Thoughts And Observations From The Bears’ Ugly Win Over The Texans

I was at a wedding in Toronto this weekend, so I missed the game live.  When I finally sat down to watch and analyze the Texans-Bears barn-burner, I did so with some predisposed context of their performance.

Whew, there is a LOT to unpack from that game, which was as big an homage to Lovie as I've ever seen.

I'll post some thoughts later this afternoon.

— Dhruv Koul (@DhruvKoul) September 26, 2022

In the end, the Bears did find a way to protect Soldier Field from Lovie Smith’s Texans and get to 2-1.  That’s good.

But the fact that they needed a (literal) last-minute interception from Roquan Smith and walkoff field goal in a game in which they rushed for 281 yards?  That implies that a lot of things went wrong.

I shared my thoughts and observations from the game below.  Follow me on Twitter @DhruvKoul to continue the conversation.

Thoughts and Observations

• I’m going to start off with a positive, because we know what’s coming.  But the running game really is phenomenal.  It really doesn’t matter who is taking handoffs for Chicago — the ground game is churning yards and really keeping this team in games.  David Montgomery’s injury is unfortunate, given it’s a contract year for him.  But every time Khalil Herbert has needed to step in in relief, he has dominated with his vision and elusiveness.  He’s a natural fit for what Luke Getsy wants to do with his wide-zone running game.  And the offensive line?  Dominant when run-blocking.  Truly fantastic.
• You’d think the running game success would open things up in the passing game, but Justin Fields is so bad right now that it doesn’t matter.  The boots aren’t working because teams know to dedicate a blitzer to run directly at Fields, and he hasn’t shown the propensity to process absolutely anything after the snap.  He looked successful in the preseason because coverages were vanilla; but now that teams are actually game planning and throwing exotic looks at him, he’s a deer in headlights.  What’s most concerning is Fields hasn’t just regressed, he doesn’t even look like an NFL-worthy passer right now.  Everything is difficult.  It’s moving too fast for him.  And there doesn’t seem to be an end in sight.
• And before Bears fans start to blame his surroundings?  The offensive line has been more than adequate in pass blocking.  Pockets are there, and Fields is killing them by holding the ball way too long.  WRs are open!  The scheme is working.  The “Fields has no one to throw to” argument holds no weight, because he is actively NOT throwing the ball to open receivers.  You can be as optimistic as you want and have all the belief in the world in Fields.  That’s your prerogative, absolutely.  But the progress needs to be evident, and right now, there are zero positives.  Zero.
• Luke Getsy called a smart game on Sunday.  People are mad that he ran the ball on several third downs — honestly, how can you blame him?  The running game worked all afternoon.  The passing game has worked for one half this entire season.  It’s not rocket science.  Fans are saying they’d rather throw the ball with Fields in each critical scenario to “evaluate what you have.”  I get the sentiment, but this regime has to evaluate an entire roster — many of which they hope are contributors long term.  They cannot, in good conscience, throw away downs with Fields looking horrendous.  It’s not fair to the rest of the team, and it is not smart coaching.  In fact, I think their situational play-calling tells us exactly how they feel about Fields right now.
• Roquan Smith played like a star wanting a new contract.  He had 16 total tackles, played downhill, and tackled well.  It was fun to watch him play with instincts and his high motor, despite missing practice all week.  His interception with just over a minute to go set up the game-winning field goal.  Clutch play from one of the Bears’ best defenders.  A very nice rebound performance from his rough performance in Green Bay.
• How about some love for Kindle Vildor?  Usually an easy target, I was concerned what might happen with Jaylon Johnson sitting out with a quad injury.  And while he was beaten early in the game, he made a couple of very nice PBUs, including tipping a ball near the goal line that Eddie Jackson intercepted.  That came just after Fields had thrown his first (awful) interception on the afternoon, and it briefly preserved a 10-7 lead.  Vildor won’t ever be a great player, but if Johnson has to miss more time in the coming weeks with his injury, he at least showed he can hold his own a little bit.
• Jaquan Brisker and Eddie Jackson are a great safety tandem.  I’m excited to watch them grow this season.
• Cairo Santos came up huge with three big field goals, including the game winner as time expired.  His best kick might’ve been his 50-yarder before halftime after Fields took a big sack on third down.  That kick made it 14-13 Texans.  After a rough opener at home where Santos missed two extra points in a monsoon, it was good to see him get back on track.  The new Bermuda grass at Soldier Field didn’t hinder him yesterday.
• I hated Matt Eberflus’ approach just before halftime.  After the Bears got the first down up to their own 28-yard line, with three timeouts, they opted to just run a play (while substituting personnel), and Fields proceeded to get smacked.  After that, they ran down the rest of the half.  I understand conservative play-calling in that scenario.  But I don’t understand not calling timeout to sub personnel on first down.  They had three timeouts!  Why go into halftime with three timeouts?  Call one and run a play post-sub… if it works, great!  If it doesn’t, run out the half.  That was just poor management.
• The Bears’ DL didn’t do much in this game from a pass rush perspective.  But credit to Justin Jones for a timely sack just after Fields’ egregious second interception in a tie game.  That knocked out any real shot for Houston to take the lead.  Timely.  The Bears will take it.
  • Related, I don’t understand AQ Muhammad getting more snaps than Trevis Gipson.  Muhammad has been very disappointing so far this year.  Gipson has made the most of his chances.  I’d like to see him play more.
• The fumbles are a problem.  Lucas Patrick can’t move back to center and start snapping fast enough.  Keep Teven Jenkins at RG already.
• Cole Kmet should’ve had 100 yards receiving.  He made two catches for 40 yards and was open a lot more for what could’ve been a ton of “unthrown” yards.  Again, goes back to the QB needing to play better.
• Here’s the reality — the Bears are 2-1 after three games.  If you told me before the season they’d be 2-1 after three games, I’d have counted that as a win.  The Bears have bought themselves some time to fix their passing game with a “house money” win in hand.  Their next few weeks are not particularly difficult (in theory).  If they can get their passing game going to match their running game, they’re going to be tough to beat.  Right now, the biggest problem holding this team back is the QB.  The Bears need him to improve.  FAST.
• The Bears travel to East Rutherford next to take on the 2-0 New York Giants (pending the MNF result) at MetLife Stadium.  I expect a similarly ugly game on Sunday, and you can bet Wink Martindale is licking his chops at the opportunity to confuse the hell out of Fields.  In the end, it’s about which QB makes the fewest mistakes…Early prediction: Giants 20, Bears 12