HOUSTON, Texas — After a rough opening act, the second night of the Caleb Williams experience didn’t go much better for the Bears on Sunday night in Houston at NRG Stadium.
The Texans hit Williams early and often. Texans head coach DeMeco Ryans threw the kitchen sink at the Bears rookie quarterback, and the combination of a shaky offensive line, uncreative attack, and rookie quarterback inexperience led to a long night at the office for Williams.
Final score: Texans 19, Bears 13
Texans quarterback C.J. Stroud got out to a hot start, but the Bears’ vaunted defense battened down the hatches and kept Chicago in the game. But Williams and the Bears’ horrific offensive line were unable to solve the Texans’ defense in what was a disappointing performance in primetime.
Here’s what we learned in the Bears’ 19-13 vs. the Texans on “Sunday Night Football:”
Life with a rookie QB
After struggling with his accuracy against the Tennessee Titans in Week 1, Williams was sharp off the bat Sunday in Houston.
The No. 1 overall pick went 5-for-5 for 55 yards on the Bears’ opening drive, including two impressive third-down strikes to DeAndre Carter and DJ Moore.
A week after nothing came easy for the Bears’ offense, they schemed up some easy throws to help Williams settle in early.
Williams had the offense moving, but the drive stalled out when Will Anderson Jr. and Danielle Hunter blew up the Bears’ offensive line and sacked Williams to force a field goal.
Williams went 12-for-15 for 91 yards in the first half but the Bears’ constant miscues kept him and the offense from being able to find a rhythm.
The operation was sloppy, the execution was lacking, and their inability to run the ball effectively hurt them in critical short-yardage situations.
The Bears had four false starts and a delay of game directly after a television timeout. They failed to convert a third-and-1 with a quarterback sneak and barely converted a fourth-and-inches with a run out of the shotgun. On a critical third-and-2 in the third quarter, the Bears left Will Anderson Jr. unblocked and the Texans edge rusher sacked Williams to force a punt.
Add in Williams throwing interceptions on back-to-back drives in the second half, and you will have a recipe for a tough night.
Despite all the struggles, Williams and the offense still had the ball with 1:37 remaining and a chance to drive for the win.
Williams hit Rome Oduzne for a gain of 27 on the first play of the drive. But that’s as far as Williams’ first-career game-winning drive would go.
Two plays later, Williams was sacked by Danielle Hunter for a loss of eight and his fourth-down pass to Odunze fell incomplete after a miscommunication.
Williams finished the night 23-for-37 for 174 yards and two interceptions. The lack of protection led to some rushed throws and poor decisions. Williams was sacked seven times and rarely had a clean pocket from which to throw.
Life with a rookie quarterback can be hard in the NFL, but the Bears’ mental errors, shoddy execution, and inability to protect Williams made it much more difficult Sunday night.
Surgical Stroud
Since the Bears’ defense started its rise during the back half of last season, they have feasted mainly on bad quarterbacks. That trend continued with their Week 1 date with Will Levis.
But Stroud and the Texans are a different animal.
The Texans’ offense has all the necessary weapons, and Stroud was in complete control to start Sunday’s game.
The second-year signal-caller started the game 11-for-14 for 132 yards and a touchdown pass to Nico Collins. The Texans scored on each of their first three possessions but only found the end zone once, which allowed the Bears to hang around and enter halftime only down 16-10.
Tough moments for Tyrique
Cornerback Tyrique Stevenson was one of the heroes in the Bears’ Week 1 win over the Titans, earning NFC Defensive Player of the Week honors.
Sunday night in Houston was a different story for the second-year defensive back.
Stroud and Collins went at Stevenson whenever they could. Stroud’s 28-yard touchdown pass to Collins was due to a blown coverage assignment by Stevenson.
Stevenson is boom-bust corner. He’s going to make big plays but he also takes a lot of chances and will get burnt. Sunday was more of the latter, with no game-changing play to offset it.
Run game is MIA
After averaging just 3.8 yards per carry against the Titans, the Bears spent the week harping on the need to find an efficient and clean running game.
If they found one during the week of practice, it didn’t make the trip to Houston.
In the first half, the Bears rushed for just 18 yards on 11 carries (1.6 yards per carry). Williams led the Bears with 9 yards on two carries, while D’Andre Swift had 6 yards on seven rushes.
The Bears’ offensive line was once again bullied at the point of attack on the interior and the edges, as they could not move the ball on the ground in the first half.
The Bears finished the game with 22 carries for 71 yards, but Williams led the team with 44 yards on five carries. Chicago abandoned the interior run game in the second half but that’s not a sustainable plan of attack going forward. The Bears have to find a fix for this leaky offensive line quickly, or else Williams’ rookie year will be even rockier than expected.
Defense does its job
Stroud got off to a hot start, but the Bears’ defense made the necessary adjustments at halftime and kept the Texans’ high-powered offense parked for most of the second half.
The Bears’ defense finished with three sacks, four quarterback hits, six tackles for loss, and forced a fumble as the Texans were going in for the kill shot in the fourth quarter.
Head coach Matt Eberflus’ defense did everything possible to carry Williams and give the Bears a chance to win the game. But the game-changing plays that allowed them to steal the game against the Titans didn’t arrive this time.
With an offense that was sputtering once again, the defense did its job for most of the night and gave them a chance to win the game.
The Bears’ defense held the Texans’ offense in check throughout the second half and even gave Williams the ball back with 1:37 remaining to drive for the win.
This was a defensive performance that signaled the Bears’ unit is ready to go to the top and can frustrate and fluster the best offenses in the NFL.
They just need the offense to come along and help.