Preseason Week 3 recap : Bears @ Titans

By Bill Murphy

Nashville-  After a chaotic week, the Titans’ preseason ends with a loss to the Chicago Bears by a score of 27-24.  The chaos was caused by nine players and coaches either testing positive for Covid 19 or ending up on the Covid/ reserve list, including head coach Mike Vrabel and quarterback Ryan Tannehill. The Titans did not play any of their starters as players played their last chance to make the squad.

The backup quarterback battle between Logan Woodside and Matt Barkley took place.  Woodside threw 12 completions out of 17 attempts, 100 yards, one touchdown, and one interception. Barkley threw for seven completions out of 15 attempts, 126 yards, and one interception.  Overall, Woodside threw 29 completions out of  40 attempts, 228 yards, and three touchdowns this preseason. Barkley threw 24 completions out of  39 attempts, 295 yards, and two touchdowns. Woodside has a 72.5  %completion rate, while Barkley has a 61.5 % completion rate. If you look at the numbers, Woodside will most likely get the job as the backup quarterback.

The Titans offense featured running back Mekhai Sargent. Since Derrick Henry was not playing, Sargent ran for 51 yards and scored one touchdown. Cameron Baston had 45 receiving yards and scored one touchdown.  Baston has been one of the strong receivers for the Titans all preseason since they have been without AJ Brown and Julio Jones.   

The strong point of the preseason for the Titans has been the defense, which was a weakness last season.  They have only received one sack and gave up 448 yards. They also gave up three touchdowns to Bears tight end Jesper Horstead, especially a six-yard one-handed catch. This preseason, the Titans have held teams to 854 yards, nine sacks, three touchdowns, and two field goals. 

So the Titans have finished the preseason with a 2-1 record after a very strong performance over the last three games. This week will be the moment of truth when the roster is cut from 80 to 53 players. We will see who is going to earn their spot on the roster for week one.