His 18-yard scoring pass to Fuller with 12:44 remaining provided the Texans (1-0) the lead for good. The Texans have a revamped offense with the addition of QB Brock Osweiler from the Denver Broncos being the centerpiece. These additions to the offense had hopes flying high at NRG Stadium for opening day, and the team didn’t disappoint them.
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Learning from mistakes will be something Osweiler will have to handle accordingly this season. “He made some great plays”. The disastrous final two minutes of the first half – Will Fuller’s drop of a possible 83-yard touchdown followed by the Bears marching down the field in under a minute to get a go ahead score and go up 14-10 – could have easily carried over into the second half with the Bears getting the ball to start the third quarter. They were on the board, but still trailing the Bears 7-3.
You had the feeling that after the Bears gave up only a field goal after an interception that gave the Texans the ball at Chicago’s 25 to start the second half, thus maintaining a 14-13 lead, the message from John Fox to his offensive coordinator was clear: Play it conservatively and make sure we don’t lose this game because of rank sloppiness on your side of the ball.
Tennessee next travels to take on the Lions (1-0), who defeated the Colts, 39-35, in Week 1 action. Nine plays later, the Texans led 20-14.
Texans owner Bob McNair praised the rookie for being able to overcome the early drop and comeback with an impressive catch and run.
Indy found its footing in the second half as they forced a three-and-out on defense then got on the board again via a 19-yard TD catch by Dwayne Allen. The Bears managed only four first downs in the second half and zero points.
(5) Fox also wasn’t surprised with how well Eddie Royal played. The team simply wore down in the second half. Jay Cutler completed 16 of 29 passes for 216 yards and a touchdown against an interception. The Texans closed the gap, but still trailed, 14-13.
The triple set was used at the start of the fourth quarter and spread the Bears wide enough for Osweiler to convert a crucial third down on a quarterback sneak. If the Astros can finish off this brutal stretch without their two best starters, there is a chance both Keuchel and McCullers return. However, Cutler took ownership as a leader and captain should. “You practice against certain looks and then they come out and do something different so then you just got to talk about it”.
The Bears were a 6.5 point underdog to the Texans. What stood out the most from the Texans’ opener? The new additions performed admirably, and numerous old guard stepped up like they always have.
“I tried to forget about it”, Fuller said. I don’t think any of that’s intentional.
And before you say: “Yeah, but it was the Bears”, let it be known that the Bears defense isn’t half bad – it’s their offense that’s the problem. “I think we haven’t been whole for very long and particularly the offensive line”.
I thought Chicago’s 2016 first rounder, Leonard Floyd, looked solid in his debut.
“I love everything about him”, Osweiler said of Fuller. Receivers did some things, Griff (Ryan Griffin) came up with a third-down catch there at the end that was important.
“We blocked some runs up pretty well”, Fox said.
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It was not all good news for the Texans though as star linebacker Brian Cushing left the game early with an apparent knee injury. But the man who has won NFL’s Defensive Player of the Year the last two seasons and three of the last four wasn’t the game-changer he has routinely been in the past.
