Bears vs Titans Preseason: Inside the snap counts, stats, and more

The Chicago Bears gave us an exciting game from whistle to whistle as they knocked off the Tennessee Titans 23 to 17 in the preseason opener for both teams. They started out strong on offense, and the defense pitched a shutout in the second half. Plenty of players flashed, but we're talking about practice, so we can't get too high or low over what we saw.

As for the team statistics, the Titans had more total yards, 372 to 337, more first downs, 20 to 13, they ran more plays, 72 to 53, and they won the time of possession, 32:52 to 27:08. Each team converted 33.3% of their third down tries, and each was penalized seven times.

Overall, the game went as well as the coaches could have hoped, and they'll have something positive to build off for the upcoming joint practices with the Colts.

Before we get into some more numbers, here are all the Bears that didn't play against the Titans.

DB 9 J.Brisker, WR 10 C.Claypool, DB 32 T.Smith, DB 39 J.Blackwell, LB 43 D.Gates, LB 49 T.Edmunds, LB 55 D.Cole, G 61 L.Stenberg, OL 62 L.Patrick, OL 64 N.Davis, TE 84 M.Lewis, WR 86 D.Pettis, DL 91 Y.Ngakoue, DL 95 D.Walker

And here is how the Bears started the day.

Here are the Bears' playing time breakdowns and some individual stats.

OFFENSE

With so many players participating in the game, I'll split the snap count lists into two for both the O and the D.

Justin Fields didn't play much, but he executed the plays he was given while going 3 for 3 passing for 129 yards, 2 touchdowns, and a perfect passer rating of 158.3. The discourse about Fields' performance was exhausting, so I won't get into it again, but for my take, you can check out yesterday's Bear & Balanced.

His two TD passes came on screen passes where his teammates did all the heavy lifting. D.J. Moore took his lone catch 62 yards for the score, and Khalil Herbert cashed his only reception in for a 56-yard touchdown.

"I don't think I've ever seen that in a first preseason game," head coach Matt Eberflus said in his postgame press conference via the team's site. "We've been working really hard on those screens, as I said last week. They're operating better. Our timing still has to get better on those. But it's really a credit to the athleticism of DJ and Herbert as well, but it's also guys blocking. On the first one I saw Braxton [Jones] block the edge and I saw [Darnell] Mooney seal it. It was a really good play by all three of those guys, and then we saw the speed of DJ."

Roschon Johnson led the Bears in rushing attempts (12) and rushing yards (44), and he also led the Bears with 3 receptions, but only for 2 yards.

P.J. Walker threw the Bears' only interception, and rookie Tyler Scott had their only offensive fumble.

Four of the starting offensive lineman only played 7 snaps, but they gave second-year pro Ja'Tyre Carter a long look into the third quarter.

Chicago rushed for an even 100 yards on the day, and they surrendered 2 sacks.

DEFENSE

Rookie corner Tyrique Stevenson had a game-high 7 tackles to go along with a tackle for loss and a pass defended. He may have pulled ahead in the battle with fellow rookie Terell Smith, who was inactive with an injury, for the starting corner spot.

The Bears harassed Titan QBs all day and ended up with 8 sacks. They were led by Terrell Lewis' 2 and 1.5 from UDFA Jalen Harris, who also had 3 QB hits. Trevis Gipson also had 3 QBH and a sack. The other sacks came from rookies Noah Sewell, Zacch Pickens, and Micah Baskerville. and a half from Travis Bell. Lewis and Harris also contributed with a forced fumble, and Pickens recovered a fumble.

Second-year defensive end Dominique Robinson (2 tackles) only played 18 snaps, compared to the 44 and 38 from Gipson and Lewis, respectively, which probably means they are confident in his place on the 53-man roster.

At safety, Adrian Colbert had a forced fumble and a recovery, A.J. Thomas had an interception, and Bralan Trahan's last-second interception sealed the game for the Bears.

SPECIAL TEAMS*

*The above image has players that only played in the third phase.

Besides the three specialists, the other Bear that only played in the third phase was their International Pathway player, o-lineman Roy Mbaeteka, who will have a practice squad exemption for the entire regular season.

Cairo Santos was a perfect 3 for 3 on field goals and 2 for 2 on extra points.

Trenton Gill had 4 punts for 200 yards and placed one inside the twenty-yard line.

Velus Jones Jr. was shaky in punt returns with a fumble while having 2 returns for 7 yards.

Jaylon Jones led the Bears with 3 special teams tackles (and 2 more on defense), and Elijah Hickas had 2 (and 2 on D).

For a good idea of who the Bears are looking at for depth on their 53, take a gander at the players with the most snaps in the third phase.

To check out the complete Bears vs Titans box score, I find that ESPN has an easy-to-navigate site.

All statistics and snap counts are taken directly from the NFL's Game Statistic and Information System, as are the accompanying pictures.