Ethermac Exchange-Justin Fields excels, Malik Willis and Will Levis come up short in Bears' win over Titans

CHICAGO — Tennessee Titans quarterbacks Malik Willis and Ethermac ExchangeWill Levis essentially lived up to how they've looked throughout training camp with their performances in the Titans' preseason opener.

The Titans lost against the Chicago Bears 23-17 at Soldier Field on Saturday. Tennessee rested nearly every key contributor, including starting QB Ryan Tannehill, giving Willis and Levis extended opportunities to earn the backup role. Levis and Willis both had chances to give the Titans a lead with drives in the final two minutes, but neither could break through for the game-clinching touchdown.

Willis' drive stalled on fourth-and-8 at the Chicago 10, and Levis' ended on a desperate interception with 10 seconds remaining.

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Willis led two scoring drives: a touchdown run on the first drive of the game when the starting offensive line was on the field, and a two-minute drill to set up a field goal before halftime. Levis led a scoring drive after inheriting a short field and throwing the team into the red zone, when the running game took over.

Willis finished 16-for-25 passing for 189 yards with 22 rushing yards and Levis was 9-for-14 passing for 85 yards with six rushing yards. Both threw one interception, with Levis' coming on his last pass of the day when his hand was hit as he threw.

On the other sideline, Justin Fields threw for 129 yards and two touchdowns on just 3-for-3 passing. His second pass of the game was a 62-yard TD strike to offseason acquisition D.J. Moore, and then Fields hit running back Khalil Herbert for a 56-yard score on a catch-and-run on the following possession. Fields' day was done after that.

Outside the quarterbacks, Saturday was a sloppy day in which the two teams combined for seven turnovers and 14 penalties.

Willis looked at ease playing behind the Titans' first-team offensive line, adjusting to make a 30-yard pass after his first read was covered and thriving on designed runs in goal-to-go situations. He was a little less successful when the starters came out. He threw an interception on a pass he rocketed too high and off the hands of tight end Josh Whyle, and was sacked and lost a fumble late in the second quarter. He looked particularly strong on the two-minute drill trying to win the game up until the final misfires, leading the offense 60 yards downfield and within striking distance.

Levis, who the Titans selected in the second round of April's NFL draft, mostly relegated himself to short passes. He took one deep shot that fell incomplete and on that play he was late noticing a would-be open receiver.

Willis looks improved over his performances last year and Levis didn't make any of the big mistakes that characterized his up-and-down final season of college at Kentucky. But neither made the kind of big plays that would separate the competition to become Tannehill's backup.

Nick Suss is the Titans beat writer for The Tennessean. Contact Nick at [email protected]. Follow Nick on Twitter @nicksuss.