The Tennessee Titans will try to cap off an undefeated preseason on Saturday night when they host the Chicago Bears. However, the Titans are listed as 2-point underdogs despite playing at home. The NFL preseason finale for both teams also has an over/under of 36.5 points.
It’s a shame for Tennessee that the preseason means nothing because the Titans have been as good as any team in the NFL. They opened up with a 23-3 road win over the Atlanta Falcons and followed it up with a 34-3 shellacking of Super Bowl champion Tampa Bay Buccaneers last week. However, with this being a dress rehearsal for the regular season, the Titans find themselves as underdogs at home.
As for the Bears, they’ve split their first two preseason contests despite playing both at home. Things started off well with a 20-13 win over the Miami Dolphins despite trailing 13-0 late in the second quarter. But things got ugly at Soldier Field last week when the Bears fell behind 28-0 to the Buffalo Bills midway through the second quarter, ultimately losing 41-15.
Playing the Fields
Andy Dalton will be the Chicago Bears‘ starter for Week 1 of the regular season, although it’ll be Justin Fields starting against the Titans and playing at least the first half. Fields looked great against the Dolphins two weeks, completing 14 of his 20 passes and leading the comeback win in the second half. However, he wasn’t quite as efficient as a passer last week despite managing to make plays with his legs.
Meanwhile, the Bears are expected to play Nick Foles in the second half of Saturday’s game against the Titans. Foles has seen little action in the first two preseason games but should be far more competent than most third-string quarterbacks closing out games this weekend. On the other hand, the Tennessee defense has been utterly dominant in two preseason games, giving up just six total points, albeit against backups.
Do We Need the Starters?
It remains unclear if Ryan Tannehill and some of the Tennessee Titans‘ offensive starters will play this week after being on the sidelines for the first two exhibition games. However, the Titans clearly haven’t missed any of them. While the rushing attack has been inconsistent over two games, backup quarterbacks Matt Barkley and Logan Woodside have both been impressive.
Of course, the question is whether that will continue if the Bears choose to play their defensive starters for a majority of the game. While the Chicago defense was ripped apart by old friend Mitchell Trubisky last week, the Bears, including many of their backups, have been solid defensively outside of the first half of last week’s game. If the starters and key reserves play a majority of the game this week, the Chicago defense may not bend much.
Run the Table
It might be the preseason, but the Titans have looked outstanding on both sides of the ball. At this point, it’s hard to trust that both Fields and Foles to deliver. With the Titans being considered home underdogs despite two strong performances, it’s best to bet on Tennessee to beat the Bears on Saturday.
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