The Chicago Bears showed promise early on against a formidable Houston Texans team in their 2016 season opener. But it became painful to watch as the Bears’ offense sputtered in the second half. Though the Bears walked away with a loss, there was good mixed with the bad. Below are three takeaways from the game.
1. The Bears Lost in the Trenches
Though the Bears led after the end of each the first, second, and third quarters, it became apparent in the second half that the Texans’ defense overpowered the Bear’s offense, and the Bears’ defense couldn’t generate enough pressure on QB Brock Osweiler.
a. Bears’ Offensive Line Performance
The Texans’ front 7 was just too much for the Bears’ revamped O-line. As the game wore on, the Cutler sack-total simply added up. The Bears’ OL gave up five sacks throughout the game, including three in the 4th quarter on each of the Bears’ last three possessions. Four of the five sacks resulted in punts, and all five were from Cutler taking sacks from the shotgun position.
The Texans’ pressure on Cutler also resulted in a dismal third-down conversion rate—only 4 for 13. While the Bears converted on a 3rd down on their first-quarter touchdown drive, the Bears had considerable difficulty generating offensive momentum to convert on their other third-down attempts. For the three other 3rd-down conversions, each of those drives ended in a sack that forced a punt or a turnover on downs.
The upside is that the Bears O-line will likely get better as the season wears on. One, this unit with LG Josh Sitton practiced together for just four days before the game. Though rookie Center Cody Whitehair needs to go through his own growing pains (he had a fumbled snap), him along with RG Kyle Long and LG Sitton could fortify the interior of the offensive line and make it a strength of the unit.
Two, the Texans’ front 7 might be one of the better defensive fronts the Bears will face this year. The Texans were able to disguise their blitzes and overpower the Bears with their combination of DE J.J. Watt, OLB Whitney Mercilus, and OLB Jadeveon Clowney. They were a formidable challenge for this newly-formed O-line unit. We’ll need to see how OL Coach Dave Magazu can get this unit to gel throughout the year. Needless to say, if the OL doesn’t hold up, this will be a long, painful year.
b. Bears’ Defensive Front Performance
On the other side, while the Bears front 7 generated two sacks (one by ILB Danny Trevathan in the second quarter and one split between DL Eddie Goldman and OLB Leonard Floyd in the third quarter), QB Osweiler seemed to have all day in the pocket. The Texans had plenty of time to develop their plays and let their speedy receivers exploit mismatches in the secondary. The Bears’ front 7 simply didn’t do enough to generate pressure on QB Osweiler.
Generating pressure on the opposing quarterback and protecting your own can’t be overstated. If the Bears are going to having a winning season, we’ll need to see improvement in both categories.
2. Adjusting to the Texans’ Running Game
On a more positive note, the Bears front 7 did a respectable job adjusting to the Texans’ running attack. The Texans started out strong with an average of 7.4 yards/attempt running the ball on 9 attempts in the 1st quarter, and 4 yards/attempt running the ball on 9 attempts in the second quarter.
The Bears made a noticeable adjustment in the second half. In the third quarter, the Bears emphasized stopping the run by allowing positive yardage on just 3 of the 6 Texans’ running attempts, limiting them to just 0.67 yards / attempt. In the fourth quarter, the Bears limited the Texans’ running game to 2.7 yards / attempt on 10 attempts.
While the Bears’ front 7 lost the passing game battle, they did a good job adjusting to the Texans running attack.
3. Promise of Improvement in First-and-Goal Red-Zone Situations
Converting touchdowns in the red zone will be critical this season (see analysis here). While we only have one data point for a short-yardage red-zone situation so far this season, the Bears showed promise on their first drive of the game.
On a first and goal on the Texans’ 5-yard line, the offensive line created a large hole for Langford, allowing him to gain four yards. And on the second rushing attempt in the series, the Bears O-line was able to get under and gain leverage over the Texans’ defensive line, allowing Langford to push in for a 1-yard touchdown.
The Bears’ offensive line controlled the Texans’ defensive front on this series.
All in all, the Bears showed improvement in short-yardage red-zone situations and did a good job adjusting to the Texans’ running attack in the second half. But at the end of the day, the OL will need to protect Cutler better and the DL will need to create quarterback pressure.