After leading at halftime, the Chicago Bears unraveled in the second half of the regular season opener, falling 23-14 to the Houston Texans. It is still early, but I am excited to see what Ervin brings.The Texans came out with a W while everyone else it the division lost. Fuller dropped what potentially would have resulted in an 83-yard touchdown late in the first half yet finished with five catches for 107 yards. In the second half, they averaged 2.45 yards per play (71 yards on 29 plays). There was no such thing today, as they got five sacks and an interception, while limiting Jay Cutler to 216 yards and a touchdown and Jeremy Langford to 57 yards and a touchdown. Cutler did not complete a pass in the third quarter, absorbed five sacks total and was hit 13 times.
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Alshon Jeffery – It was a fine afternoon for Jeffery as he reeled in four receptions for 105 yards on six targets.
“He knows that he needs to go out there and play better”, O’Brien said. “We got to make a play when it comes to you”. “There was nothing up front or on the back end or anything defensively that we weren’t prepared for”.
A game that saw the defense take some control early with an interception by cornerback Tracy Porter on the Texans seventh play from scrimmage deteriorated into a mishmash in which the Texans converted 60 percent of third downs and a rookie wide receiver (Will Fuller) put 100 yards on the Bears’ secondary in just the second half. Akiem Hicks had some success on bull-rushes, but he was also constantly fighting through double teams without others being able to win their 1-on-1 matches.
Osweiler said he checked out of a play when he saw what the Bears defense was showing him. On a fourth-and-1 quarterback sneak late in the first quarter, Cutler fumbled a snap from center Cody Whitehair, a rookie second-round pick who was also making his National Football League debut.
Fox’s teams in Carolina and Denver made big jumps in his second season, and the Bears would love to see that pattern continue in Chicago.
“We just added a guy this past week”, Fox said about Sitton. “As long as I’ve been watching football, you could have a young team with an old kicker”, Briggs said.
Standing beside a field-sized American flag on September 11, Texans tight end C.J. Fiedorowicz waited for his first game against his hometown Bears.
“We can’t change what happened”, said White, who missed his rookie season because of a shin injury. Kevin White had a hard debut, finishing with three catches for 34 yards. Running back Lamar Miller, Houston’s other high profile free agent signee from this offseason, carried the load on the ground, rushing for 106 yards on 28 carries.
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The Giants (1-0) won the debut of coach Ben McAdoo after 12 years and two Super Bowl titles under Tom Coughlin while spoiling the first game for Dallas’ Dak Prescott and Ezekiel Elliott. Floyd, limited by shoulder and hamstring issues in the preseason, was the ninth overall pick out of Georgia.
