HOUSTON — The Bears looked only half-ready for the start of this season, and that’s quite a letdown for a team that has been down that road.
Their defense has been as advertised, but everything about their offense seems like it needs more time in the lab. That’s rarely going to be enough to beat a good team like the Texans, who toppled them 19-13 on Sunday at NRG Stadium.
Rookie quarterback Caleb Williams was modestly more precise than in his debut — How could he not be? — but nowhere near what he’d need to be to navigate the offense’s many issues and match Texans star C.J. Stroud.
The defense actually contained Stroud in the second half, though only after he lit them up in the first, and did its job in holding the Texans to 19 points. That’s key to the team’s formula for Williams: Give him a low bar to clear points-wise and avoid making him spend all game chasing.
But the rest of the equation is supposed to be an adequate offensive line and cohesive offensive scheme. Neither was there for him Sunday, and the offense managed only 205 yards.
“You have to play well around a rookie quarterback,” coach Matt Eberflus said.
Williams scrambled constantly and led the Bears in rushing yards with 44 on five carries. They got virtually nothing from the rest of their ground game, with running back D’Andre Swift producing 18 yards on 14 carries.
No one had anywhere to go behind their offensive line as it faltered repeatedly against the Texans.
One of the most encouraging aspects about Williams has been his willingness to hang in the pocket and even step up to dodge pressure while keeping his eyes downfield, but that was impossible when the Texans seemed to be breaking through at all points. He was sacked seven times.
The reality for the Bears is that they looked similar to what they were in their opener: a team that needed a lot of magic to win. They got a ton of it and slipped past the Titans, but they didn’t get any in Houston against a tougher opponent.
Rebuilds are arduous and competitive. Not only does general manager Ryan Poles need to solve every problem in his own building, but he has to do it better and quicker than his competitors — including the Texans.
The Texans were as bad as the Bears in 2022, when their last-minute win in the final game of the season handed the Bears the No. 1 draft pick at 3-14 while the Texans “improved” to 3-13-1 and landed the second pick. One of the Bears’ three wins that season was a squeaker over them.
It worked out well for both sides. The Bears flipped that selection for a haul and wound up with the No. 1 pick when Williams turned pro, and the Texans took Stroud and developed him into a star.
Stroud delivered one of the best rookie seasons ever and powered the Texans to a playoff win, and now they’re looking to leap again into contender status. The Bears are one step behind as they try to establish their legitimacy after years of meandering, and it was clear where they stood Sunday.
They hung around, but never got momentum. There were nice gains here and there, but nothing sustained.
The Texans went into halftime ahead 16-10, then the Bears went scoreless on four possessions in the third quarter and wasted their chance to take the lead. In the fourth, three of their four possessions lasted five plays or fewer.
Williams completed 23 of 37 passes for 174 yards with two interceptions on consecutive drives in the second half. While he nearly doubled his Week 1 passing total, his 51.0 passer rating was a shade below what he did in the opener (55.7). He is still searching for his first touchdown pass.
He sat somberly in front of his locker after the game, staring into space as he sorted through it.
“Just taking in the moment and trying to figure out what I need to get better at,” he said. “What areas was I off and what areas were we off to have the outcome we had? It’s not winning the day. That was going through my mind right after the game.
“We’re exciting about this week coming up, but obviously we’re feeling it — it sucks to lose, simple as that.”
Patience is limited, but two starts isn’t nearly enough to form a sensible opinion on where he’s headed. And the worst part is that it’s difficult to assess his progress when so many things around him are failing.
It’s a given that there will be hits and misses in Williams’ rookie season, just like any other rookie quarterback. Stroud was incredible last season, but still had a passer rating below 89 in six of his first 10 games and went 10 of 23 for 91 in a late-season game amid a playoff race.
But any rockiness in Williams’ development is not a license for the Bears to underachieve. The playoffs are still a mandatory requirement for counting this season a success. Rebuilds can’t be endless, and a big price already has been paid during this one with the rudderless 2022 season and the various misadventures of 2023.
The early trip to Houston loomed as one of the Bears’ toughest games, and the difficulty tapers off from here until they host the Packers in mid-November. Of their next seven opponents, only the Rams and Jaguars finished .500 or better last season and they’re both 0-2 at the moment.
This is the time for the Bears to make headway on their two major missions. The upcoming lull is their window for Williams to progress and for them to rack up wins even if his improvement is choppy at times.