Special teams, defense come to Bears rescue

There probably aren’t many Bears players who deserve their own moment in the spotlight like Jonathan Owens does. So it was kind of fitting that the backup safety was in the right place at the right time Sunday at Soldier Field.

When teammate Daniel Hardy knifed through the middle of the Titans line to block a punt in the third quarter, the ball squirted right to Owens, who eagerly grabbed it and sprinted 21 yards for a touchdown that ignited the Bears sideline, the Soldier Field crowd and sparked the Bears to a 24-17 victory over the Titans in their season-opener.

“We had a rush going and I’m rushing and I’m getting ready to cover with a guy and I heard a ball getting blocked,” Owens said. “I just looked and the ball’s bouncing there and there’s guys around me and, I don’t know, God works in mysterious ways — a perfect bounce right into my hands.

“Someone said it was the Bears’ first touchdown of the season — that was pretty dope to hear. But man, it’s the home opener, just to hear that crowd and see the sideline and your guys are dabbin’ you up and hitting you on the head — it was just super exciting. I couldn’t explain it. It didn’t feel like real life.”

The Hardy block and Owens touchdown was the game-changing play the Bears desperately needed, trailing 17-3 in a disappointing performance that already elicited boos from the home crowd. The momentum shift was palpable.

“Absolutely,” Hardy said. “Even without the fans, on the sideline, it was amazing. Just seeing teammates and everybody — all the energy everobyd had — it’s a fantastic feeliing.

“And it wasn’t just me. I blocked the punt. But J.O. [Owens] did a fantastic job not quitting on the play, scooping that up and scoring is something we need. A huge momentum shift for the team.”

The punt-block touchdown put the Bears back in the game and unleashed a relentless aggressiveness that put the bite back in the Bears’ defense. From that point, the Bears allowed no points and just 57 yards on 23 plays (2.5 yards per play), with two sacks and three takeaways.

Darrell Taylor’s strip-sack that linebacker T.J. Edwards recovered led to a field goal that got the Bears within 17-16. On the ensuing drive, DeMarcus Walker’s near-sack forced an ill-advised backhand flip by Will Levis that Tyrique Stevenson intercepted and returned 43 yards for a touchdown that gave the Bears a 24-17 lead.

“I honestly didn’t expect [the interception],” Stevenson said. “Our main thing was to get him off the field, get the ball back to Caleb and let him do his thing. If he’s going to make dumb decisions like that, we’re going to make him pay for it.”

The dominance of the Bears’ special teams and defense was reminiscent of the Miracle in the Desert in 2006, when the defense and special teams scored all the Bears’ points in a 24-23 victory over the Cardinals — capped by Devin Hester’s game winning punt return touchdown — on the way to the Super Bowl.

This team is far from that point. But this was a step in the right direction.

“It’s one hell of a team — a team full of dogs,” Stevenson said. “At some point, it’s going to be the offense helping us out. They’re our kickstand. We’re their kickstand. There’s going to be games like this — it’s the NFL.”