Bears vs. Texans: 5 takeaways from Chicago's Week 2 loss

Riding a high from their Week 1 comeback victory, the Chicago Bears (1-1) came into the prime-time spotlight on the road against the Houston Texans (2-0). While it could've served as a showcase for Caleb Williams and the new look offense, it was just a reminder of the negatives that have hindered this franchise for many previous years in a 19-13 loss on Sunday Night Football.

Williams and the offense turned it around early in the game, showing an incredible and rapid growth from Week 1 to the first half of Week 2. That momentum on offense was halted in the second half and although Khalil Herbert found the endzone, Williams has yet to throw a touchdown pass through two games. The good news? The defense looks like a top unit in the league. But even they couldn't save the Bears' floundering offense.

Following their 19-13 loss, here are the five biggest takeaways from Sunday nights's loss to the Texans:

1. Nothing has changed with Chicago's offense

It would be easy to sit here and just rip apart the offensive line. They were pretty bad against the Tennessee Titans, and then were absolutely atrocious against the Texans. Allowing seven sacks on the night, giving up a ton of pressure and forcing Williams to try and make plays which were more ill-advised throws than anything, the offensive line was the topic of conversation coming out of the loss. What stands out more about the offensive performance is that despite the overhaul with Williams selected at No. 1 as the new franchise quarterback and Rome Odunze drafted at No. 9 to strengthen the wide receiver room alongside DJ Moore, and Keenan Allen, who did not play due to injury, it felt like the same old Bears.

Spectators watching Chicago on Sunday night may have felt like they were watching the same team they've seen the past 10 years, with just a new name at quarterback. Very little production in the passing game, barely, but some success in the run game with a touchdown scored, but the offense as a whole was laughable. The Bears came into 2024 with plenty of hype and optimism, yet they ended Week 2 with another terrible performance on offense showing no growth despite all the new additions.

2. Caleb Williams is trying to be a savior

Going hand-in-hand with the weak play of his offensive line, Williams is doing the best he can, but he needs improvement, as well. There is only a two-game sample size, but he is 0-11 on passes downfield of 15 yards or more, but the weapons are there. Unable to withstand the constant and immense pressure that the Texans' defense threw at him, Williams threw the first two interceptions of his young NFL career.

There was much talk on the broadcast that Williams wanted to prove he can play in the pocket and be a true gunslinging, pocket-passer in the NFL, not just someone who makes plays with his feet as he did in college. The problem in which Williams is learning quickly is that he can't be a pocket passer, when there is no pocket protection by the offensive line. There is a ton of pressure and attention on every play that Williams will be part of, but he can't win a game with one throw, and he can't win games with just one completion. Instead of forcing plays, accept that there will be growing pains and evolve each week.

3. Offensive play calling needs to get better

The first few takeaways all go together, but they can all be addressed separately. If the offensive line continues to struggle as mightily as they have to begin the season, then it falls on coaching. It doesn't just fall on coaching to get better production out of their respective units, it's on the coaches to come up with a better plan of action for the entire offense. Offensive coordinator Shane Waldron was praised for the work he did in Seattle with Geno Smith, but even with plenty of weapons at his disposal, there has been little production and no consistency from the offense.

Not only play calling but the strategy as a whole. It will help when all of the weapons on offense are healthy and able to play, but even in Week 1, there were head-scratching numbers. DJ Moore, Keenan Allen, and Rome Odunze only played 10 snaps together in Week 1, that's inexcusable. Cole Kmet has been a rarity in the offense, and that's also inexcusable. There are no excuses to not have the top players featured in this offense, and here's hoping that changes heading into Week 3.

4. The defense will (again) be the heart and soul of this team

Getting after it from every level of the defense, this unit cares about winning football games. Montez Sweat has yet to record a sack in two games, but the entire defense has gotten after it with six sacks in two games, as well as four takeaways. There has been great play from all spots on the defensive line, the linebackers are all over the field, and the secondary should be considered among the league's best, even after struggling against Houston's talented trio of receivers.

Life will get tough for this unit if the offense can't get them rest and breaks, but they've seemingly answered the call every opportunity in which they've had to keep the game within range. Unless they start to reflect the 2006 Bears' defense that led the team to victories scoring when taking the ball away, or having special teams scores, they can only do so much. This defense is one of the better units in recent team history, and part of that is there are some under the radar players who are showing up and making an impact.

5. This team cares about Caleb Williams, and that should help them grow

In what could be seen as a massive shift in momentum, Williams took a big hit along the sideline, which was legal, from linebacker Azeez Al-Shaair and a brawl ensued. Al-Shaair actually connected with a punch on running back Roschon Johnson that was missed by the referees and did not result in any penalty or ejection. If it had been called, there's no telling what could've happened for the Bears on that drive, as it would've given them a first down and resulted in the ejection of one of the Texans' best defenders.

For the past several years, quarterbacks have struggled with offensive line play in Chicago, but there didn't seem to be a major connection with chemistry. Many times there was conversations about teammates rallying around the former quarterbacks who were in midst of a struggle, and it was not a good look for anyone. Sure, there have been moments of frustration from some of the skill players with the lack of offensive production. But there's no denying that this team has rallied around Williams, they are there to protect their young quarterback, and they're willing to fight for him.

This article originally appeared on Bears Wire: Bears vs. Texans: 5 takeaways from Chicago's Week 2 loss