Top favorite Caleb Williams will make his eagerly awaited debut when the Bears face the Titans in their opener

Tennessee (6-11) at Chicago (7-10)

Sunday, 1:00 PM EDT, FOX

BetMGM NFL Odds: Bears win 4½.

Series standings: Titans lead 7-6.

Last meeting: The Titans defeated the Bears 24-17 on November 8, 2020 in Nashville.

Titans Offense: Total (28), Rushing (17), Passing (29), Scoring (T-27)

Titans Defense: Overall (18), Rushing (13), Passing (18), Scoring (16)

Bears offense: total (20), rushing (2), passing (27), scoring (18)

Bears defense: total (12), rushing (1), passing (25), scoring (20)

Turnover differential: Titans minus-6; Bears plus-3.

Titans Player to Watch

QB Will Levis. Last season as a rookie, he was 3-6 and 149-of-255 for 1,808 yards passing with eight touchdowns and four interceptions. Now Levis has a completely new offense under first-year coach Brian Callahan. The front office spent a ton of money to surround him with WRs Calvin Ridley and Tyler Boyd and to bolster the offensive line by signing C Lloyd Cushenberry and tapping JC Latham as the new LT.

Bears player to watch

QB Caleb Williams. Who else? Sure, there were other big additions this offseason, including six-time Pro Bowl pick Keenan Allen. But the No. 1 overall pick is the No. 1 player to watch. Williams threw 93 touchdowns and just 14 interceptions in one season at Oklahoma and two at USC, and he won the 2022 Heisman Trophy. In Chicago, all he has to do is become the quarterback the city has long coveted.

A key clash

Titans defense vs. Williams. New Tennessee DC Dennard Wilson loves to pressure quarterbacks, bringing in blitzers from all sides. The Titans have two-time Pro Bowl DL Jeffery Simmons and rookie DT T’Vondre Sweat alongside him, and OLB Harold Landry has had double-digit sacks in each of his last two seasons. Tennessee also added new cornerbacks L’Jarius Sneed and Chidobe Awuzi along with safeties Jamal Adams and Quandre Diggs.

Key injuries

Five-time Pro Bowl WR DeAndre Hopkins, who injured his knee on July 31, returned to the Titans practice field this week. S Jamal Adams (hip) did not practice. LB Otis Reese is coming out of concussion protocol for Tennessee. … The Bears have essentially all of their key players healthy, though they listed WR Keenan Allen (heel) and DE Montez Sweat (toe) on the injury report this week.

Notes from the series

This will be the first time the teams have opened the season against each other. … The Titans are 4-2 on the road against the Bears, with their last visit to Soldier Field ending in a 27-21 decision on Nov. 27, 2016.

Statistics and stuff like that

Brian Callahan is the 20th coach in Titans history, and the team is entering its 65th season. … The Titans are 32-32 in season openers. … This will be the first time the teams have opened the season against each other. … Hopkins has caught the ball in 162 consecutive games in every game he has played in since the draft, the third-longest such streak in an NFL career, trailing only Marvin Harrison (190) and Keyshawn Johnson (167). … J.C. Latham is expected to become the first Titans rookie to start a season as a LT since Michael Roos in 2005 after being drafted No. 7 overall out of Alabama. … Titans S Quandre Diggs has started 67 consecutive games, the third-longest streak among NFL linebackers, trailing only Bears S Kevin Byard (121) and Raiders DE Maxx Crosby (76). … K Nick Folk is set to enter his 17th NFL season and second straight with the Titans. He led the NFL last season and set a career-high in field goal completions by connecting on 96.7 percent of his field goals. He also set an NFL record by making 78 consecutive field goal attempts of less than 40 yards. … Titans P Ryan Stonehouse suffered a season-ending left knee injury on Dec. 3, 2023, and is expected to start the season. He has played in six consecutive games with at least one punt of 60 yards or more, the longest active streak in the NFL. … Chicago is 10-24 overall in two seasons under general manager Ryan Poles and coach Matt Eberflus. … Williams is the first player selected No. 1 by the Bears since Oklahoma A&M quarterback Bob Fenimore in 1947. Chicago’s only other No. 1 pick was Michigan quarterback Tom Harmon in 1941, another Heisman Trophy winner. … WR Keenan Allen makes his Bears debut after 11 seasons with the Chargers. The Bears acquired the six-time Pro Bowl player in a trade with Los Angeles. … WR DJ Moore set career highs in catches (96), yards (1,364) and touchdowns (eight) last season. … DE Montez Sweat had a career-high 12 1/2 sacks and became the first player to lead two teams in the same season, with 6 1/2 for Washington and six for Chicago. … WR Rome Odunze, the ninth pick in the draft, led the nation with a school-record 1,640 yards for Washington last season.

Fantasy Tip

Hopkins. The five-time Pro Bowl receiver took an immediate liking to Levis, eventually scoring his first TD in 2023 with the rookie QB on the field. Six of his seven TDs have come from Levis.