.

"I thought we did a decent job, and at the end we had a chance to win the game,'' Levis said. "I’ve got to make a throw to win the game there, and I'm just ashamed that it didn’t happen. But we’re going to learn from it and get better."

Terrell Williams, who was the head coach for a day, was happy to get Willis and Levis so much live work, and he was thrilled that they made so many big plays. But the four turnovers — two interceptions and two fumbles — they need to be cleaned up.

"It was good to get those guys those situations," Williams said. "I think both of them did a good job. Both of them have a lot of things, just like everybody, to clean up. But this experience is priceless for those guys."

The Bears scored twice in the first half with starter Justin Fields at quarterback. He hit D.J. Moore on a 62-yard catch and run for their first score, and then did the same with Khalil Herbert on a 56-yard score.

"Like we see in every preseason game, missed tackles to start (were a problem) because we don't tackle guys to the ground in practice. And rightfully so, because we don't want guys getting hurt.

"We did exactly what we wanted to do in this game. They understood what the goal was. Winning was not the goal. We were able to execute and and put guys in positions that we can't do in practice. That's all stuff that we'll learn from.''

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