After weeks and months of preparation and practice, Week 1 of the 2024 NFL regular season is officially here for the Chicago Bears.

Heading into Sunday’s regular-season opener against the Tennessee Titans, there was a lot of optimism surrounding the Bears, who drafted rookies Caleb Williams and Rome Odunze in the first round and retooled their offense.

However, that optimism took a backseat Sunday afternoon, as Chicago was down 17-3 at the half. But thanks to their defense and special teams, Chicago scored 21 unanswered points to win 24-17 in front of the hometown fans at Soldier Field.

Even though Matt Eberflus’ crew struggled on third down and couldn’t find their footing on offense, the defense bailed them out. The offense knows they must be better and head back to the drawing board heading into Week 2.

Below, we’ll discuss a few disappointing players, including a couple making their Windy City debut and must play better in Week 2 against the Houston Texans.

1. Velus Jones Jr.

The Bears found a way to keep the former third-round pick on the 53-man roster last month as some fans thought he was a cut candidate heading into training camp.

Chicago had other ideas for Jones Jr., who showed his willingness to learn and play a new position (running back) this summer, which likely helped him keep his spot. However, Jones might be on thin ice after his performance against the Titans.

The 27-year-old playmaker only had 11 rushing yards on two carries, which isn’t surprising as the Bears spent a ton of money in the offseason on D’Andre Swift. But Jones Jr. had a major blunder on special teams late in the first quarter.

Jones muffed the kickoff return and kicked the ball almost 20 yards ahead of him, which was recovered by the Titans. Luckily, the Bears’ defense held the Titans to a made 40-yard Nick Folk field goal.

That said, it was the last time we saw Jones Jr. on kickoff return duties as the Bears went with Khalil Herbert and DeAndre Carter.

Carter immediately showed off his kick return ability late in the second quarter, with a 66-yard return to give Chicago adequate field position. Thankfully, Bears kicker Cairo Santos knocked through a 24-yard field goal to put themselves on the board.

The 31-year-old Carter also handled punt return duties (five returns for 63 yards). Based on what the veteran did against the Titans, we might not see Jones on kick return duties next week.

2. D’Andre Swift

One of the first moves the Bears made in free agency was upgrading their backfield with the signing of D’Andre Swift.

The 25-year-old running back was signed to a three-year, $24 million contract after a stellar 2023 season with the Philadelphia Eagles. Last season with the Eagles, Swift rushed for 1,049 yards and five touchdowns on 229 carries. He also had 39 receptions (49 targets) for 214 yards and a touchdown.

Bears fans hope Swift can replicate those stats in his first season in the Windy City. However, the former Eagles running back got off to a terrible start on Sunday, which was a microcosm of the Bears’ offensive woes.

The 5-foot-9 running back had a team-leading 30 yards on 10 carries (3.0 yards per carry) and one target in the passing game.

It wasn’t a great showing by Swift or the Bears’ offensive line as he struggled to do much of anything running behind the right side of the line (three carries for zero yards).

For the Bears to be a threat in the NFC North this season, the offensive line needs to help out Swift so he can create explosive plays in the rushing game. Nonetheless, it will not get easier for Swift as he’ll see the Houston Texans on Sunday night football next week.

3. Caleb Williams

This spot could’ve been saved for Keenan Allen, who had a couple of disappointing drops and was banged up in Sunday’s win. Or it could have gone to head coach Matt Eberflus as his team got outplayed in the first half.

However, we’ll highlight Williams, who looked like a rookie in his NFL regular season game. The former USC star quarterback only completed 14-of-29 passes for 93 yards. He was also sacked twice in the seven-point win as the Titans’ defense did a good job of making him uncomfortable.

Williams added 15 rushing yards in the win, but that’s not his game. The Bears offense didn’t do their job on third-down, converting 2-of-13 attempts. Williams and Co. must be better next week against an aggressive Texans defense.

Williams also only had success on the left side of the field, completing 8-of-10 passes between the line of scrimmage and 10 yards. The Bears will likely want to see those completions spread out across the field, but credit to the Titans’ defense.

Even though Williams’ debut was disappointing, Bears fans should have a ton of hope for the young quarterback. The more regular season reps he gets, the more comfortable the rookie quarterback should get each week.