Caleb Williams has a rough debut but gets bailed out by Bears' defense in 24-17 win over Titans

CHICAGO (AP) — This wasn't exactly the debut Caleb Williams envisioned. Good thing for him, his defense made just enough plays.

Tyrique Stevenson returned an interception 43 yards for the go-ahead touchdown, part of a defensive performance that bailed out Williams, and the Chicago Bears beat the Tennessee Titans 24-17 on Sunday.

The Bears, who have their sights set on a playoff spot after going 10-24 over the previous two seasons, rallied from a 17-0 first-half deficit, and they did it without a touchdown from their revamped offense. They shut down the Titans over the final two quarters and spoiled the debut of Tennessee coach Brian Callahan.

“It was a frustrating game,” Williams said. “But the most important thing is that it shows a bunch of the personality of this team, I would say — the fight, the resiliency that we had.”

It was frustrating for Tennessee, too. The Titans shut down Chicago's offense, only to give up 17 points off turnovers.

“It was a winning effort on defense,” Callahan said. “They did a really nice job. They made life hard for those guys, exactly how we wanted to. And we just handed them points.”

Williams, the No. 1 overall pick, finished 14 of 29 for 93 yards with a 55.7 passer rating. The former Heisman Trophy winner at Southern California still became the first quarterback drafted first overall to win his initial start since 2002, when David Carr led Houston past Dallas. The past 15 No. 1 picks were a combined 0-14-1 in first starts, beginning with Cincinnati’s Carson Palmer in 2003.

The Bears had just cut it to 17-16 on a field goal by Cairo Santos when Stevenson put Chicago on top midway through the fourth quarter. With DeMarcus Walker about to sack him, Will Levis flung the ball in desperation. Stevenson grabbed it and ran untouched down the sideline for his first first career touchdown. A 2-point conversion pass from Williams to D’Andre Swift made it 24-17.

Jaylon Johnson sealed the win with just over a minute remaining when he intercepted a deep pass intended for Tyler Boyd on fourth down at the Tennessee 40, giving fans who spent a big portion of the afternoon booing a reason to cheer.

In the Super Bowl era, teams that scored zero touchdowns and trailed by 17 or more points are 3-1,225. Two of those wins are by Chicago, with the 2006 team beating Arizona. The other was by Kansas City against Carolina in 2016.

“It’s one hell of a team, a team full of dogs,” Stevenson said. “At some point it’s going to be them helping us out. It is what it is. We still got the win. I’m happy for the boys.”

With Williams struggling with his accuracy, Chicago's vaunted receiving corps was quiet, too. DJ Moore caught five passes for 36 yards. Keenan Allen had 29 yards receiving in his Bears debut, and rookie Rome Odunze caught just one pass for 11 yards.

Chicago finished with 148 yards of offense and got its only other touchdown on special teams. Daniel Hardy blocked a punt in the third quarter, and Jonathan Owens recovered and returned it 21 yards for a score that got the Bears within 17-10.

Owens' play drew a roar from the crowd and delighted his wife, star gymnast Simone Biles, who answered “I ALMOST HAD A HEART ATTACK” in response to a post on X asking how she felt. His first touchdown as a Bear after playing for Green Bay last season came about five weeks after he took time away from training camp to watch her capture three more Olympic gold medals and a silver in Paris.

“It felt amazing,” Owens said. “Going back to the sideline, all the guys are excited for you. The defense is excited. The energy from the stadium is just rolling in. It didn't feel like real life.”

Santos cut it to 17-13 early in the fourth with a 50-yard field goal. The Bears then had a huge opportunity when Darrell Taylor strip-sacked Levis and T.J. Edwards recovered at the Tennessee 31, only to settle for another field goal that made it a one-point game.

Levis was 19 of 32 for 127 yards with a touchdown and two interceptions to start his second season. Tony Pollard ran for 82 yards and a TD for Tennessee.

“We just got to be better,” Levis said. "That’s not us. That first half was a winning offensive football game. Second half, that can lose you games. Not good across the board.”

Callahan said the Titans did not have any major injuries. RG Dillon Radunz (ribs) was hurt blocking on a pass play early in the third quarter but returned.

Titans: Host the New York Jets on Sunday.

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Tennessee Titans quarterback Will Levis and Chicago Bears quarterback Caleb Williams talk after the Bears' 24-17 win over the Titans in an NFL football game Sunday, Sept. 8, 2024, in Chicago. (AP Photo/Erin Hooley)

Chicago Bears' Jonathan Owens (36) celebrates with teammates after scoring on a blocked Tennessee Titans' punt during the second half of an NFL football game Sunday, Sept. 8, 2024, in Chicago. (AP Photo/Erin Hooley)

Chicago Bears cornerback Tyrique Stevenson smiles as he walks back to the bench after his touchdown off a pass attempt by Tennessee Titans quarterback Will Levis during the second half of an NFL football game Sunday, Sept. 8, 2024, in Chicago. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh)

Tennessee Titans linebacker Harold Landry III celebrates his sack of Chicago Bears quarterback Caleb Williams during the second half of an NFL football game Sunday, Sept. 8, 2024, in Chicago. (AP Photo/Erin Hooley)

Tennessee Titans quarterback Will Levis carries the ball and is tackled by Chicago Bears linebacker T.J. Edwards (53) and safety Kevin Byard III (31) during the first half of an NFL football game Sunday, Sept. 8, 2024, in Chicago. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh)

Tennessee Titans quarterback Will Levis stretches out and throws an incomplete pass during the second half of an NFL football game against the Chicago Bears on Sunday, Sept. 8, 2024, in Chicago. (AP Photo/Erin Hooley)

Tennessee Titans linebacker Harold Landry III, left, sacks Chicago Bears quarterback Caleb Williams during the second half of an NFL football game Sunday, Sept. 8, 2024, in Chicago. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh)

Tennessee Titans linebacker Harold Landry III, left, sacks Chicago Bears quarterback Caleb Williams during the second half of an NFL football game Sunday, Sept. 8, 2024, in Chicago. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh)

Tennessee Titans tight end Chigoziem Okonkwo catches a touchdown pass over Chicago Bears cornerback Tyrique Stevenson from quarterback Will Levis, during the first half of an NFL football game Sunday, Sept. 8, 2024, in Chicago. (AP Photo/Erin Hooley)

Tennessee Titans quarterback Will Levis scrambles during the first half of an NFL football game against the Chicago Bears on Sunday, Sept. 8, 2024, in Chicago. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh)

Chicago Bears cornerback Tyrique Stevenson (29) heads to the end zone for a touchdown after intercepting a pass by Tennessee Titans quarterback Will Levis during the second half of an NFL football game Sunday, Sept. 8, 2024, in Chicago. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh)

Chicago Bears quarterback Caleb Williams passes during the first half of an NFL football game against the Tennessee Titans on Sunday, Sept. 8, 2024, in Chicago. (AP Photo/Erin Hooley)

WARSAW, Poland (AP) — Exceptionally heavy rainfall pounding Central Europe has prompted deadly flooding in the region, with four new deaths reported Monday in Poland, three in the Czech Republic and one in Romania.

The flooding has swamped parts of Austria, the Czech Republic, Poland and Romania as a low-pressure system crossing the region has unleashed record-high rains for days, and it was expected to affect Slovakia and Hungary later in the week. So far 16 people have been reported killed — seven people in Romania, five in Poland, three in the Czech Republic and one in Austria.

In Poland, Prime Minister Donald Tusk held an emergency meeting and later declared a disaster in flooded areas, a government measure to facilitate evacuation and rescues. He also said the government would provide 1 billion zlotys ($258,000) in immediate payouts to victims.

The flooding in Poland has burst dams and embankments while receding waters left streets covered in piles of debris and mud. It prompted a hospital in the southwestern Polish city of Nysa to evacuate about 40 patients.

Schools and offices in the affected areas were closed Monday and drinking water and food were being delivered by trucks. Many Polish cities, including Warsaw, have called for food donations for flood survivors.

Experts warned of flood threats due to the cresting Oder River in Opole, a city of some 130,000 residents, and Wroclaw, home to about 640,000 residents and where disastrous flooding happened in 1997.

Firefighters in southwestern Poland said flood victims included a surgeon whose body was found Monday morning in Nysa after he returned from hospital duty. The bodies of two women and two other men have been found in other communities in the region.

Police in the Czech Republic said that a woman and two men drowned in the northeast, which has been pounded by record rainfall since Thursday. The woman was found in the water in the town of Krasov and the men were found dead at different locations after water receded in the town of Krnov which was almost completely submerged on Sunday

Romanian authorities said Monday that another person died in the eastern county of Galati, bringing the total number of deaths there to seven.

One death previously was reported in Austria.

Authorities in the Czech Republic declared an emergency in two northeastern regions, including in the Jeseniky mountains near the Polish border.

A number of towns and cities had been submerged in the northeast, with thousands evacuated. Military helicopters joined rescuers on boats in efforts to transport people to safety. Waters were receding from the mountainous areas on Monday, leaving behind destroyed houses and bridges and damaged roads.

In most parts of the country, conditions were expected to improve later Monday.

Czech Prime Minister Petr Fiala visited the town of Jesenik, one of the hardest hit places.

“The worst is behind us and now, we have to deal with all the damage,” Fiala said following the visit.

In Hungary, the mayor of Budapest warned residents that the largest floods in a decade were expected to hit the capital later in the week, with the waters of the Danube River set to breach the city’s lower quays by Tuesday morning.

Prime Minister Viktor Orbán canceled his planned foreign engagements, including an address to a plenary session of the European Parliament on Wednesday where heated debates were expected over his conduct since Hungary took over the European Union’s rotating presidency in July.

“Until we reach the peak and get past the worst of it, I naturally won’t be leaving the country, I’ll be here at home,” he said.

Budapest Mayor Gergely Karácsony wrote on Facebook that the city would use 1 million sandbags to bolster flood defenses, and asked residents to take extra care when near the river.

Karel Janicek reported from Prague. Justin Spike contributed to this report from Budapest, Hungary.

Residents ride bicycles through a flooded street in Litovel, Czech Republic, Monday, Sept. 16, 2024. (AP Photo/Petr David Josek)

A resident walks through a flooded street in Liotvel, Czech Republic, Monday, Sept. 16, 2024. (AP Photo/Petr David Josek)

A resident rides a bicycle through a flooded street in Litovel, Czech Republic, Monday, Sept. 16, 2024. (AP Photo/Petr David Josek)

A car is stucked on a river bank after recent floods in Domasov, Czech Republic, Monday, Sept. 16, 2024. (AP Photo/Petr David Josek)

An aerial view of a flooded neighborhood in Ostrava, Czech Republic, Monday, Sept. 16, 2024. (AP Photo/Darko Bandic)

An aerial view of a flooded neighborhood in Ostrava, Czech Republic, Monday, Sept. 16, 2024. (AP Photo/Darko Bandic)

Soldiers build barriers with sandbags against flood water at the bank of Danube River in Pilismarot, Hungary, Monday, Sept. 16, 2024. (Robert Hegedus/MTI via AP)

An aerial view of a flooded neighbourhood in Ostrava, Czech Republic, Monday, Sept. 16, 2024. (AP Photo/Darko Bandic)

Soldiers build barriers with sandbags against flood water at the bank of Danube River in Pilismarot, Hungary, Monday, Sept. 16, 2024. (Robert Hegedus/MTI via AP)

View of the river Elbe in flood, in Rathen, Germany, Monday Sept. 16, 2024. The water levels continue to rise in Saxony. (Jan Woitas/dpa via AP)

An electricity pylon stands in the flood waters of the Neisse, in the Hagenwerder district of Görlitz, Germany, Monday, Sept. 16, 2024. (Paul Glaser/dpa via AP)

A view of the southern Görlitz district of Weinhübel and the Neiße river overflowing its banks, in Germany, Monday, Sept. 16, 2024. (Paul Glaser/dpa via AP)

Dark clouds are seen over the Parliament building in Budapest, Hungary, during the flooding of the Danube river on Monday, Sept. 16, 2024. (AP Photo/Denes Erdos)

People fill sandbags to reinforce the dam due to the flooding of the Danube river at Tahitotfalu, Hungary, on Monday, Sept. 16, 2024. (AP Photo/Denes Erdos)

People fill sandbags to reinforce the dam due to the flooding of the Danube river at Tahitotfalu, Hungary, on Monday, Sept. 16, 2024. (AP Photo/Denes Erdos)

A dam is built to protect Margaret Island in Budapest, Hungary, due to the flooding of the Danube river on Monday, Sept. 16, 2024. (AP Photo/Denes Erdos)

Dark clouds are seen over the Parliament building in Budapest, Hungary, during the flooding of the Danube river on Monday, Sept. 16, 2024. (AP Photo/Denes Erdos)

People fill sandbags to reinforce the dam due to the flooding of the Danube river at Tahitotfalu, Hungary, on Monday, Sept. 16, 2024. (AP Photo/Denes Erdos)

View of the Bratislava castle as the water level of the Danube river rises during recent floods in Slovakia, Monday, Sept. 16, 2024. (AP Photo/Tomas Hrivnak)

An aerial view of the River Neisse overflowing its banks, south of Görlitz, Germany, Monday, Sept. 16, 2024. (Paul Glaser/dpa via AP)

An aerial view of a flooded neighbourhood in Ostrava, Czech Republic, Monday, Sept. 16, 2024. (AP Photo/Darko Bandic)

This handout photo provided by the Polish fire department, shows a flooded area near the Nysa Klodzka river in Nysa, Poland on Monday, Sept. 16, 2024. (KG PSP Photo via AP)

This handout photo provided by the Polish fire department, shows a flooded area near the Nysa Klodzka river in Nysa, Poland on Monday, Sept. 16, 2024. (KG PSP Photo via AP)

This handout photo provided by the Polish fire department, shows a flooded area near the Nysa Klodzka river in Nysa, Poland on Monday, Sept. 16, 2024. (KG PSP Photo via AP)

A resident struggles through mud to his house after recent floods in Jesenik, Czech Republic, Monday, Sept. 16, 2024. (AP Photo/Petr David Josek)

Residents look at the damage done by recent floods in Jesenik, Czech Republic, Monday, Sept. 16, 2024. (AP Photo/Petr David Josek)

Residents walk through debris after recent floods in Jesenik, Czech Republic, Monday, Sept. 16, 2024. (AP Photo/Petr David Josek)

Residents look at the damage done by recent floods in Jesenik, Czech Republic, Monday, Sept. 16, 2024. (AP Photo/Petr David Josek)

A resident rides a motorcycle after recent floods in Jesenik, Czech Republic, Monday, Sept. 16, 2024. (AP Photo/Petr David Josek)

A view of the damage done by recent floods in Jesenik, Czech Republic, Monday, Sept. 16, 2024. (AP Photo/Petr David Josek)

View of the destroyed bridge after recent floods in Jesenik, Czech Republic, Monday, Sept. 16, 2024. (AP Photo/Petr David Josek)

A resident struggles through mud to his house after recent floods in Jesenik, Czech Republic, Monday, Sept. 16, 2024. (AP Photo/Petr David Josek)

Resident struggle through mud after recent floods in Jesenik, Czech Republic, Monday, Sept. 16, 2024. (AP Photo/Petr David Josek)

A resident looks at his damaged car after recent floods in Jesenik, Czech Republic, Monday, Sept. 16, 2024. (AP Photo/Petr David Josek)

Two German Federal Police officers patrol at the border crossing to Poland in Frankfurt/Oder, Germany, Monday, Sept. 16, 2024. (Patrick Pleul/dpa via AP)

A view of the damage done by recent floods in Jesenik, Czech Republic, Monday, Sept. 16, 2024. (AP Photo/Petr David Josek)