Three takeaways from Bears preseason win over Texans |
Although the Bears' first preseason game was cut short due to Mother Nature, it was successful, as the Bears topped the Texans 21-17. This game featured two of the more talked-about teams this offseason despite none of the starters even touching the field.
Even without their starters, both teams put on a show to kick off the 2024 NFL season, as there were plenty of offensive fireworks to go around, especially in the Bears passing game. That is something to watch under the Shane Waldron offense this season, as the Bears have the offensive firepower to be one of the better offenses in the league. Thursday was a small step in the right direction, but a step is a step at this point. Here are some takeaways from the Bears win.
As unorthodox as they may be or look, the NFL kick-off rules look like they will work this season. To bring back the return aspect of the NFL, the League adopted a new format similar to what the UFL has been using the past few seasons. While there are many more moving parts to how things work, the end goal was to get more returns while still keeping player safety in mind. You saw returns last night, and although none of them resulted in big plays, all of them resulted in different field position starts as opposed to a touchback moving the ball to the 25. This will take some time to get used to for every team, but look for the preseason to be the testing period of how to make this rule work and how to have the most success with it.
Heading into training camp, everyone knew that Caleb Williams would be the starting QB come week one, besides some type of injury. Behind Williams is where the question comes as both Rypien and Tyson Bagent are battling for the backup job. Given his four starts last season, many felt that Bagent had the upper hand, but with a new system, no one has a clear advantage over the other. That was until last night when Bagent not only struggled to move the ball when he was on the field, but Rypien came out and dominated with three TD passes and 166 yards in less than two-quarters of action. No one expects him to play like that all preseason, but should he continue to play that way in the next few weeks, there is an excellent chance that he will win the backup role once the season breaks. Preseason is all about competition for many of these players, especially the young guys, as it allows them to go against other teams and showcase what they are about. Rypien won round one of the competition factor, and it will be interesting to see how the Bears divvy out the snaps next week.
Despite showing massive strides as a defense last season, the Bears brought in a new defensive Coordinator in Ed Washington this offseason. Although the scheme will still be Matt Eberflus' scheme, the way the game is called will be different, as Washington has a much different mindset than Alan Williams or Eberflus. It is expected to be a work in progress throughout camp, especially in preseason games. You saw signs of struggle during this one, especially during the first two quarters. Remember that those struggles came against the Texans backups, but the Bears also played their backups on defense so there is that to look at as a silver lining. For the most part, the Bears did a great job of stopping the run, which was their strength last season. In the secondary, they got burned several times, which is the one aspect of their game they will need to focus on to reach the next level. This is only their first game under the new scheme, so it will be up to them to correct those mistakes and improve each week. The new kickoff rule works
Will Brett Rypien win the backup job?
The defense is still a work in progress
