Grades: Five turnovers, TD for defense

November 4, 2012, 5:53 pm

	JOHN "MOON" MULLIN Archive
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The Tennessee Titans were taken out of any game plan or rhythm by the takeaway tsunami that swept over them, usually wearing a Chicago No. 33. The Bears forced six Tennessee fumbles and recovered four, with a Brian Urlacher interception for a touchdown.

Chris Johnson broke an 80-yard run for a score in the fourth quarter for the Titans’ final points with 10 minutes to play. That accounted for nearly one-fourth of the 333 net yards, however, and the Bears knocked the ball loose from Johnson twice, once setting up a first-quarter touchdown, so that account was all square in a game where the Titans needed more than break-even.

DEFENSIVE LINE   A-

The turnovers and runaway first quarter took RB Chris Johnson’s opportunities down and made Titans less-dimensional. Linemen were consistently getting penetration and getting into Johnson frequently before he could get underway and running north-south.

Israel Idonije and Stephen Paea, who each had a quarterback hits, shared a third-down sack of Matt Hasselbeck in the second quarter and Corey Wootton added one of his own. Nate Collins had another strong game with three tackles and a pass broken up. Pressure on Hasselbeck is always difficult because of the quick release/West Coast mindset.

LINEBACKERS       A

Brian Urlacher recovered a Tennessee fumble on the first play, added TD return of an interception as part of the first-quarter blitz of the Titans, and punched the ball out of Chris Johnson’s hands for another first-half Titans turnover leading to a touchdown. Urlacher also found time for a pass breakup as well as finishing second on the team with seven tackles.

Nick Roach stuffed Johnson on a third-and-one in the first quarter for some momentum when it looked like it would matter, and he finished with four tackles despite the Bears needing to use nickel packages freqently. Lance Briggs helped contain Johnson with four tackles.

SECONDARY          A+

Charles Tillman played his way into the discussion not just of NFL defensive player of the year, but also of league MVP. He helped hand the offense the ball in Tennessee’s end of the field twice in the first quarter with forced fumbles. He finished with a team-high nine tackles, all solo, and was responsible for four fumbles total.

Tim Jennings broke up a pass in the end zone and had three solo tackles to go with a second pass deflection. Kelvin Hayden keeps playing his way onto the field as the nickel back over D.J. Moore, who had two tackles. Hayden’s pass-defensed stopped a third-down conversion early and he recovered two of the six Tennessee fumbles.

Chris Conte broke up three passes and Major Wright provded two tackles in solid run support as the Bears continue to get outstanding safety play.

Tags: Julius Peppers, Tennessee Titans, Chicago Bears, Chris Johnson, Charles Tillman, Brian Urlacher, Matt Hasselbeck, Kenny Britt, kendall wright