The moment of (preseason) truth has arrived.
Finally, the Mike Glennon-Mitch Trubisky showdown is nearly ready to get underway in Nashville as the Chicago Bears travel to take on the Tennessee Titans in a nationally televised game on FOX. This game really would have had an intriguing twist had Jay Cutler not returned to football and instead stayed in the booth for his first game as a commentator. I have a feeling both sides are happy with the decision that was made.
As for what’s going on at field level, the Bears are coming off their first preseason win – a nail-biter (by preseason standards) against the Arizona Cardinals in which Chicago came away with a one-point victory. Glennon and Trubisky each threw touchdown passes, but Glennon also threw his second interception in as many games. Things looked better for the expected starter, though it would’ve been difficult to look worse than he did against the Denver Broncos in the preseason opener. Trubisky didn’t shine the way he did against the Broncos, but still completed 6 of 8 passes and engineered a touchdown-scoring drive. And because of his efforts, Trubisky will finally see some first-team snaps this afternoon.
The Tennessee Titans line up on the other side of the field, and they should provide quite the competition for the Bears. Marcus Mariota took significant positive strides in his second year in the pros, helping lead the Titans to a 9-7 record. Tennessee narrowly missed the playoffs last year, but looks to rebound behind the strength of a smashmouth running game led by a former NFL rushing champion (DeMarco Murray) and Heisman Trophy winner (Derrick Henry), an evolving passing attack, and a front seven with potential.
All things considered, this team is a perfect matchup for the Bears to see where they really are at this point of the preseason.
Let’s get it on!
Game Info
Tennessee Titans (2016: 9-7, 2nd AFC South) at Chicago Bears (2016: 3-13, 4th NFC North) – Noon CT on FOX TV (Kevin Burkhardt, Charles Davis, Pam Oliver), WBBM-AM 780 and WCFS-FM 105.9 (Jeff Joniak, Tom Thayer, Zach Zaidman)
Odds: Titans (-3.5), Over/Under 43 via Covers.com
Game Thread
Your game thread is down in the comments, so let’s have some good, clean (safe-for-work) fun. And hopefully, we can keep the good times rolling throughout the preseason and into the regular season.
Coaches
John Fox (128-112 overall, 9-23 with Bears) vs. Mike Mularkey (27-46, 11-14 with Titans)
Projected Starting Quarterbacks
Bears: Mike Glennon: 4,100 passing yards, 30 touchdowns, 15 interceptions, 59.4 completion percentage, 84.6 rating (21 career games)
versus
Titans: Marcus Mariota: 3,426 passing yards, 26 touchdowns, 9 interceptions, 61.2 completion percentage 95.6 rating (15 games in 2016)
Bears First-String
Bears Second-String
Bears Third-String
Titans First-String
*Bears Rookie