Chicago Bears at Tennessee Titans: TV, Radio, History, Prediction
Chicago Bears (5-3) at Tennessee Titans (5-2)
Kickoff: Noon Sunday, Nissan Stadium, Nashville, Tenn.
TV: Fox (Dick Stockton, Greg Jennings, Laura Okmin)
Radio: WBBM-AM 780, 105.9 FM (Jeff Joniak, Tom Thayer, Mark Grote)
National Radio, Sports USA (Larry Kahn, Doug Plank)
Spanish: Univision Deportes 1200 AM, 93.5 FM (Hector Lopez, Miguel Esparza)
The Series: 13th matchup. Series is tied at 6-6. The Titans won the last game in Chicago in 2016, 27-21. The Bears last won in 2012 in Nashville, 51-20. The Bears have a 3-0 record in games in games played in Nashville and are 3-2 against the Titans since their team name was altered from the Houston Oilers.
The Line: Titans by 6 1/2 (over/under 47)
BearDigest Pick: Bears 23, Titans 20
Last Week: The Saints beat the Bears in overtime 26-23 after Nick Foles staged a fourth-quarter rally from a 10-point deficit. The Bears forced overtime on a 51-yard Cairo Santos field goal into the wind.
The Titans lost 31-20 to the Cincinnati Bengals despite rushing for 218 yards.
The Coaches: Titans coach Mike Vrabel is 23-16 in his third season. Bears coach Matt Nagy is 25-15 in his third season. The two coaches have never faced each other.
The Quarterbacks: Bears quarterback Nick Foles is making his sixth start this season. The Bears are 2-3 in his five previous starts. He has a passer rating of 80.2 and averages 6.1 yards per attempt. He is 0-1 against the Titans in his career as a starter, having lost last year with Jacksonville 42-20.
Titans quarterback Ryan Tannehill is fifth in the NFL in passer rating at 109.8 and averages 7.8 yards per pass attempt. He led the NFL in passer rating last year at 117.8. He is 1-0 in career starts against the Bears, the only game being a 27-14 win in 2014 while he played for Miami.
Injury Report
Bears
Out
DT John Jenkins (ankle)
C Sam Mustipher (knee)
DE Roy Robertson-Harris (shoulder)
QB Mitchell Trubisky (shoulder)
C Cody Whitehair (Reserve/COVID-19)
T Jason Spriggs (Reserve/COVID-19)
Questionable
TE Cole Kmet (groin)
Titans
Out
C Cody Whitehair (calf)
Questionable
Out
P Brett Kern (wrist)
WR Adam Humphries (concussion)
Questionable
LB Jadeveon Clowney (knee)
CB Tye Smith (shoulder)
Matching Up
The Bears are 29th on offense, 22nd in passing and 31st in rushing. The Bears are 12th on defense, 12th against the pass and 16th against the run.
The Titans are fifth on offense, 18th passing and fourth rushing. The Titans are 25th on defense, 27th against the pass and 22nd against the run.
Key Individual Matchups
Bears OLB Khalil Mack vs. Titans RT Dennis Kelly
Khalil Mack has had to go up against some very effective right tackles over the course of the past three games, and this is a decided step down in competition. Kelly is not a toll booth gate by any means, but has allowed two sacks and Pro Football Focus has given him a sub-par 54.5 grade as a pass blocker. Mack has 6 1/2 sacks and has been coming on strong despite an ankle injury that has kept him from practicing. Earlier it was a knee injury, but this week he's practiced without having his name on the injury report. Mack also has been stopping the run, and is on a pace for his most tackles as a Bear. Kelly is an angular type at 6-foot-8, and has decent size at 321. But Kelly is a full-time starter for the first time in a long career as a backup. He has 38 career start in 95 games played and this week is goinig against one of the league's best pass rushers.
Bears DE Akiem Hicks vs. Titans RG Nate Davis
Davis has stepped up his game greatly. There's no doubt the 6-foot-3, 316-pound right guard from Charlotte was one of the Titans' few weak offensive line links last year as a rookie when Henry's blockers suddenly sprang to life at midseason. Davis had a Pro Football Focus grade of only 40.9 and 47.0 as a run blocker in 2019. This year's he's pushed up into the 60s. The problem for Davis is he must block a defensive end 35 pounds heavier, whose only fault this season has been the occasional penalty. The Titans live off the stretch play and the Bears have been bossed around by some offensive lines using this play or counters off of it. None of this happens if the run is caved in from the inside. The key for the Bears on these plays is usually the nose tackle but it can be Hicks. If he gets enough penetration to force Henry to pause or run laterally, it creates more time for linebackers to get to the hole.
Bears WR Anthony Miller vs. CB Chris Jackson
Miller had a bit of a breakthrough game last week after struggling for several weeks, as he caught eight passes for 73 yards. It was his season high for receptions and most yards since Game 1. The Titans have had one of the worst third-down defenses of all time, not simply for this season. They're dead last in the NFL, allowing offenses to convert on a whopping 61.9% of third-down attempts. To show how bad they are, by contrast, the league-leading Bears defense is about 32 percentage points better. Jackson has given up 81.8% completions according to Sportradar, and has been beaten at will. It's possible he won't even be the player the Bears face as Tennessee has been in a constant state of juggling in the secondary to resolve their third-down issues and also bad red-zone pass defense. The Titans traded this week for Chargers reserve defensive back Desmond King, who has a good history of coverage but hasn't been a starter for any extended period. They could also use Kristian Fulton at this coverage spot. King might not yet know the defense well enough with only a few days in the scheme.
Bears LT Charles Leno Jr. vs. Titans DE Jadeveon Clowney
On paper the Bears have problems whether Tennessee puts Clowney in his traditional spot on the right side of the defensive spot or he moves to the other side as he often does in the way the Bears defense does with Khalil Mack. Leno faced Clowney once prior and gave up a sack and a couple of tackles for loss. Clowney has had a knee issue causing him to rest it from practice this week. Leno is the Bears experience on the offensive line in this game due to all their injuries, and the COVID-19 situation. They can't have their best chance to block Clowney fail. So far it's been slow-go for Clowney in Tennessee's defense as he hasn't yet recorded a sack, has 10 total pressures and six hits on the quarterback. He was a late Titans acquisition, so a slow start was predictable but by now his presence should be felt. Tennessee's pass rush has been abysmal, much like its third-down defense. The two go hand in hand. Tennessee has to blitz for its pressure, ranking 10th in the NFL in the number of blitzes but they generate only the 27th most pressures on quarterbacks according to Sportradar. If Clowney flips this week to the right side of the offense, it might be his best shot at causing pressure because it appears the Bears will be using Rashaad Coward at right tackle. Although it's his original offensive line position, Coward hasn't practiced extensively there since 2018.
Bears LB Roquan Smith vs. Titans RB Derrick Henry
This the big test of how far Smith has come over the past five weeks as he's surged into filling his role the way the Bears anticipated since his rookie year. Smith is averaging 10.2 tackles a game the last five weeks after 6.7 the first three games against lesser opponents. He's made eight of his 10 tackles for loss in the past five games, as well. A problem with tackling earlier, when he seemed to be hitting too high and bouncing off, now seems to be rectified. It's a good thing because hitting Henry too high is like hitting a rock. Henry is at a peak level in usage and production, averaging a career-high 110.7 yards per game. He's at his best running around right end, where he's averaged over 7 yards a carry. The most consistent yardage he's produced has simply come up the middle according to NFLGSIS tracking numbers. Tennessee's passing game largely revolves around Henry in terms of the play fake. However, Henry can get involved as a receiver. He hasn't been as effective at this for Tennessee this year with only 10 receptions, but the Bears have sometimes been vulnerable backs catching screen passes and throws in the flat, and this is where Smith has to be effective, as well.
Bears Edge Rusher Robert Quinn vs. Titans LT Ty Sambrailo
In years past, this would be a mismatch greatly favoring Quinn. That was then, this is now. Quinn has been entirely ineffective at making plays in pass rush over the last five weeks. He has had one quarterback hit in that period. Coaches have said he's getting good pressure but the Bears as a defense overall rank only 25th at pressures according to Sportradar, the league's official stat partner. So Quinn can't be doing too much right considering a huge majority of the Bears pass rush seems to be coming from Akiem Hicks or Khalil Mack. Beyond that Quinn has never been a strong run defender even when he's been at his best making sacks. Sambrailo is 6-foot-5, 311 pounds and the Titans run blocking schemes for Henry will greatly utilize mobility of blockers. Sambrailo's ability to block the back side on runs right will be important, since it allows him to turn those runs right into cutbacks to the middle where his best overall yardage has come. Pro Football Focus has given Sambrailo average grades at 64.5 overall and 67.0 as a pass blocker.
Of Note
Bears OLB Khalil Mack has sacks in four consecutive games and 6 1/2 on the season. His streak is the longest active one in the NFL and ties his longest with the Bears. ... The Bears rank No. 1 in red-zone defense, allowing touchdowns on 40% of opposing drives inside their 20. They are No. 1 in the NFL at defending third down, stopping 70.2% of third-down plays. ... Allen Robinson is one of only three receivers to reach 50 receptions (50), 600 yards (631) and three TDs (3). The other two are DeAndre Hopkins and Stefon Diggs. ... Roquan Smith's 53 solo tackles are second in the NFL this year, trailing only Minnesota's Eric Kendricks. ... Titans running back Derrick Henry leads the NFL with 775 yards rushing. He's 103 yards ahead of second-place Dalvin Cook. ... Tennessee is last in the NFL defending third downs at 38.1% stopped and 30th at stopping teams in the red zone (80.8% TDs). ... The Bears are one of four teams not to lose a fumble this season.
Twitter: BearDigest@BearsOnMa
