6 takeaways from the Bears' 24-17 comeback win vs. Titans

Week 1 is in the books for the Chicago Bears, and they escaped their regular season opener with a 24-17 victory over the Tennessee Titans. It didn't come easy, though. The Bears didn't get a single offensive touchdown and needed to rely on their defense and special teams to carry the load. Fortunately, they were up to the challenge.

After falling behind 17-0, Chicago tightened up. Kick returner DeAndre Carter was able to get them in position for a field goal, defensive end Daniel Hardy blocked a punt, which was scooped up by safety Jonathan Owens, and cornerback Tyrique Stevenson sealed the deal with a pick-six off Titans quarterback Will Levis. It was a game reminiscent of the mid-2000s teams who donned the navy and orange, but it was still a win.

There's truly nothing like Week 1 overreactions and there are plenty of things to focus on. Here are our takeaways from Sunday's improbable win:

1. Ugly wins at the beginning of the year are the best ugly wins

A win is a win, no matter how ugly it looks. And this one was hideous considering the Bears are the first team ever to come back down 17 points despite having fewer than 150 yards of offense and no touchdowns. But there's something to be said for ugly wins at the beginning of the year. Sure, it would be nice to see the Bears dominate from start to finish after waiting nine long months to see them take the field once again, but it's also not a bad thing to get victories while they're still working out the kinks in their operation.

Rookie quarterback Caleb Williams struggled in his debut (more on that in a bit), and while it needs to get cleaned up, it's easier to do so while stacking wins. The Bears are able to buy themselves some time while they look to improve. This isn't going to be the same team three months from now, and the hope is that Williams and the offense start to carry the rest of the team. They don't need to do that right away, though. Get the ugly victories early and yourself some time to improve. If this type of game keeps happening in October, however, then the Bears have problems.

2. Caleb Williams looked antsy in his debut

I've been searching for the right words to describe Williams' regular-season debut. He wasn't good, but I can't say he was bad either. Though the No. 1 overall pick only completed 14-of-29 passes for 93 yards and no touchdowns, he also didn't turn the ball over and took just two sacks (although one of them was a 19-yard loss).

Williams didn't win the Bears the game, but he didn't lose it either. He looked antsy out there, missing what should have been easy throws and overthrowing his deep targets on multiple occasions. When he was able to play in rhythm, he had solid plays. Take his dart on the run to DJ Moore, for example. Williams rifled the ball to his target for an easy first down near the sideline. He was also able to find Keenan Allen on a few plays to keep the chains moving. But overall, Williams seemed flustered and played out of sorts. Not enough to cost the Bears the game, but enough to stall drives.

Of course, it's not all on him. There were communications issues, protection problems on the line, dropped touchdown passes, and a running game that was too inconsistent. He's going to be better, and the more reps he sees, the more improvements he will make. It's difficult for rookie quarterbacks to play well in their debut, let alone get a victory. Williams simply needs to continue to gel with the rest of the offense, as well as his coaches. This was never going to be the smoothest operation out of the gate.

3. The Bears defense and special teams lived up to the hype

Credit where credit is due. Chicago's defense has talked up a big game all offseason, and they backed it up with their performance against the Titans. The Bears got after Levis, and it was enough to force him into mistakes in the second half. Levis was strip-sacked and threw multiple interceptions, both of which came on the final two possessions.

The defense had two bad drives on Sunday, which resulted in touchdowns. Other than that, they were sensational. The defensive line brought consistent pressure on Levis, which played a factor in his decision-making late in the game. Don't forget about the linebackers, either. Tremaine Edmunds had a few critical plays in pass defense, including a key third-down stop, while TJ Edwards notched 10 solo tackles, just the second time in his career that he's reached that number.

From top to bottom, this was a great defensive effort, and they backed up their trash talk over the last few months.

4. Coleman Shelton's play is concerning

Why is the center position always a concern? Probably because the Bears keep putting bandages on issues that require stitches. Coleman Shelton "won" the center competition during camp, primarily thanks to injuries, and his first game couldn't have gone much worse. Shelton missed several blocks and looked overmatched when it came to Tennessee's front four.

Both sacks that Williams took came from his gap. The first, Shetlon was bullied into the backfield, where Williams had nowhere to go. The second, he missed a stunt by Harold Landry when he went to help block Jeffery Simmons. It's both the inadequate play and lack of knowledge that were frustrating to watch on Sunday.

Even on plays where he held up enough, defensive linemen were able to bat balls down at the line of scrimmage. The interior as a whole wasn't good, but Shelton was the worst of the bunch. He's not going to lose his starting job yet, but the Bears have other options if things continue to look bad.

5. Enough of the Velus Jones experiment at kick returner

We'll keep this short and sweet: Velus Jones has shown time and time again that he's too much of a liability as a return specialist. It doesn't matter how fast he is if he can't cleanly field a kick. He muffed his only opportunity and proceeded to kick the ball right to the opposition. He should thank his lucky stars that the defense held Tennessee to just a field goal.

Use him as a running back if you want, but he shouldn't be returning any kicks at this point. Enough is enough.

6. Andrew Billings and DeAndre Carter were the unsung heroes

Jaylon Johnson, Stevenson, and Edwards stood out on Sunday and played key roles in the Bears victory, but there are a few players who flew under the radar when it came to their impact on the victory. First is return specialist DeAndre Carter, who set up the first points of the day for the Bears with a 62-yard kick return into Titans territory. He also caught five punts and had 64 yards, averaging 12.8 yards per return. He had 131 yards of returns, which was just 17 shy of matching the Bears total yards on offense.

On defense, Andrew Billings made things difficult for the Titans on early downs. The mammoth defensive tackle had two tackles, one for loss, and two QB hits. He also contributed to a false start. Billings broke through the interior of Tennessee's line multiple times and put the pressure on Levis, as well as the running game. He's arguably one of the most important players on the defense and he showed why.

This article originally appeared on Bears Wire: 6 takeaways from the Bears' 24-17 comeback win vs. Titans