The Two-Minute Drill: What’s next for the Texans and Bears?
By Brendan Nordstrom
One thing that I realized as Detroit Lions fan is that nobody cares about you when you’re bad. People call you an “extra bye week,” ESPN is too stuck on the Dallas Cowboys and Kansas City Chiefs and some national writers only do surface-level research, often missing what’s really happening behind the curtain.
I, myself, have fallen into this trap – discussing the Buffalo Bills, Miami Dolphins, New York Jets and Giants to death. But this week I wanted to take a step back and take a look at two teams at the bottom of the barrel.
The Houston Texans
For as hopeless as the Texans have seemed in the past couple seasons, it is hard to believe that just three years ago they were 10-6, holding a 24-0 lead in the divisional round over the eventual Super Bowl Champion Chiefs.
Bill O’Brien, the then-head coach and GM of the Texans, made a chorus of terrible contract extensions, traded away DeAndre Hopkins and was involved in the circus that was the Deshaun Watson situation.
Last season they ended 4-13 for their second straight four-win season and fired first-year head coach David Culley. This season, it’s no better. The Texans are 1-9-1 and are the worst team in the league. The schedule doesn’t get any easier with the Cowboys, Chiefs and Titans all on the docket to close the season.
Houston ranks dead last in offensive yards per game and second-to-last in points per game. At least their defense is good, right? Well, they rank 29th in yards allowed per game and dead last in rushing yards allowed per game.
The Texans just benched Davis Mills, their third-round quarterback from the 2021 Draft, for journeyman Kyle Allen, and first-year head coach Lovie Smith is on the hot seat, at risk of being yet another one-and-done coach for Houston.
I see one route: a complete and total teardown. There are two ways to look at a rebuild.
The Chicago Bears’ method is taking your quarterback of the future and building the pieces around him as he develops.
The Lions’ method is fixing problem areas with a bridge quarterback and making the quarterback of the future the final piece.
Time will tell which is better, but I am partial to the latter, especially with so many problems on both sides of the ball.
This draft, teams are desperate for the QBs in this year’s class. The Texans should field offers for the first-overall pick, accumulating even more draft capital. If they don’t trade back, I would still suggest picking up a difference-maker on defense, such as Alabama’s Will Anderson or Georgia’s Jalen Carter.
If the Texans move on from Smith, it is deflating for players and fans to see the third head coach in as many years, but it may be necessary for a rebuild. San Francisco 49ers Defensive Coordinator DeMeco Ryans, Cowboys Defensive Coordinator Dan Quinn and Pittsburgh Steelers Linebacker Coach Brian Flores all have upside as head coaches. I lean towards making a new hire, especially with those names out there who could make a much bigger difference than Smith has at the helm.
The Texans have made near-impossible turnarounds before. In 2013, they finished at 2-14 and swung all the way back to 9-7 the next season. In 2017, the 4-12 Texans quickly became an 11-5 Wild Card team. So maybe I’m completely wrong, and the team should leave their future up to fate.
However, to avoid these constantly violent swings in and out of contention, I believe the Texans need to start on step one with a new coach and a lot of draft capital.
Chicago Bears
The Bears may be the second-worst team in the league, but the difference between them and the Texans is night and day. Their “total teardown” phase was last year with the firing of Matt Nagy and Ryan Pace. Outside of a standout 12-4 season in 2018, the Bears have floated around mediocrity for the better half of a decade.
The Bears are a skeleton of their former selves. Defense used to underscore Chicago. Now, it ranks in the bottom half of the league in yards allowed per game and has the sixth-worst run defense. Defensive talent, such as Khalil Mack, was traded to the Chargers for two draft picks. Top linebacker Roquan Smith was then dealt to the Ravens for a second-round and fifth-round pick.
The good news for the Bears is the offense. The Bears have the No. 1 rushing offense in the league, and Justin Fields is why. Fields had a big season ahead of him, determining whether he was another failed Chicago QB, or if he was going to be develop into the star he was projected to be.
In a Monday night defeat to the Green Bay Packers early in the season, Fields threw a whopping 11 passes for 70 yards and an interception. His stock may have been at an all-time low, but has skyrocketed ever since. In Week 9, Fields threw for three touchdowns, while running for 178 yards and another score. The following week, he threw for two touchdowns, running for an additional 147 yards and two scores. Fields is nothing short of a future stud, electrifying the offense.
Chicago has quality offensive pieces, such as Khalil Herbert, David Montgomery and Darnell Mooney but could definitely upgrade. With a top selection in the draft, I would prioritize defense. If the Texans don’t steal Anderson first, he seems destined to wear the burnt orange next season.
Despite the 3-9 record, the Bears have flashed their potential. They handled the 49ers in Week 1 and dominated the New England Patriots 33-14 on Monday Night Football. They also lost by one score to contenders, such as the Dolphins, Giants and Minnesota Vikings.
The bad news for Chicago is that without Fields, the team is unwatchable. In Week 11, Fields continued to play despite a separated shoulder, which is Matthew Stafford-levels of grit. Fields missed the Week 12 matchup versus the Jets, and Chicago was manhandled 31-10 in an ugly, ugly game.
The Bears need to nail this draft to return to contention within the next couple of years. Chicago also has the luxury of the most cap space in the league by nearly $50 million. Young defensive talent and upgrades at skill positions could fast track the Bears back to their 2018 form.