Titans (1PM ET FOX) – We are off to a winning start thanks to a 3-2 NFL Preseason and I’ve now net a profit of 42.92 units in the NFL since the beginning of the 2021 NFL season.  I appreciate each and every one of you for picking me to be your NFL betting source for this season and we will get things started on Sunday afternoon when the Tennessee Titans head to the Windy City to take on the Chicago Bears at Solider Field in Chicago, Illinois. 

I have no issue with the Bears hype, they have what looks to be a capable quarterback in rookie Caleb Williams and an improved skill position group on offense with Keenan Allen and Rome Odunze bolstering the receiving corps but I’m not sure that makes them four points better than the Titans here.  The Titans have a fantastic secondary, which was bolstered by the offseason acquisition of L’Jarius Snead, so Williams might have some difficulty pushing the ball downfield here as opposed to the fireworks on display with this Bears offense against backup defenses in the preseason. Tennessee will likely gameplan to get after Williams and force the rookie playing his first NFL regular season game to throw at the Titans stout secondary which sets up poorly for Chicago here. That’s because Chicago has a suspect rushing offense, D’Andre Swift is serviceable but this isn’t an elite Bears offensive line so I like a solid Titans rush defense to bottle up the run if that’s the route the Bears choose here.  Though there’s far less hype, I think the Titans will improve with a new head coach in Brian Callahan who brings in a new offense that should be more suitable to quarterback Will Levis.  The days of just turning around and handing the ball to Derrick Henry are over, I think getting rid of the “old guard” was the move in Tennessee and I won’t be surprised if we see instant dividends paid for the Titans here. 

This will be a completely different scheme for the Titans who will ditch the “ground and pound” offense of Mike Vrabel for more of a spread passing look under Callahan.  I’m not saying the Titans are going to look like Mahomes and the Chiefs overnight but I do think this is a more favorable setup for Levis which in turn should have a positive impact on Calvin Ridley and De’Andre Hopkins.  The Bears don’t have an elite pass rush so Levis should have time to get the ball out to his playmakers here.  Without a doubt Levis will crumble under pressure at some point and have a bad game but I’m not buying this Bears defensive front to be the team that puts Levis under a ton of duress.  Chicago sets up better to defend the run but, again, that’s not really Callahan’s thing so I don’t think the Titans play into Chicago’s hands in that regard. If the Bears can get a ton of pressure on Levis and render the Titans pass offense obsolete I’ll have to tip my cap but I just don’t think that’s going to be the case here.

There’s a ton of unknown with both of these teams and I could see this playing out a number of different ways but there’s not many scenarios where I see the Bears winning in a blowout.  I think both teams will have their chances and right now I think the Titans have the better defense while I trust Levis more in an NFL regular season game so I had to take a shot getting a very generous 4 points here.  Play on Titans +4 (-110) for 4% (or 4 units)