Game Balls in Bears' Preseason Week 3 Win Over Titans

The Chicago Bears washed the taste of that humiliating preseason Week 2 loss to the Cincinnati Bengals out of their mouths on Saturday with a dominant showing against the Tennessee Titans. The reports from the Bears' joint practice with the Titans on Thursday was that the Bears had won the day pretty handily, and that seemed to carry over into their preseason game.

Quarterback Tyson Bagent got the start as head coach Ben Johnson once again held the majority of his starters out of the game, and he was on fire from the jump. The defense started off shaky but soon settled in, keeping the Titans out of the endzone until a garbage time touchdown late in the fourth quarter. Perhaps best of all, one promising rookie showcased elite playmaking potential in Ben Johnson's offense.

With the 2026 preseason now officially in the books, the Bears must immediately begin making cuts to get down to a 53-man roster ahead of the cutdown deadline on Sunday at 6:00 p.m. ET. The time from now until then will surely be chaotic as Johnson and Ryan Poles make their roster decisions, but for now, let's hand out our final preseason game balls.

1. Tyson Bagent

Just like last year, Tyson Bagent saved his best for last. He played the entire first half of this contest and put up one his best stat lines as a Chicago Bear, completing 16 of 17 passes for 208 yards and two touchdowns for a 156.9 passer rating. He also added 21 yards on the ground on two carries.

Several times, Bagent stood tall in a collapsing pocket just long enough to deliver a strike, like on Zavion Thomas' 97-yard touchdown reception (more on that in a minute). He also showed off his shiftiness on a nifty fourth-and-goal touchdown pass to Maurice Alexander, reminiscent of the kind of magic that Caleb Williams regularly works, and that made this first game ball an easy decision.

2. Zavion Thomas

Welcome to the NFL, Zavion Thomas! In his first preseason game, on his first play, Thomas caught a deep pass from Bagent and carried it 70 yards into the endzone for a 97-yard touchdown reception. He added four more catches after this one, hauling in all five targets that came his way for 140 yards.

It wasn't all good for Thomas, as he fumbled the handoff from Bagent on an attempted jet sweep, but this was about as good of a debut as you could ask for from the third-round rookie. For that, he's earned this game ball.

3. Jamree Kromah

This marks Kromah's second game ball of the preseason after his dominant showing in the Bears' preseason Week 1 win against the Browns. He posted another sack, his third of the preseason, to go with two tackles, a tackle for loss, and a quarterback hit.

After starting Bears training camp as a relative unknown, Kromah has developed into a preseason hero and suddenly finds himself with an excellent chance to make the Bears' final 53-man roster, especially given Chicago's lingering weaknesses along the defensive line.

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