5 players who struggled for the Bears in Week 1 and how they can get back on track immediately in Week 2

The Chicago Bears narrow Week 1 victory against the Tennessee Titans was not a perfect effort by any means, and not one person or unit is to blame.

The team still managed to rally together late in the second half and make the plays needed to come out of the season opener in the win column.

However, Sunday's performance won't be a sustainable one going into a Sunday Night Football matchup against a tough Houston Texans team in Week 2 and certain players are going to have to step up after how they played on Sunday. Here are five of those players in particular and what they can do to improve by Sunday night.

1. QB Caleb Williams

If we're talking about players who struggled on Sunday, it's only right we start with the man who has to shoulder the bulk of the blame. Caleb Williams did not play like himself against the Titans and he was the first player to admit his mistakes following the game.

“I saw things well,” Williams said . “A few passes out there may have been dropped, may have been missed. I think it was just miscues. The speed of the game, I wouldn’t say it affected or changed much.”

After going through the tape, Williams was right. He saw the field and the coverages by the defense well, it just came down to the execution. Williams looked really jumpy during the game and misfired on a lot of key throws in critical situations . There will also some mistakes in the pocket that stacked up to a bad overall performance.

There was still some good in Williams game, including some good throws to DJ Moore and an 11-yard scramble on 3rd-and-10 to pick up a first down. Williams mainly struggled down the field and in the middle of the field. On throws of 10+ yards, Williams went 0/7. Just look at his spray chart via Next Gen Stats. Clearly that's an area he needs to improve in going forward and getting tight end Cole Kmet (who had one target on Sunday) more involved will be a key part in fixing that issue.

2. WR Keenan Allen

While Williams had some mishaps throwing the ball, veteran wide receiver Keenan Allen needs to work on his game as well. Allen was coming into the game a little banged up with a foot injury that continued to nag him during the game. Still, we got the target percentage we expected to see between Williams and Allen on Sunday, the connections just weren't there.

Williams targeted Allen 11 times during the game and only connected four times for 29 yards. Allen was used all over the field and wasn't limited in his route tree at all.

After looking at the tape, here's the breakdown of those seven incompletions: two tipped passes at the line of scrimmage, two overthrows by Williams, one inaccurate pass Williams rushed with a clean pocket, one deep target that went short after Williams was hit low from behind, and this bad drop below by Allen that should have been a touchdown.

Overall, not all of the problems fall on Allen from Sunday's game outside of the drop. It was mostly issues with the connection between him and his quarterback that need to get ironed out before Week 2.

This play in particular shows what I'm talking about. On the Bears second offensive drive, Williams had Allen open for a would-be big gain on third-and-short. Allen ran a tremendous route and Williams just had to put it on him down the sideline. Instead, the pass went too far and the Bears had to convert on fourth down the next play on a short pass to Allen. The Bears were close to hitting those big plays but the execution just wasn't there on Sunday.

3. C Coleman Shelton

As for the Bears offensive line, the unit had their own issues that led to some of the offensive struggles as well, especially center Coleman Shelton.

The new starter up-front earned his position during training camp and the preseason but did not look like the same player on Sunday. In his defense, Shelton was forced to block Jeffery Simmons and T'Vondre Sweat, but opposing talent can't be a valid excuse for bad play in the NFL. You simply have to be better.

Shelton was on his back way to often against the Titans and allowed two pressures and one sack. PFF gave Shelton a 55.1 pass blocking grade, the second-lowest on the team's offensive line .

The play below on third down was the most concerning in my opinion. On the play, the Titans had a late stunt by Harold Landry III. Shelton didn't see Landry coming inside and instead choose to help block Simmons, who was already being double teamed, allowing Landry to hit the hole unblocked and come away with a sack.

Considering Ryan Bates, Shelton's offseason competition at center, already was seen mixing in at right guard to keep Nate Davis fresh, perhaps the Bears make a move at center going into Week 2 unless Shelton steps up during the week.

4. WR/RB/KR Velus Jones Jr.

No one had a worst mistake on Sunday than Velus Jones Jr. After all the hype and praise about Jones' impact under the new kickoff rules, it only took one play for everyone to remember what his main issue has been in the NFL. Just like seasons prior, drops by Jones continues to kill the Bears momentum.

During the second kickoff return for the Bears, Jones muffed the catch and after the all went through his hands, he accidently kicked it forward allowing the Titans to recover the fumble and promptly score again.

On the following kickoff, Jones was replaced by Khalil Herbert and never used in the role for the remainder of the game. Jones still got involved on offense with two carries for 11 yards and one catch for eight yards.

Head coach Matt Eberflus noted that he was proud of how Jones responded after the mistake but added that the team will evaluate the kick return position during the week. It should be an obvious decision, even before Deandre Carter's 66-yard return . The best thing for Jones is to stick to his gadget role where touches are manufactured and he doesn't have to worry about catching a ball.

5. RB D'Andre Swift

The Bears signed running back D'Andre Swift as soon as free agency opened because the coaches believed he could be the weapon back the team needed on offense.

Having 10 carries for 30 yards is not the definition of a weapon back. Especially when 20 of those yards came on one play late in the fourth quarter. Overall Swift struggled running the ball against the Titans front, but didn't receive much support from his offensive line blocking run plays inside the tackles.

But being a weapon back isn't just toting the ball on the ground. Swift only had one target during the game as a receiver out of the backfield despite playing 24 passing snaps. And that one target was just out of Swift's reach in the flat. The Bears are expecting more out of Swift and he's going to need better protection and more targets in order for him to show it.

Related: There's an obvious reason why the Bears offense struggled against the Titans and it's an annoying one that needs to be fixed immediately