1. The Houston Texans are Super Bowl contenders
The reality is that the Texans looked like they were in a slightly higher class than the Bears. That may be true. The Texans are legitimate Super Bowl contenders. They won a playoff game last year, they made big offseason moves and with a 2-0 start, they look locked into the playoff race. There are real questions about this team beating the Kansas City Chiefs to represent the AFC.
So, the Bears lost to this team on the road during a primetime game. The crowd was buzzing and the players were fired up to win in front of the home crowd. That is as tough of an environment to win, and you could bet the Texans will not lose many home primetime games throughout the rest of Stroud's career.
They kept it close and had a chance to win late. That should be the takeaway, for as ugly as it was, they were still in it. That may be the theme of this season. It will not be pretty at times, but expect the Bears to be in it. They can compete with teams like Houston so you know that they can compete with any team.