The Chicago Bears lost 19-13 on the road against the Houston Texans during Sunday Night Football on September 15th. Fans of the team are quick to recognize the same usual problems holding their favorite team back: the offense.
For starters, seven of the nine penalties called on the Bears last week were committed by the team’s offense. Five of those seven were called before a play even started, with many players being called for false starts. A particular stand out, right guard, Nate Davis, was called for this twice. Some penalties are inevitable, but they also hold a team back. The Texans had 12 penalties called against them for 115 yards, suggesting that this game could have gotten even further out of hand for the Bears if the Texans were playing better football.
Rookie Quarterback Caleb Williams bears (no pun intended) some of the responsibility for the loss as well. In the second half, Williams threw two picks on back-to-back possessions. On the final drive, Williams threw an airball toss to nobody, missing wide receiver Rome Odunze, who was actually five yards down the field running a different route than Williams thought, costing the Bears their last chance.
Many Bears fans are quick to blame Williams entirely for the failure of the game– we have a reputation for blaming our quarterbacks, right? But, remember who is supposed to protect him. Williams was sacked seven times by the Texans defense. That’s the most sacks of any defense in the first two weeks of the NFL season. If Williams is getting sacked by the Texans defense seven times a game, how do you expect the ball to move? Williams was also forced to run the ball himself, rushing 44 yards, compared to newly acquired running back D’Andre Swift, who had only 18 rushing yards on 14 attempts during the game.
Finally, let’s be reminded one final time that Williams was only lucky enough to get the starting quarterback position after the Bears let go of Justin Fields, who played three seasons with them. The same Justin Fields who has now led the Pittsburgh Steelers to a 2-0 after an injury prevented Russell Wilson from filling the spot. Funny how that works.
Despite the trade, Fields is still very much connected to the Bears. When speaking on Williams’s tough position with the team, he told Fox News Digital, “I think he’s going to be fine.”
Bears fans will know in time whether their offense can make sure he will “be fine”, but for the time being, they have some major work to do.