Incompletions: Texans v. Bears (The Tie That Binds)

MATT WESTON:

As far as NFL franchises go, the Texans and Bears are completely and entirely different. The Bears have a long and storied history, one filled with Superbowl wins and playoff appearances. The Texans are the youngest franchise in the NFL, and still to this day, they have yet to make it past the Divisional Round. The Bears currently don’t have a quarterback and a great defense. The Texans have a great quarterback and don’t have a defense. The Bears play in frigid genital shriveling weather. The Texans play indoors because they rarely want to pay the bill to open up the roof and let things air out a bit. Yet, for two franchises entirely different in nearly every way, they are tied together with a strange knot.

In 2012 the Texans beat the Bears in a slobber knocking, bone splintering game, the type of physical game the Texans never had the blood lust to win. In 2016, the Texans beat the Bears in [NAME REDACTED]’s first appearance, showcasing that maybe he is worth $18 million a year, and Houston finally had a quarterback. This wasn’t true. The Bears just played single high and allowed [NAME REDACTED] to have the cushion to push the ball downfield just enough. In 2017, the Chicago Bears decided to trade up one spot in the NFL Draft to select a quarterback. They chose potential over skills, and polish, and went with Mitch Trubisky over Patrick Mahomes and Deshaun Watson. This allowed Kansas City to trade up for Mahomes, and Houston to trade up for Watson. And now, here they both were, on the same field at the same time. One quarterback was benched for Nick Foles and had returned again. The other quarterback has cemented himself as a top five talent and someone an entire franchise can be built around.

Today, both teams are in the same place, but each with entirely different problems. Both teams are bad teams. Chicago because of their hideous offense. Houston because of their hideous defense. Yet, for this game, Chicago beat Houston resoundingly in every way. Pass rush, receivers, running backs, run and pass blocking, coverage, coaching, special teams, all of it was better. It was a resounding an easy 36-7 win where Trubisky looked like the right 2017 decision, not Watson.

Each team will look to pick up and go again next year. Houston will find a new head coach and general manager. They’re going to try and rebuild their entire defense and retool their skill position group all without their first two draft picks and being above the 2021 salary cap once this season comes to an end. The Bears will keep nearly the entirety of the team in place, and look to fix the holes on the offensive line, trade up for another rookie quarterback, or find some veteran who needs a new home, someone like Matthew Stafford, or Matt Ryan, someone who escapes the fires of a rebuild.

Although we won’t see two teams on the field again for another four years, if I had to guess, they’d each be playing football the same way. Houston led entirely by Watson. Chicago led entirely by their defense. And then, way over there, we will look back over here, confused by how everything is still pretty much the same.

THIS IS ALL THAT I HAVE LEFT:

RIVERS MCCOWN:

NO.

I LOVE HER SO MUCH:

L4BLITZER:

I don’t know if Chicago is really all that good on defense or if Trubisky will ever play up to his #2 overall status in the 2017 draft status for the totality of his career. I don’t know if Chicago will use this victory as a springboard and get into the playoffs, or if today is a false dawn for them. However, on this day, they delivered perhaps the best game of the season, if not of Nagy’s head coaching career. It was as if the Bears channeled the best of George Halas, the ‘85 defense and Sid Luckman, and all at once against the Texans.

As for the Texans, you would probably need something akin to the most powerful scientific devices to find any positives from this game. I guess you could say that John Weeks snapped the ball well to the punter, and Buddy Howell actually had a couple of decent runs...and that is it. I have absolutely nothing else positive from this game. At least with the massacre at Baltimore last season, the team could still look forward to a chance at redemption and the playoffs. The beatdown today officially eliminated the Texans from consideration, and they improved the 2021 1st and 2nd round picks for Miami.

Also, I know that Deshaun Watson has a massive ego (as any starter with his talent does) and wants to play well. However, why was he back in the game in the 4th quarter when the game was long out of reach and he had just suffered an injury? As much as he means to the franchise, and given that the Texans have exactly nothing besides him (Watt’s status with the team after the end of the 2020 season is a subject for another time), you have to think strategically. A major injury to him in what are now meaningless games could place the franchise, which is already looking at a couple of lean years, down the path of the pre-2020 Cleveland Browns/1980s Tampa Bay Bucs/1990s Cincinnati Bengals, where the team is saddled with losing season after losing season after losing season. I would let him start and play out the season, but at the first sign of injury trouble, pull him out of there. Better safe than sorry and set up to try to rebound, if not in 2021, then in 2022 and beyond.

DISGUSTING:

BIGFATDRUNK:

At this point in the 2020 NFL season, watching the Texans is mostly just an exercise into how badly BOB destroyed this team.

I just...I don’t know what else to add. We have Deshaun Watson and JJ Watt. And, well, that’s about it.

The Texans deserved this loss. Again.

BLOOD:

UPROOTED TEXAN:

I have two thoughts on the game, both in visual form:

and

LET’S DIG HIM UP AND BURY HIM AGAIN:

MIKE BULLOCK:

Anyone who had anything to do with this game from a coaching, front office, Chaplain-turned-Grima Wormtongue needs to be fired, today. Well, maybe not Romeo Crennel, he can still manage to limp the team through to the end of the season, but there’s no legit reason, at all, to keep anyone else for another minute.

Bringing in BIll O’Brien was the worst move this team has ever made, followed closely by giving him GM responsibilities, tailed tightly in 3rd place by allowing Jack Easterby to speak into anything football related.

Uggh... erase the board and start over.