Ninety-seven yards on the first snap
Chicago had the ball on their own 3-yard line. One play later they were in the end zone at the other end of the field.
Tyson Bagent dropped back into his own end zone last night in Nashville, waited for Zavion Thomas to shift gears down the right sideline, and let it go. The pass came up short. Thomas came back for it, gathered it in, and outran everyone to finish a 97-yard touchdown on Chicago’s opening play. The Titans secondary never found its footing after that.
The strike set the tone for a 24-15 Bears win in the closing preseason game for both clubs.
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Bagent barely missed
The Bears backup quarterback finished 16 of 17 for 208 yards and two touchdowns. One incompletion all night. He also coughed up a fumble on a busted run play, which was about the only blemish on his evening.
Thomas, a rookie third-round pick making his preseason debut, piled up 140 yards on five catches and added a 39-yard punt return. He was timed as the third-fastest player at the 2026 NFL Scouting Combine, and Nashville got a live demonstration of what that number means when a defensive back guesses wrong.
Maurice Alexander hauled in Bagent’s second touchdown pass and led all receivers with seven catches for 50 yards. Roschon Johnson ground out 52 yards on 15 carries and punched in a 3-yard score in the third quarter. Cairo Santos added a field goal to stretch the margin to 24-9, after Chicago had taken a 14-9 lead into the break.
Levis auditions, Titans settle for threes
Tennessee rested Cam Ward and Mitch Trubisky. That left Will Levis to start and play the entire first half with his roster spot on the line ahead of Sunday’s cuts. He moved the offense three times. All three drives ended with Joey Slye field goals, including a 56-yarder, his fifth make from beyond 50 this preseason.
The Titans did not reach the end zone until D’Ernest Johnson ran in from 9 yards with 3:50 left, then broke out the “Choppa City Juke” as a nod to Chris Johnson.
Chicago closed the preseason at 2-1. Both teams now turn to the roster deadline, where a night like the one Bagent and Thomas just had tends to settle arguments that have been running all August.
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