Texans vs. Bears score, takeaways: C.J. Stroud outlasts Caleb Williams, struggling Chicago offense

Two young quarterbacks battled in prime time

The Houston Texans moved to 2-0 on Sunday night, defeating Caleb Williams and the Chicago Bears, 19-13. While Chicago never led in this game, the Bears kept things close thanks to an impressive defensive effort that attempted to support a sputtering offense. 

Williams and the Bears had a shot to win the game, down six points with 1:37 remaining in the fourth quarter, but the offense turned the ball over on downs at its own 40-yard line. 

We saw more from Williams as a passer in his second NFL start, although that did also mean completing a couple of passes to the wrong team. The No. 1 overall pick completed 23 of 37 passes for 174 yards and two interceptions, and also led Chicago in rushing with 44 yards on five rushes. Khalil Herbert scored the Bears' first offensive touchdown of the season in the second quarter with a 2-yard rush. 

As for the Texans, it wasn't the most polished performance, but 2-0 is 2-0. C.J. Stroud completed 23 of 36 passes for 260 yards and one touchdown, while Nico Collins starred with 135 receiving yards and a touchdown on eight receptions. Houston's rushing offense struggled, as Joe Mixon briefly left the contest with an ankle injury after being taken down by a no-call hip-drop tackle. Ka'imi Fairbairn played a critical role in the victory, going a perfect 4 of 4 on field goals with a long of 59 yards.

Let's take a look at what transpired in Houston on Sunday night. 

Why the Texans won

Credit should be given to the Texans defense for its valiant effort, but we knew the unit had the upper hand entering this contest. Stroud's ability as a playmaker on Sunday night landed Houston in the win column. In a game where the Texans' running backs rushed for just 60 yards, more pressure was put on the young quarterback to come through. Especially when you consider the fact that the Bears' defensive front was very active in applying pressure.

It wasn't perfect. Stroud was sacked three times. But there were multiple instances where the reigning Offensive Rookie of the Year got outside the pocket and delivered downfield. It's one of the reasons he's viewed as one of the most special young players in the game.

Why the Bears lost

Last week's incredible comeback victory over the Tennessee Titans allowed all of us to push off a narrative we knew we would have to address soon. This Bears offense is not good -- at least not right now. Yes, they are working in a rookie quarterback with a new offensive coordinator utilizing some new weapons, some of which are already injured. But the bottom line is Chicago has recorded 353 yards of total offense in eight quarters. 

Play-calling for a rookie quarterback is always tough, but Shane Waldron is going to be a topic of conversation this week. What exactly is the identity of this offense? Is the offensive line going to be a major issue? There really was no answer for the blitz, and I'm not going to chalk all of that up to Keenan Allen being inactive.

Turning point

Despite how the game had gone, the Bears did have a chance to put together a game-winning drive late in the fourth quarter. Williams hit Rome Odunze for a gain of 27 yards to get to the Chicago 47-yard line, but then Gerald Everett dropped a pass, and Williams was sacked for a loss of 8 yards by free agent addition Danielle Hunter. 

Now behind the sticks by 18 yards, it was too much for Williams and Co. to overcome. 

Play of the game

Collins has established himself as one of the best receivers in the NFL. In an offense that features Stefon Diggs and Tank Dell, Collins is Stroud's No. 1 pass-catcher. Right before halftime, he made a tremendous one-handed reception that was barely a catch.

As you can see, Collins secured the ball with his left hand while his left foot was on the field, and then he got his right foot inbounds. A pretty fantastic reception. 

This 16-yard gain helped the Texans get in position for a 59-yard field goal before halftime. 

What's next

The Bears have another road game next week, as they will travel to Indianapolis to play Anthony Richardson and the 0-2 Colts on Sunday. As for the Texans, they will hit the road and take on the 2-0 Minnesota Vikings. 

[Sep 15, 2024 at 11:47 pm ET · Jared Dubin]

Chicago's last-ditch drive falls short

The Bears got off to a good start to their potential game-winning drive with a nice pass to Rome Odunze... and then Houston's defensive line took over, and dominated the next series just like it had most of the game. Caleb Williams was sacked and then heavily pressured, and then his fourth-down throw intended for Odunze was well behind the receiver. Texans win, 19-13, and improve to 2-0, while the Bears drop to 1-1.

[Sep 15, 2024 at 11:37 pm ET · Jared Dubin]

One possession to decide it

After Cairo Santos knocked a 54-yard field goal through the uprights, the Bears are somehow back within one score. The Texans will get the ball back and have a chance to ice the game with a first down or two. The Bears came up with a big red-zone stop the last time Houston had the ball, and will need to force a punt to give Williams and Co. a chance to complete the comeback here.

[Sep 15, 2024 at 11:26 pm ET · Jared Dubin]

Big swing for the Bears defense

With Joe Mixon sidelined even after returning from his ankle injury, Cam Akers put the ball on the ground in the red zone. He appeared to just run into a Bears defensive linemen's facemask and lose the ball, and Kevin Byard jumped on it to give Chicago the turnover it needed to try to get back into the game.

[Sep 15, 2024 at 11:19 pm ET · Jared Dubin]

Texans defensive line dominating

Houston is just not allowing the Bears to do anything at the line of scrimmage. D'Andre Swift is averaging negative yards before contact per carry. Williams has been sacked five times and under pressure constantly. Will Anderson, Danielle Hunter, Mario Edwards, Foli Fotukasi and more are just having their way up front.

[Sep 15, 2024 at 11:12 pm ET · Jared Dubin]

Caleb picked again

It was quite a roller-coaster of a second-down play for Caleb Williams. He pulled a rabbit out of his hat to escape from what looked like a sure-fire sack for Danielle Hunter, and it looked like he might be able to make a play down the field... but that play was a throw into triple-coverage, and Kamari Lassiter came away with the interception. Williams is now 19 of 26 for 122 yards and two picks, with four sacks as well.

[Sep 15, 2024 at 11:07 pm ET · Jared Dubin]

Ka'imi Fairbairn is automatic

Fairbairn just drilled another 50-plus-yard field goal. He is now 7 of 7 overall and 6 of 6 from 50-plus so far this season. 

[Sep 15, 2024 at 11:00 pm ET · Jared Dubin]

Caleb puts one up for grabs, gets grabbed

That's the second time Williams floated a ball up the left sideline and got intercepted. The first time, the pick by Kamari Lassiter was negated by a penalty. This time, Derek Stingley Jr.'s interception will hold up. He made a really nice play on the ball and came down with it over D.J. Moore.

[Sep 15, 2024 at 10:50 pm ET · Jared Dubin]

This is going to be a tough review for Kyler Gordon's potential interception. I don't expect it to be overturned because it wasn't initially called a pick. If it was initially called a pick, I wouldn't expect it to be overturned in the opposite direction, either.

[Sep 15, 2024 at 10:43 pm ET · Jared Dubin]

Sideline scuffle!

Azeez Al-Shaair laid a big hit on Caleb Williams along the sideline, and a fracas ensued. It looked like the hit was clean: inbounds, shoulder to shoulder. But the Bears offensive line unsurprisingly took exception, and there was a whole lot of shoving for a few minutes. Al-Shaair also seemingly got away with punching Bears running back Roschon Johnson in the face. He probably should have been ejected.

[Sep 15, 2024 at 10:25 pm ET · Jared Dubin]

Mixon limps off

Joe Mixon got rolled up on what sure looked like a hip-drop tackle by T.J. Edwards. I'd suspect Edwards will be receiving a fine notice from the NFL next week. Mixon had a huge opening game for the Texans but has been less effective tonight. Houston has Cam Akers and Dare Ogunbowale, along with Dameon Pierce, behind Mixon.

[Sep 15, 2024 at 10:12 pm ET · Jared Dubin]

Caleb misses an opportunity

Williams had DeAndre Carter (who surprisingly leads the Bears in targets) open for what would have been a big gain but he sailed the throw. He did a good job to step up and through the pocket before pressure collapsed on him and found the correct man, but he put too much on the ball and overshot his intended target. The Texans now have a chance to extend their lead.

[Sep 15, 2024 at 9:57 pm ET · Jared Dubin]

16-10 Texans at the break

Houston capped the half with a quick-work field goal drive, punctuated by Ka'imi Fairbairn knocking one through the uprights from 59 yards out. At halftime, C.J. Stroud is 14-19 for 173 yards and a touchdown to Nico Collins. Caleb Williams is 12-15 for 91 yards. Neither run game has gotten going, with the Texans having four tackles for loss and the Bears notching two. Joe Mixon and D'Andre Swift have combined for 25 yards on 13 carries. Tank Dell (2 carries for 21 yards) has out-rushed every other player in this game.

[Sep 15, 2024 at 9:50 pm ET · Jared Dubin]

Nico Collins does it AGAIN

There's honestly not much to say about this. The hand strength. The footwork. Good lord, what a ridiculous grab. 

[Sep 15, 2024 at 9:43 pm ET · Jared Dubin]

Huge drive for the Bears

Chicago capitalized on good field position after a poor punt by the Texans, and got into the end zone with Khalil Herbert scoring from 2 yards out. Caleb Williams got them into scoring position with a well-placed throw that drew a pass interference penalty and then a scramble to get to the goal line. He almost completed a touch pass to Rome Odunze for the score on second down, but instead it was Herbert taking it in. Chicago will get the ball first to start the second half, likely with a chance to tie or take the lead. 

[Sep 15, 2024 at 9:32 pm ET · Jared Dubin]

Bears run game struggles

Chicago struggled to run the ball last week against the Titans, and that has continued so far tonight against Houston. D'Andre Swift and Khalil Herbert have combined for 7 yards on 8 carries. Tennessee has one of the NFL's best run defenses and Houston also limited Jonathan Taylor a week ago, but it has been a disappointing start for this aspect of the offense.

[Sep 15, 2024 at 9:20 pm ET · Jared Dubin]

Texans kick, Bears convert

We had fourth-and-inches decisions on back to back series from each team, and they made opposite decisions. Despite moving the ball well offensively, the Texans sent the field-goal unit onto the field for a 47-yarder to make it 13-3, The Bears have not moved the ball all that well but nonetheless went for it in their own territory and (just barely) earned themselves a new set of downs.

[Sep 15, 2024 at 9:09 pm ET · Jared Dubin]

C.J. Stroud is an absolute baller

This is outrageous stuff from one of the best QBs in the league. Stroud is under heavy pressure right away. He makes a man miss and escapes to his right, out-running the pass rusher to the corner. And he just unleashes a frozen rope down the field and hits Collins right in the chest. Sheesh.

[Sep 15, 2024 at 9:05 pm ET · Jared Dubin]

Bad challenge

This is very obviously a -- really good -- catch by Stefon Diggs. Looks like the Texans rope-a-doped the Bears into wasting a challenge and a timeout.

[Sep 15, 2024 at 8:56 pm ET · Jared Dubin]

Nico Collins with the GROWN-MAN touchdown

Nico Collins is a big dude at 6-4, 222 pounds. He put that size to good use on his touchdown catch over the middle. He leaped and extended his arms to haul in the pass, then ran through a pair of tackles near the goal line to punch it in for six points. He turned a second-and-24 into a score. (The Texans were backed up in the first place because of a personal-foul penalty on Collins himself, but he obviously made up for it.)

[Sep 15, 2024 at 8:50 pm ET · Jared Dubin]

Fourth-down conversion

The Texans were pretty conservative on fourth downs last season, only going for it only 15.7% of the time -- ninth-lowest in the league, via Tru Media. But the went for it on fourth-and-1 early on here, and picked it up with a play-action pass to rookie Cade Stover in the flat. It's already their third fourth-down conversion of the season.

[Sep 15, 2024 at 8:41 pm ET · Jared Dubin]

Texans edge rushers make their presence felt

On Chicago's second play from scrimmage, Danielle Hunter grabbed D'Andre Swift in the backfield for a four-yard loss. On the Bears' final play of the drive, Will Anderson brought Caleb Williams to the ground for a sack, forcing a Cairo Santos field-goal attempt. Each team picked up three points on its opening drive and we are tied 3-3.

[Sep 15, 2024 at 8:36 pm ET · Jared Dubin]

Caleb Williams picks up the conversion

Williams struggled badly as a passer in his NFL debut but he started this one quite well. That third-down throw to DeAndre Carter for a first down was a thing of beauty. Being able to hit a deep out to the wide side of the field is incredibly important for a quarterback and Williams did it with relative ease.

[Sep 15, 2024 at 8:27 pm ET · Jared Dubin]

Texans get creative early

Houston is utilizing a bunch of different personnel and formations early on. On the first snap, the Texans lined up rookie tight end Cade Stover as a fullback. On third down, they moved Stefon Diggs into the backfield and Joe Mixon into the slot. On their fourth snap, it was Mixon outside and Nico Collins motioning into the backfield. OC Bobby Slowik is considered a rising star and he is already getting into his bag tonight.

[Sep 15, 2024 at 8:14 pm ET · Jared Dubin]

Matchups to watch

All eyes will be on C.J. Stroud and Caleb Williams tonight, but of course, they won't actually be on the field at the same time. Let's talk about a few of the matchups that will decide the game:

• Nico Collins vs. Jaylon Johnson: Chicago's No. 1 corner should see a whole lot of Houston's No. 1 wideout. 
• Stefon Diggs and Tank Dell vs. Tyrique Stevenson and Kyler Gordon: Chicago's secondary is one of the NFL's best but will have its hands full tonight.
• Texans offensive line vs. Montez Sweat: Can Houston keep one of the league's top pass rushers away from its quarterback?
• D.J. Moore vs. Derek Stingley: We have another big receiver vs. corner matchup on the opposite side of the ball.
• Joe Mixon and D'Andre Swift vs. the opposing defensive lines: Houston ran the ball with a ton of success last week but Chicago did not. Will the same happen this week?