Tennessee Titans' new head coach Robert Saleh is taking all the time he can get to fine-tune his team ahead of the regular season.
"We're a very, very young football team and we need as many reps as we can possibly get," Saleh told reporters ahead of Saturday’s preseason finale with the Chicago Bears.
Saleh and the Titans are slim 2.5-point home favorites with their starters slotted to play the first half in Week 3 of the preseason. The Bears, on the other hand, will likely sit their first-teamers.
Those mixed motivations are behind my NFL picks and Bears vs. Titans predictions for Aug. 29.
Bears vs Titans prediction
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Who will win Bears vs Titans: Titans -2.5
We often see new head coaches putting a little extra pride in the preseason efforts, especially if they’re navigating a young team. That’s exactly what we have with Saleh and the Tennessee Titans.
The Titans have marched their starters out in the first two games of the exhibition slate — both wins — and intend to do the same at home on Saturday. And while QB1 Cam Ward may see limited time with the first teamers, Tennessee has starting experience behind him with Mitchell Trubisky and Will Levis taking snaps in the second half.
The Chicago Bears may opt to protect their top talents in the preseason finish, especially after a strong showing from the starters in Week 2.
Head coach Ben Johnson hasn’t officially ruled on his rotation as of this writing, but with injuries piling up on the defense, it would make sense to protect the starters and get a long look at defensive options further down the depth chart.
With the starters getting run and more motivation to keep their perfect preseason alive, I’ll lay the short spread with Tennessee at home.
TOP PICK
Bears vs Titans Over/Under pick: Over 36.5
Both sides have capable passers down the depth chart, even with Chicago QB1 Caleb Williams most likely in street clothes.
Bears backups Tyson Bagent, Case Keenum, and Miller Moss powered the team to 34 points in a Week 1 preseason squash of Cleveland. That trio combined for 348 yards and three touchdowns. Moss and Keenum followed that with a collective 224 yards passing in relief of Williams in Week 2.
Tennessee shouldn’t have much trouble moving the chains with the starters in play during the opening 30 minutes Saturday, especially with Chicago’s defensive ailments limiting the involvement of their first teams.
The Titans haven’t looked great in their opening two exhibition games, scoring 19 points in both outings while going a collective 10 for 33 on third-down conversions. Those issues also apply to Ward, who is 13-for-24 passing in the preseason for 126 collective yards.
That said, Ward has been much sharper during joint practices (39 for 56) versus opponents’ starters. He’s focusing on improving his timing with the passing offense in this last tune-up game of the summer.
Bears vs Titans live odds
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Bears vs Titans weather
Temperatures are in the high 80s with humidity down to 44% around the 6 p.m. ET kickoff in Nashville. Wind gusts max out at 8 mph (south) and will not have any impact on the action.
How to watch Bears vs Titans
| Location | Nissan Stadium, Nashville, TN |
| Date | Saturday, Aug. 29, 2026 |
| Kickoff | 6 p.m. ET |
| TV | WFLD, WKRN |
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