Schrock’s Report Card: Grading Caleb Williams, Bears in loss vs. Texans originally appeared on NBC Sports Chicago
HOUSTON, Texas — Sunday night’s game in Houston felt like a blowout. Based on everything your eyes told you, star quarterback C.J. Stroud and the Texans should have rolled the Bears up and tossed them out with the trash outside NRG Stadium.
Rookie quarterback Caleb Williams and the Bears’ offense sputtered again. There was no run game, no vertical threat in the passing game, and the pass protection was dreadful. The Bears should have been blown out Sunday night.
But that wasn’t the case.
Instead, the Bears’ vaunted defense hung tough, flustered Stroud and gave Williams and the offense chance after chance to click and win the game.
But Williams couldn’t deliver, and the Bears fell to the Texans 19-13. It was a game that could have been a statement about what’s possible this season. It could have been a resounding road win over a legitimate Super Bowl that would have signaled the Bears’ contention window is open.
Instead, it was a reminder of how hard life can be with a rookie quarterback, especially when you can’t run the ball, can’t protect him, and can’t get out of your own way.
Here’s a report with high marks for one side of the ball and a lot of red ink for the other:
Passing offense
Williams started out clean. He went 5-for-5 for 55 yards on the Bears’ opening drive, showing improved accuracy and rhythm.
But things quickly devolved as Texans head coach DeMeco Ryans fired blitz after blitz at the Bears’ rookie quarterback.
Per Next Gen Stats, the Texans blitzed Williams on 41.7 percent of his dropbacks Sunday night. Williams went just 3-for-12 for 15 yards and an interception when blitzed.
On the night, Williams was sacked seven times, hit 11, and pressured 36 times. The Texans pressured Williams on 23 of 48 dropbacks.
“It’s nobody’s direct fault,” left tackle Braxton Jones said after the game about the Bears’ pass protection issues. “We all want to be better and that starts with everybody up front. That starts with me at left tackle. I got to be 10 times better.”
The Bears’ offense was the talk of the NFL offseason. This attack was supposed to take flight early with Williams, new weapons, and a new scheme. There were always going to be bumps, but it was not supposed to be the equivalent of a stuck zipper.
“We understood that this would be a process a little bit,” tight end Cole Kmet said. “We got a lot to work on. Reality of the NFL is kind of sitting in for us a little bit offensively. We got to regroup here.”
Williams finished the game 23-for-37 for 174 yards and two interceptions. Through two games, the Bears’ offense has scored just one touchdown and has been plagued by missed assignments, penalties, and mental errors.
CALEB WILLIAMS GRADE: D
OFFENSIVE LINE GRADE: F
TEAM GRADE: D
Run offense
The Bears’ offense struggled to run the ball for the second straight game.
Running back D’Andre Swift rushed 14 times for 18 yards while Khalil Herbert picked up 3 yards and a touchdown on two carries.
Williams was the Bears’ leading rusher on Sunday. The No. 1 overall pick rushed five times for 44 yards, including a 24-yard scramble.
As a team, the Bears rushed 22 times for 71 yards (3.2 yards per carry), with most of that coming from Williams.
The interior of the Bears’ offensive line continues to get pushed around, and the tackles were not much better Sunday against Danielle Hunter and Will Anderson Jr.
This offense will not get going if it can’t find a way to run the football efficiently and make defenses respect the threat of the ground game.
GRADE: F
Pass defense
Stroud came out on fire against the Bears’ defense. He and wide receiver Nico Collins found quick success against second-year cornerback Tyrique Stevenson as Houston jumped out to a 13-3 lead.
Stroud bent the Bears’ defense, but outside of a 28-yard touchdown pass to Collins, they didn’t break.
On Houston’s seven second-half drives before the game-ending kneel-down, the Bears forced five punts, recovered a fumble, and gave up a field goal.
They sacked Stroud three times, hit him four times, and kept Houston from delivering the kill shot.
The only thing they didn’t do was score themselves.
GRADE: B
Run defense
Last week, Texans running back Joe Mixon ran all over the Indianapolis Colts to the tune of 159 yards.
He did not find similar success against the Bears.
Chicago’s defense allowed Mixon to rush for 25 yards on nine carries and gave up just 75 yards on 22 carries (3.4 yards per carry) total.
The Bears’ defense shut down Houston’s ground game and, in doing so, gave Williams and the offense a chance to figure it out.
Can’t fault the effort and adjustments from the Bears’ defense.
GRADE: A
COACHING
It’s fair to criticize both of head coach Matt Eberflus’ challenges, especially the second one, which cost the Bears a precious timeout they could have used as Wiliams and the offense tried to drive to tie the game.
They were bad challenges, and that needs to get cleaned up.
But it’s offensive coordinator Shane Waldron who is now under the microscope after two straight offensive duds.
The Bears can’t run the ball and there is zero vertical passing game right now.
Per ESPN Stats and Info, Williams is 0-for-11 with two interceptions on throws that travel at least 15 yards downfield.
There are very few easy throws to get Williams into a rhythm, and the third-down and short-yardage plays lack creativity and seem to make life harder on Williams.
Waldron has a reputation of being a great play-caller who works to the strengths of his personnel.
We haven’t seen that yet.
EBERFLUS GRADE: C-
WALDRON GRADE: D-
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