The Tennessee Titans (2-0) conclude their preseason schedule this week against the Chicago Bears (1-1). Kickoff at Nissan Stadium (capacity 69,143) is scheduled for 6 p.m. CDT on Saturday, Aug. 28.
This week marks the first time since Dec. 22, 2019 that the Titans will play in front of their home crowd without any pandemic-related restrictions on attendance. Since that date, the Titans have played 23 total preseason, regular season and playoff games, and they have been to the playoffs twice, including a run to the 2019 AFC title game.
THE BROADCAST
This week's contest will be televised regionally on the Titans Preseason TV Network, including flagship WKRN-News 2 in Nashville. Additionally, the WKRN broadcast will be carried nationally on NFL Network. Play-by-play announcer Dan Hellie and analyst Charles Davis will call the action, and Cory Curtis will report from the sidelines.
Fans in the Nashville television market can livestream the broadcast on their mobile devices from the Titans Mobile App (iOS and Android), as well as on desktop computers and mobile web at TennesseeTitans.com. Restrictions apply. For more information on streaming options visit TennesseeTitans.com or NFL.com/ways-to-watch.
The Titans Radio Network and Nashville flagship 104.5 The Zone will carry the game across the Mid-South with the "Voice of the Titans" Mike Keith, analyst Dave McGinnis, sideline reporter Amie Wells and gameday host Rhett Bryan.
HOT START TO PRESEASON
General manager Jon Robinson and head coach Mike Vrabel will get their final look at the roster this week before it needs to be reduced for the regular season. NFL maximums go from 80 to 53 players at 3 p.m. CDT on Tuesday, Aug. 31. A practice squad of up to 16 players can be formed on Sept. 1.
Robinson and Vrabel were able to evaluate the squad over multiple days last week in Tampa, Fla. The Titans had practice sessions against the Buccaneers on Wednesday and Thursday and then played the Super Bowl champions at Raymond James Stadium on Saturday night. For the second consecutive week, the Titans never trailed in the game and allowed only a field goal, leaving Tampa Bay with a 34-3 victory.
Combined with their 23-3 win in the preseason opener at Atlanta, the Titans have outscored their opponents this preseason 57-6. Tennessee's defense has yet to allow the opposing offense into the red zone and has allowed only four third-down conversions on 26 attempts (15.4 percent).
At Tampa Bay, the Titans defense forced three turnovers and totaled three sacks. Third-round rookie cornerback Elijah Molden led the way with eight tackles, one sack, two tackles for loss, one pass defensed and one forced fumble.
On offense, the Titans rested several key starters for the second straight outing, including quarterback Ryan Tannehill, running back Derrick Henry and wide receivers A.J. Brown and Julio Jones.
With Tannehill out, Logan Woodside has been the starting signal caller with fellow veteran Matt Barkley serving as the backup. Combined this preseason, Woodside and Barkley are 34-of-47 passing (72.3 percent) for 317 yards with five touchdowns, no interceptions and a 125.9 passer rating.
THE BEARS
Matt Nagy is in his fourth season as Chicago's head coach and is coming off the club's second playoff appearance in his tenure. They went 8-8 to earn a wild card spot in 2020. In 2018, Nagy was named the Associated Press NFL Coach of the Year after leading the team to an NFC North title.
The Bears have a pair of new signal callers vying for the starting quarterback job this season. They signed former Cincinnati Bengals and Dallas Cowboys veteran Andy Dalton as an unrestricted free agent, and in the first round of the 2021 NFL Draft, they chose Ohio State's Justin Fields with the 11th overall selection. In each of Chicago's first two preseason games, Dalton has started with Fields coming off the bench.
The Bears began the preseason with a 20-13 victory over the Miami Dolphins at Soldier Field. Last week, they hosted the Buffalo Bills and fell by a final score of 41-15.
