CHICAGO — Before any questions were asked, Chicago Bears defensive end Darrell Taylor wanted to commend what Daniel Hardy did to change the game against the Tennessee Titans.
He wanted to make sure that his teammate and fellow defensive end was interviewed, too.
Hardy was, though. He told Taylor as much. He had already been through several rounds of interviews. Hardy and Taylor were two of the last players in the Bears’ locker room — two heroes from a wild 24-17 Bears victory at Soldier Field on Sunday.
Hardy blocked a punt in the third quarter by powering through the block of linebacker Jack Gibbens to reach punter Ryan Stonehouse. Safety Jonathan Owens picked up the free ball and took it to the end zone for a 21-yard touchdown.
“It’s a game-changing moment for us,” Taylor said. “Just being able to do that and create a takeaway, it’s kind of a defensive thing. It’s just exciting to see that happen.”
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This Bears victory felt straight out of the 2005 season. The Bears had a rookie quarterback wearing No. 18 who struggled mightily on the field. But their defense — led by a head coach who is obsessed with taking the ball away — produced enough game-changing plays to win the game.
Caleb Williams completed 14 of 29 passes for 93 yards and a 55.7 passer rating in his debut. He was sacked twice, including one for a twisting, turning loss of 19 yards. He also got away with several errant throws.
But the Bears still won because different heroes emerged throughout the game. Hardy and Owens were part of a strong day for the Bears’ special teams (other than Velus Jones Jr.’s fumble on a kickoff return). Returner D’Andre Carter had a 67-yard kickoff return late in the second quarter that provided the offense with the field position it needed for the first of kicker Cairo Santos’ three field goals.
Taylor had two sacks in his Bears debut, while defensive tackle Gervon Dexter also had one. Cornerback Tyrique Stevenson made a pick-six — more on that later — while cornerback Jaylon Johnson clinched the win with an interception in the final two minutes.
After the blocked punt, Taylor provided the next highlight by sacking and stripping Titans quarterback Will Levis of the ball. Linebacker T.J. Edwards recovered it on Tennessee’s 31. The takeaway turned into a 48-yard field goal by Santos.
On the Titans’ next possession, Levis threw one of the ugliest interceptions you’ll see all season. With defensive end DeMarcus Walker dragging him down, Levis flung the ball toward the sideline and into the hands of Stevenson, who returned it 43 yards for a touchdown.
.@dreamchaserTy10 JUST DID THAT 🫡
📺: #TENvsCHI on FOX pic.twitter.com/oW5IzEYZbR
— Chicago Bears (@ChicagoBears) September 8, 2024
“Our main thing was get him off the field and get the ball to Caleb (Williams) and let him do his thing,” Stevenson said. “If he’s going to make dumb decisions like that, we’re going to make him pay for it.”
That dumb decision by Levis (19-for-32 passing, 127 yards, 52.5 rating) became the first pick-six at any level for Stevenson. He was surprised when he saw the ball cast into the air like that. No one was in front of him to prevent him from scoring.
“It happened so slow,” Stevenson said. “When he flipped it, I was like, ‘You know what? Let me go to the crib with it.’”
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Despite all the new offensive firepower, Owens scored the Bears’ first touchdown on Hardy’s blocked punt.
“That’s something we’ve been working on,” Hardy said, mentioning special teams coordinator Richard Hightower and assistant Carlos Polk. “Really, in that moment, we were all talking about responding. It was a great team effort and we were doing our thing on defense. And we had to make a play and we did it on special teams together.”
It was the Bears’ first blocked punt since the 2012 season.
🚨 BLOCKED PUNT ALERT 🚨@jjowens_3 scoops it up for the TD! pic.twitter.com/242IxZrs8c
— Chicago Bears (@ChicagoBears) September 8, 2024
“We had a rush going … and I heard the ball getting blocked,” Owens said. “I just looked (and) the ball’s like bouncing there and there’s guys around it. I don’t know. God works in mysterious ways. Perfect bounce right into my hands and go score and make a play.
“That’s all we were talking about, especially with the defensive coaches. They’re like we need to make a play. We need to help spark the team and help get momentum going and I just feel like after that play, the crowd really got into the game and it was just exciting, the energy out there, and stuff started rolling for us.”
There was plenty to boo before that — and Bears fans did. Williams and the offense couldn’t get anything going. The defense gave up two touchdowns, one on a 26-yard run by running back Tony Pollard. And Jones dropped a kickoff and kicked it toward the Titans.
“The 17 points we gave up made us mad,” Stevenson said. “We don’t roll like that as a defense. The second half, we just had to lock in on who we are and what we came here to do, and that’s to be a dominant defense and play Chicago Bears-style defense.”
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It’s a style that Chicago knows too well.
And that’s fine for now.
Sunday showed that Williams is very much a rookie who has plenty of time to improve. But he also didn’t join a team that’s in flux as many rookie quarterbacks do in the NFL. The Bears defense is built to give Williams time to learn, settle in and then succeed. Williams doesn’t have to do everything and be everything as a rookie, at least not yet.
“When you start a rookie quarterback, which we are doing, he’s going to have ups and downs, good moments and other moments,” coach Matt Eberflus said. “Like I said, we have to just play well around him.”
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(Top photo of Tyrique Stevenson: David Banks / USA Today)
