Recap: Titans come back to win preseason finale against the Bears, 19-15

Mercifully, the 2019 preseason is over.

The Tennessee Titans won their final game of the preseason, beating the Bears 19-15.

As usual, neither side was all that interested in playing their starters tonight. The Bears trotted out Tyler Bray at quarterback while the Titans started Logan Woodside. If that doesn’t say preseason week four, I’m not sure what does.

Obviously, this one lacked a little intrigue. But here’s what stood out.

First Half Notes

• Starting offensive line tonight: Tyler Marz, Aaron Stinnie, Corey Levin, A.T. Hall, Austin Pasztor
• MyCole Pruitt didn’t play tonight, while Ryan Hewitt did. If there was any thought of that being a battle, you can probably put that one to rest. David Fluellen was spotted at practice on Wednesday, for what it’s worth.
• Jeremy McNichols got the start at running back.
• Taywan Taylor did not play. That’s probably a good sign for him after a rough preseason.
• Defensive lineman Isaiah Mack also didn’t play — perhaps a good sign for him as well.
• Safety JoJo Tillery continued to make plays in the secondary, breaking up a pass in the middle of the field from Bray.
• Rookie linebacker David Long Jr. got the start and really flashed a few times. He broke up a screen pass and knifed through the line to make a play in the backfield early on.
• Quarterback Logan Woodside got off to a slow start, but jolted the offense into gear in the second quarter. Woodside connected on a 45 yard bomb to Kalif Raymond, who dove to the ground to make the grab. Woodside came back to find Dalyn Dawkins for the nine yard touchdown pass.

Second Half Notes

• Woodside connected with Anthony Ratliff-Williams down the field for a 23 yard gain.
• Derick Roberson came up with a really nice sack off the edge in the 3rd quarter. He flashed some nice bend, getting under the left tackle to finish the rep. Roberson picked up another sack late in the fourth quarter, capping off a nice game.
• Dalyn Dawkins had a really nice second half running the football. There’s likely no room for him here, but he made some things happen tonight. His burst really stood out. Dawkins ended the night with 13 carries for 117 yards. He added four catches for 31 yards and two scores.
• Late in the game, Woodside missed Dawkins on a simple throw out into the flats on a key third down inside the five. The Titans were on the five yard line looking to take the lead in the fourth quarter. Woodside just misfired on what should have been a surefire six.
• Woodside came back with one final chance in the fourth quarter to take the lead. Behind the legs of Dawkins, the Titans marched down the field quickly. Woodside capped the drive on the exactly same play that he missed on previously, just to the opposite side of the field. It was Dawkins’ second touchdown grab of the night.

And now thankfully, we’re onto Cleveland — after roster cuts this weekend, of course.

The Titans will open their 2019 season on the road against the Browns on Sunday, September 8th at noon.