4 Takeaways From Bears’ Loss to Texans: David Carr’s Comments Speak Volumes

Houston Texans, Chicago Bears

The Chicago Bears fell to 1-1 on the season with a 19-13 loss to the Houston Texans in Week 2.

The good vibes of their comeback victory were undone by all-too-familiar mistakes by the players and coaching staff on a game the Bears? defense kept them in until the disappointing end.

There is no shame in losing to a team like the Texans, a surprise playoff team in 2023 thanks to the immediate impact of quarterback CJ Stroud, the No. 2 overall pick in 2023. With Stroud as a measuring stick, the Bears did rookie No. 1 pick Caleb Williams very few favors.

Bears-Texans Takeaways: David Carr?s Comments Loom Large

1) David Carr Calls Out Bears OL, Coaching Staff

David Carr was the No. 1 overall pick of the 2002 NFL Draft. He was the first quarterback in Texans franchise history. Carr was also the victim of poor roster construction that led to his getting hit far too often, to the point his mechanics and confidence deteriorated.

Carr, now an analyst for NFL Network went on to have a 10-year NFL career, so there is a silver lining to his story. But he never fulfilled the potential he had coming out of college.

With that context, his assessment of the Bears? offensive line cannot be ignored.

Carr?s brother Darren, a high school coach in California, commented on X that the Bears ?should be fined? for fielding the offensive line group they did. David Carr responded, offering a potentially damning take about the current state of the Bears coaches and the offensive line.

?In this stadium as well, giving me flashbacks. I?d also add, his protection schemes are being exposed as well,? Carr posted on X on September 15. ?Bad combination.

?That?s on the coaching staff.?

The Texans sacked Williams seven times and recorded 11 official hits on the rookie QB. At least two of the sacks were on Williams for being oblivious to the free rusher, one coming from his front side. Williams took several particularly big hits in the game. He also threw interceptions on back-to-back drives and continued to miss on his deep ball.

He was 12-for-15 for 91 yards, 0 touchdowns, and 0 interceptions in the first half.? The Bears trailed 16-10 at the break. Williams went 11-for-22 for 83 yards and the pick, taking 5 sacks in the second half.

He has to be smarter with the ball, especially when the offense has to run through him as it did on Sunday night.

2) Bears OL Under The Microscope

The offensive line was egregiously bad versus the Texans. Whether that is because of personnel, scheme, or play-caller/calling ? or more likely, some combination of the three ? is unclear. Bears head coach Matt Eberflus made no bones about the team needing to be better with protection.

However, he was not ready to let the offensive line shoulder the blame.

?When you look at it, obviously, you have 7 sacks, the offensive line. Everybody?s gonna talk about those types of things,? Eberflus told reporters after the game. ?I believe that protection is everybody. Protection is the tight ends, it?s the runner, it?s the offensive line, it?s the quarterback, it?s everybody involved. So we gotta do a really good job with that, and taking a look at that.?

Carr was not alone, with former Bears right guard Kyle Long also taking a jab at the offensive line in response to NBC Sports’ Cris Collinsworth saying Chicago missed Keenan Allen (heel).

Former NFL offensive lineman George Foster and ex-defensive lineman Leger Douzable also weighed in.

?The sack that Caleb Williams survived at the end of the game was one of the cleanest shots on a quarterback I?ve seen in quite some time,? Long said in a subsequent post.

The Texans committed just five players to rush on the majority of his dropbacks. The Bears struggled to block consistently all night. Notably, the Bears placed offensive lineman Ryan Bates on injured reserve on Saturday. Bates was supposed to compete at center and right guard. Injuries have continually interrupted him.

The obvious implication is that starters Coleman Shelton and Nate Davis are in their current positions by default.

Eberflus said Davis had a good week of practice after suggesting there would be a competition at right guard. Bates had replaced Davis in Week 1.

Without a true competition, we will never know if the Bears truly entered the season with their best combination of five offensive linemen. The irony of it all is that the architect of this Bears team, general manager Ryan Poles, was an offensive lineman during his playing days. The Bears can turn to backups Matt Pryor or Kiran Amegadjie for a shakeup at guard.

Shelton must be better for the time being and tackles Braxton Jones and Darnell Wright must step up too.

3) Bears Running Game Has Been Nonexistent

The Bears led the league in rushing in 2022 and finished second in 2022. But they have posted rushing totals of 84 yards and 71 yards in 2024. Their running backs have tallied 55 yards and 27 yards.

Eberflus acknowledged they need the get the ground attack going.? It is also impossible to separate the running game from the offensive line and playcalling (more on that in a bit). But the Bears have thrived on a north-south approach in recent years.

They were also able to lean on Justin Fields? prolific running ability.

Williams is a capable runner, but he requires more of a traditional rushing attack. Through two games, RB1 D?Andre Swift has 48 yards on 24 carries.

That 2.0 yards-per-carry mark is Swift?s worst through two games since his rookie season in 2020. The concern coming in was that the Bears signed a runner who had never been a feature back before his breakout in 2023 behind one of the best offensive lines in football.

The Bears are breaking in a rookie QB behind a questionable group.

That is not a recipe for success, particularly for teams as good as the Texans. But the Bears? issues were not just with the players on the field.

4) Bears Derailed by 3Ps: Penalties, Play-Calling & Personnel

Officials called the Bears for nine penalties totaling 60 yards. That is no excuse, though. The Texans committed 12 penalties for 115 yards.

Still, much of Chicago?s misfortune was self-induced. An over-reliance on the horizontal passing game ? potentially due in part to Williams? struggles to connect deep or the offensive line to protect him ? helped the Texans blitz at will. They did and the Bears failed to make the proper adjustments.

Bears offensive coordinator Shane Waldron was commended for his teaching ability in training camp and the preseason.

The Bears had multiple pre-snap penalties and were visibly out of sorts on some plays. That will all happen in the course of your average NFL game.

It is on the coaching staff to help mitigate those issues, especially since overall team discipline falls on them. The Texans were able to get an early bead on far too many of the Bears? plays on Sunday night. On a night when the defense did its job repeatedly, the Bears? offense started relatively hot but quickly ran out of gas and answers.

They will host the 0-2 Indianapolis Colts in Week 3.

Bonus Takeaways: Texans RB Joe Mixon Calls for T.J. Edwards to Receive Fine & Roschon Johnson Shows Self-Control

There was a scuffle on the sideline when Texans linebacker Azeez Al-Shaair hit Williams as the latter was going out of bounds. The officials did not flag anyone, even after Al-Shaair threw a punch at Bears running back Roschon Johnson.

Johnson said he had to hold back from retaliating after the game on social media.

Bears linebacker T.J. Edwards tackled Texans running back Joe Mixon on a play in the third quarter, sending the latter to the sideline with an apparent leg injury. Collinsworth and Mike Tirico pointed out that the tackle met the criteria for a hip-drop tackle.

The NFL banned the tackle this past offseason. Mixon is calling for Edwards to receive some form of discipline.

?The NFL and NFLPA made it a rule and an emphasis for a reason,? Mixon posted on X on September 15. ?Time to put your money where your mouth is.?

New York Giants cornerback Adoree? Jackson received a $9,804 fine from the league for a hip-drop tackle on Minnesota Vikings tight end Johnny Mundt, per Pro Football Talks? Josh Alper on September 14.? Jackson?s teammate, Darius Muasau, got a $4,696 fine for his stop on receiver Jordan Addison.