HOUSTON — The Chicago Bears had 53 yards to go with 1:07 to somehow win the game. It took 3.4 seconds for Houston Texans edge rusher Danielle Hunter to end it.

Take one of the Texans’ seven sacks, 11 quarterback hits and 16 pressures and that play symbolized the night for Caleb Williams and the Bears’ lackluster offense in a 19-13 loss.

“I’m a little bruised,” Williams said before delivering the understatement of the season, “had a few knocks today.”

Houston’s defensive front harassed Williams all night. They also couldn’t get the run game going, and they can probably take credit for the Bears’ pre-snap penalties.

But the Bears’ defense held C.J. Stroud and his team to three points in the second half. Andrew Billings’ forced fumble near the goal line kept them in the game, giving Williams one last chance. With first down near midfield, Hunter poked inside before easily getting around the outside shoulder of right tackle Darnell Wright. He then wrapped around Williams, bringing him down for the sack.

Three plays later, on fourth-and-17, the game was over.

“We were in a hole, that’s what we did,” center Coleman Shelton said. “Not being able to move the ball on first and second down and give them third-and-long so they could do what they wanted to do in the rush pattern. That’s not a fun position for us to be in. We’ve got to block better, obviously, and hopefully we can stay the course on a series and a drive.”

GALLING DEEPER

NFL Week 2 Takeaways: What the Chiefs’ Latest Survival Results Show, Ravens’ Woes, Saints Thriving

Coach Matt Eberflus said after the game that he believes everyone needs protection. He didn’t want to put all the blame on the offensive line. To some extent, he’s right. The play calling has to be better. The cadence has to be perfect. Williams has to adjust and make quicker decisions. Players have to get open. Runners have to hit the holes.

Talent-wise, the offensive line entered the season as a question mark. A group with big potential, sure, thanks to Wright, Teven Jenkins and the best depth general manager Ryan Poles said he’s had in Chicago. But still, question marks abound. Add a new play caller and a rookie quarterback, and a defense that’s ready to feast, and you’ve got trouble two weeks in.

“They were blitzing a lot, a lot on third down,” wide receiver DeAndre Carter said. “We’ve got to figure out how to defend that. We’re going to see it week by week until we prove we can stop it.”

WELCOME TO AREA 51 🛸

📺: @SNFonNBC photo.twitter.com/xyv4m1zjdv

— Houston Texans (@HoustonTexans) September 16, 2024

When asked what the emphasis would be this week in Halas Hall, Jenkins was quick to respond: “Protecting Caleb.”

Below are the numbers, according to TruMedia, showing how often Williams was under pressure and how bad the offense was in those situations:

• He was sacked seven times, the most the Bears have allowed in a game since a Jan. 1, 2023, 41-10 loss to Detroit. It is also the most a quarterback has been sacked this season.

• Six Texans recorded at least one sack.

• Williams was sacked on 15.9 percent of his dropbacks, the second-highest rate in the league this season.

• The Texans blitzed on 41.7 percent of Williams’ dropbacks, the eighth-highest percentage in the league this season. It’s Houston’s highest blitz percentage under coach DeMeco Ryans.

• Williams had an EPA (expected points added) of -0.94 when facing an extra rusher, the fifth-worst mark in the league through two weeks.

• The Texans pressured Williams on 14.6 percent of his dropbacks, the third-highest percentage in the NFL in 2024.

“It’s frustrating. I feel like I’ve been talking about this for a couple of years,” tight end Cole Kmet said. “We understood that this was going to be a little bit of a process. We’ve got a lot of work to do.”

SWARM ‼️

📺: @SNFonNBC photo.twitter.com/nQJubQYF19

— Houston Texans (@HoustonTexans) September 16, 2024

Kmet has had to stand in the locker room after many games where his quarterback has been beaten. Other Bears before him have too. How many stories like this have been written during Jay Cutler’s career in Chicago?

Missing wide receiver Keenan Allen didn’t help. Allen’s ability to get open quickly would have been vital against this defense. Ryan Bates going to the injured list didn’t help either, that is, if he’s a better solution on the inside. He’s not eligible to return until Week 6.

The only positions on the offensive line that the Bears could really change from the inside are right guard and center. Depth could be better with a veteran like Matt Pryor, but it’s unclear if he’s the answer. Perhaps third-round rookie Kiran Amegadjie could get a crack at the inside job, but that’s also asking a lot from a first-year player out of Yale. At center, Doug Kramer had a good summer, earning a spot on the roster, but he’s yet to play in a regular-season game.

But the numbers aren’t acceptable for an offense that should be avoiding games like this. Running back D’Andre Swift had just 18 yards on 14 carries, often getting swamped from the moment he got the ball. Khalil Herbert had just two carries, including a 2-yard touchdown run. Play calling will also be under scrutiny for an offense that simply can’t string together successful drives. In the second half Sunday night, the Bears had six straight empty possessions — four punts and two interceptions.

Williams passed for 174 yards, still waiting for his first touchdown pass and his first 200-yard performance. The numbers of 4,000 yards and 30 touchdown passes feel like they are still ages away from this offense.

GALLING DEEPER

Where Caleb Williams can improve, keys to beating Texans: Bears mailbag, Week 2 picks

And the penalties didn’t help. The offense had four false starts — one by Wright, one by Marcedes Lewis and two by Nate Davis. There was also a delay-of-game penalty.

“The flags just have to stop,” wide receiver DJ Moore said. “We’ve got to find a way to be better and not have that.”

Nine of the Bears’ third downs had more than nine yards to go to the first-down marker. That was partly due to poor production on first down. Nine of their plays on first down resulted in one, zero or negative yards.

That doesn’t help them create consistency, or get into any sort of groove on offense. They can’t run the ball to help Williams. They can’t create a lot of easy throws for Williams because he doesn’t have the time.

“We’ve got to figure that (run game) out,” Kmet said. “That’s part of the identity here. … That’s something you want to lean into and get better at. We’re shooting ourselves in the foot by getting behind on some of the false start penalties and negative plays. It takes you out of running scenarios. We’ve got to get better at that, staying ahead of the chains and calling the runs we want to call. If we’re getting behind on all the penalties we had, we can’t stick with the run game the way you want to.”

GALLING DEEPER

Bears Week 1 Overreactions: What All-22 Tells Us About Caleb Williams, O-Line

It’s only Week 2 and the Bears are 1-1, but they have 353 total yards of offense. This should be the team that avoids ugly showings in prime time. While Williams had the ball with a chance at the end, the sacks, hits and pressure made for a brutal night and didn’t inspire much confidence that they could actually win the game.

A strong quarterback is nothing new for Chicago. It’s a bit of a requirement given the issues up front. The Bears are hoping Williams is the one with the talent, too, but they need to give him time to show it.

“I knew it, but the kid is tough,” Shelton said. “He’s out there, shooting and fighting. We had a drive to win the game at the end. That’s optimistic because our defense is playing so great. We want to go out there and prove we can win games for them.”

(Photo: Alex Slitz/Getty Images)