To kick off an exhilarating weekend at the Pro Football Hall of Fame, the Texans played the Bears in a deluge-shortened contest that enabled both coaching staffs to get a good look at their depth.
The 'final' score was 21-17, Bears, with 3:31 to go in the third - A weird time to end a game but the right thing to do as thunder clouds and lightening flashes quickly descended on Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium.
Celebrating Andre Johnson
The day began with Andre Johnson, the McNairs and the Traveling Texans posing for pics outside the Hall. It was just the start to what is a landmark three days for the franchise.
Johnson, and the rest of the Class of '24, was honored prior to the game.
The game begins
The Texans offense was on the field first and delivered a pretty drive that ended with Davis Mills finding Teagan Quitoriano in the end zone.
A big buzzkill occurred on the next possession when Quitoriano, who's frequently battled injuries in his three year career, had to leave the game and get carted into the locker room.
That didn't stop Mills and friends from going right down the field again and building a 10-0 lead with a Ka'imi Fairbairn field goal.
The Bears finally responded with Brett Rypien firing a TD to Tommy Sweeney to cut the lead to three.
Case Keenum entered the game showed veteran savvy, finding receivers, including a spry Cam Akers on a heads up throw after a cleaned-up snap. Akers capped the drive with a four-yard touchdown reception.
Despite the game ending with a forgettable third quarter, there were some bright spots. In addition to Keenum, Mills and Akers looking good, Xavier Hutchinson shined, with five grabs for 56 yards. The offensive line, in the first half, played well enough to help earn the halftime edge.
The first defensive series ended well, with a McTelvin Agim third down stop. But some coverage issues led to the three Bear touchdown passes by Rypien, including two to Longhorn Collin Johnson.
DeMeco Ryans told John Harris, at the half, on Texans Radio that his team needed to play better "assignment football." That being said, rookie Cullen Bullock led the way with five tackles and a forced fumble.
Without playing the final 18-plus minutes of this one, we'll never know what might have happened if the teams kept going, not that we need to. Obviously, these outings don't count. And the squads went as deep into their rosters as they could go. Safety first.
Now, Ryans has plenty of game footage to show the players what went well and what needs work. Pittsburgh is up next, after a week of practice in Ohio, in addition to watching number 80 get immortalized.
Additional Notes
This was the site of the Texans first-ever game, in 2002. Several people were in the building for both contests, including some fans, who were there when the Texans played Kerry Collins and the New York Giants. John Hoke, who coached DBs under Dom Capers, is Cornerbacks coach for Chicago. Texans Tight Ends coach Jake Moreland was with Houston as a player that preseason. Chairman and CEO Cal McNair and team president Greg Grissom were there. And your radio broadcast crew, Andre Ware and I, called the game. I might have missed someone but this is what I came up with.
Looking forward to the weekend and the next one!
Go Texans!
