3 Biggest Takeaways From Bears’ Week 1 Win Over the Titans

The Caleb Williams era in Chicago began with the Bears snatching victory out of the jaws of defeat. Deating the Tennessee Titans 24-17 in a game where things weren't pretty.

Williams and the offense struggled to move the football all day. This left the Bears' defense and special teams to pick up the slack. In the first half, the defense struggled to stop the Titans. Thankfully, in the second half, the defense played well enough to keep points off the board.

The special teams unit played well for most of the game. Kick returner DeAndre Carter set the Bears offense up to score three of their six points with a 67-yard return. Special teams also blocked a punt, thanks to Daniel Hardy, that resulted in a touchdown. While the special team played well for most of the game, they had a few mistakes, including three penalties and a Velus Jones Jr. muff on a kickoff return.

Through all the ups and downs of the first game, here are three things we learned about the Bears in Week 1.

1. Defensive play calling wasn't aggressive enough

Last season, coach Matt Eberflus lacked aggression in his defensive play calling, barely sending the blitz. That style of playcalling garnered Eberflus a lot of criticism because the Bears had trouble getting to the quarterback. This season, while the Bears have a better pass rush in theory, many of the defensive linemen are still developing.

That is why it is notable that Eberflus and new defensive coordinator Eric Washington were being aggressive with blitzes in the preseason. While it was assumed the B\ears wouldn't continue to bring as many blitzes as they did in the preseason, what they did against the Titans looked eerily similar to what they did last season.

For most of the game, Ebeflus and Washington only sent the four down linemen after the quarterback. This allowed second-year quarterback Will Levis to get into a rhythm early. In the first half, Levis went 9/15 for 67 yards passing. Then, in the second half, when the Bears defense was slightly more aggressive, Levis completed 10/17 for 60 yards.

The most aggressive the Bears got on was sending nickel cornerback Kyler Gordon on the blitz. The extra man was enough to create an interception of Levis by Tyrique Stevenson.

It would be smart of Washington and Eberflus to recognize that sending the blitz became a net positive in a regular season game. If they can recognize this, then sending more blitzes should be in the cards going forward.