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Chicago Tribune
Week 2 recap: Caleb Williams is sacked 7 times and throws 2 INTs as Chicago Bears lose 19-13 to Houston Texans
By Colleen Kane, Chicago Tribune,
2 days ago
Bears wide receiver Rome Odunze misses a touchdown catch during the second quarter against the Texans at NRG Stadium Sunday Sept. 15, 2024, in Houston. Armando L. Sanchez/Chicago Tribune/TNS
HOUSTON — The Chicago Bears offense and quarterback Caleb Williams came up short on a national stage Sunday night at NRG Stadium in a 19-13 Houston Texans victory.
In a sloppy game that included 21 penalties between the teams, the Bears got in the end zone just once — their only offensive touchdown of the first two weeks.
The Bears had the ball and a chance to win with 1 minute, 37 seconds to play. Williams hit Rome Odunze with a 27-yard pass to get to the Bears 47-yard line. But Williams threw incomplete, was sacked for a loss of 8 yards, rushed for 1 yard and threw incomplete again on fourth down.
Williams completed 23 of 37 passes for 174 yards with no touchdowns and two interceptions and was sacked seven times. The Bears totaled 71 rushing yards, with Khalil Herbert scoring the only touchdown on a 2-yard run shortly before halftime.
The Bears had a chance to pull within a field goal late in the fourth quarter. Defensive lineman Mario Edwards Jr. was called for roughing the passer to give the Bears first down at the Texans 42-yard line.
But Williams was sacked, Travis Homer ran for 6 yards and Williams threw incomplete on third down. The Bears settled for Cairo Santos’ 54-yard field goal to cut it to 19-13.
The defense got a stop on the Texans’ next drive. But the offense couldn’t come through on the final drive.
Williams committed his first turnover of the season late in the third quarter when cornerback Derek Stingley Jr. intercepted a pas intended for DJ Moore. The Texans capitalized with Ka’imi Fairbairn’s 53-yard field goal. Fairbairn made four field goals, including three from more than 50 yards.
Williams threw another interception early in the fourth quarter when he was trying to escape a sack attempt by Danielle Hunter, who tore Williams’ jersey. Williams threw a pass into heavy traffic, and Kamari Lassiter picked it off.
Texans quarterback C.J. Stroud completed 23 of 36 passes for 260 yards and a touchdown.
After a big showing in Week 1, the Bears didn’t nab a takeaway until defensive tackle Andrew Billings forced Cam Akers to fumble and safety Kevin Byard recovered at the Bears 3-yard line with 6:38 to play. That takeaway led to Santos’ final field goal.
Bears nickel Kyler Gordon nearly had an interception late in the third quarter, but the ball hit the ground. Coach Matt Eberflus challenged that it was in fact an interception, but the call on the field of an incomplete pass stood. It was the Bears’ second unsuccessful challenge of the game.
Texans running back Joe Mixon left in the third quarter with an ankle injury but returned early in the fourth.
One injured Bears wide receiver is in Sunday against the Texans and one is out.
Veteran Keenan Allen is inactive as he deals with an ongoing heel injury that has limited him since training camp. Allen didn’t practice all week after trying to play through the injury in the season opener Sept. 8.
But rookie Rome Odunze will be active after spraining the MCL in his right knee in the opener. He returned to practice in a limited capacity Friday and said doctors told him he wasn’t risking more damage by playing.
The Bears also will have DJ Moore, DeAndre Carter, Tyler Scott and Collin Johnson as active wide receivers. Running back/wide receiver Velus Jones Jr. is a healthy scratch after fumbling a kickoff return in the opener.
The Bears previously declared out fullback Khari Blasingame, who has knee and hand injuries. Linebacker Noah Sewell, defensive end Dominique Robinson and offensive tackle Kiran Amegadjie are inactive.
The Bears placed guard/center Ryan Bates on injured reserve Saturday with shoulder and elbow injuries. He will miss at least four weeks.
Defensive end DeMarcus Walker, who was questionable with a foot injury, will play Sunday night.
For the Texans, wide receiver John Metchie III, safety M.J. Stewart, running back Dameon Pierce, linebackers Jamal Hill and Rashad Weaver and center/guard Juice Scruggs are inactive.
Halftime: Bears offense finally finds end zone
Running back Khalil Herbert scored on a 2-yard run in the final minute of the second quarter to give the Bears their first offensive touchdown of the season Sunday night against the Texans.
The Texans, however, followed with a final-minute drive for Ka’imi Fairbairn’s 59-yard field goal to take a 16-10 lead into halftime. Fairbairn made field goals of 56, 47 and 59 yards in the half.
On their final drive of the second quarter, the Bears took over at the Texans 49-yard line thanks to a 54-yard punt from Tory Taylor and a defensive stop, finished by Tremaine Edmunds’ sack of Texans quarterback C.J. Stroud.
The Bears had three third-down conversions on the touchdown drive. On third-and-3, quarterback Caleb Williams hit DJ Moore with a 16-yard pass to get to the Texans 26. The Bears faced third-and-14 later in the drive, and DeAndre Carter drew a 24-yard pass-interference penalty against Texans safety Calen Bullock.
That brought the Bears to the 6-yard line. After a Marcedes Lewis false start, Williams ran for 9 yards. His high pass to Rome Odunze from the 2 went through Odunze’s hands. But Herbert ran it in on third down for the touchdown.
After passing for just 93 yards in his NFL debut in Week 1, Williams completed 12 of 15 passes for 91 yards in the first half. The Bears ran for just 18 yards, averaging 1.6 per carry. Williams was sacked twice for a loss of 18 yards.
Stroud completed 14 of 19 passes for 173 yards and a touchdown.
After Fairbairn’s 56-yarder on the opening drive, Bears kicker Cairo Santos tied it at 3-3 with a 53-yard field goal that bounced off a camera on the end of the crossbar and through.
The Bears had made it to the Texans 24-yard line. Williams completed his first five passes, including a 14-yarder to Carter on third-and-12 and a 19-yarder to Moore on third-and-2.
But D’Andre Swift was stopped for a loss of 1 yard on second down. Defensive ends Danielle Hunter and Will Anderson Jr. then sacked Williams for a loss of 10.
Stroud’s 28-yard touchdown pass to Nico Collins gave the Texans a 10-3 lead to open the second quarter. After the previous play, Collins committed an unnecessary roughness penalty when he shoved cornerback Tyrique Stevenson, who had pointed a finger at Collins. That gave the Texans second-and-24, but Collins quickly made up for it with the score.
The Texans extended their lead to 13-3 on Fairbairn’s 47-yard field goal.
Catch up on the rest of our coverage.
5 things to watch — plus our Week 2 predictions
Football remains an 11-on-11 battle. But it feels like a pretty intriguing 3-on-3 clash will unfold between the Texans’ top three receivers — Nico Collins, Stefon Diggs and Tank Dell — and the Bears’ top three cornerbacks — Jaylon Johnson , Tyrique Stevenson and Kyler Gordon.
Stevenson was named NFC Defensive Player of the Week thanks to his 43-yard game-winning interception return for a touchdown in Week 1. But Johnson had a more impressive game, collecting an interception of his own while also recording two passes defensed and two tackles for a loss and playing a big role in limiting the Titans receiving trio of Calvin Ridley, DeAndre Hopkins and Tyler Boyd to a combined 76 receiving yards on seven catches. Read more here .
In many ways, when coach Matt Eberflus picked Waldron to replace Luke Getsy last winter, he staked the development of QB Caleb Williams – if not his own coaching future – on Waldron and his ability to orchestrate an offense to suit the 2022 Heisman Trophy winner.
It’s at once a pressurized situation and a potential dream opportunity for a coach. And one in which the noise is ramping up. Read more here .
Coming off a clunky performance in his NFL debut, Caleb Williams at least had football’s greatest pain reliever at his disposal: a victory. Despite totaling only 148 yards of offense and failing to score an offensive touchdown, the Bears somehow left Soldier Field with a win and welcomed the good vibes that came with it.
Next up is Sunday’s prime-time clash with the Texans, a test the Bears likely won’t pass if they don’t show marked offensive improvement. Williams will have to be sharper to enliven a passing attack that averaged a meager 2.1 yards per play in Week 1. Read more here .
Bears quarterback Caleb Williams celebrates while coming off the field after a victory over the Titans at Soldier Field on Sept. 8, 2024. (Chris Sweda/Chicago Tribune)
The much-hyped debut of No. 1 draft pick Caleb Williams will be remembered more for a defensive surge in the second half, a big pick-me-up from special teams and mistakes the rookie quarterback avoided as the Bears rallied from a 17-point deficit to win their opener for the first time since 2020 in Detroit.
The difference was that young Titans quarterback Will Levis, a second-round draft pick in 2023, made catastrophic mistakes in the second half. The Bears forced him into some of those miscues and then pounced, as the defense picked up an offense whose effort would not be good enough to beat many teams. Read Brad Biggs’ 10 thoughts .
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