5 takeaways from Bears’ Week 3 win over Texans

First, the good news. The Chicago Bears moved to 2-1 following their 23-20 victory over the Houston Texans in Week 3.

Now, the bad news. Quarterback Justin Fields didn’t play well. He said as much in his postgame press conference.

“Straight up, I played like? I want to say the “a” word, but I won’t, so I’ll say I just played like trash,” Fields said. “Played terrible, and really just gotta be better.”

Self-awareness is an invaluable trait. At the very least, Fields has it. He knew he was terrible, so we’ll leave it at that.

Here are my five biggest takeaways from the Chicago Bears Week 3 victory.

Justin Fields gets a Mulligan

Fields finished Sunday’s win completing 8-of-17 passes for 106 yards and two interceptions. He looked good as a runner, finishing with 47 yards on eight carries, but his inaccurate throws and lack of pocket presence against a Texans defense that entered the game as one of the worst against the pass was a problem.

Fields hasn’t had many “wow” moments so far in 2022. Sure, he outlasted San Francisco 49ers quarterback Trey Lance in Week 1’s monsoon, and he looked like a high-end starter in the first drive against the Green Bay Packers in Week 2. But in Sunday’s victory over Houston, he failed to do much after his first quarter 29-yard run.

Justin Fields 29 yard scramble pic.twitter.com/XJvdvhqquv

— Barstool Chicago (@barstoolchicago) September 25, 2022

In fact, Fields had trouble reading Houston’s coverage. It was either that, or he was forcing balls to players who’ve yet to get involved in the Bears’ offense through two games, like wide receiver Darnell Mooney and tight end Cole Kmet.

Look at the top of the screen. The safety cut to the middle of the field.

Justin Fields had a receiver wide open along the sideline… #Bears pic.twitter.com/brQtUIsTvY

— Jacob Infante (@jacobinfante24) September 25, 2022

The sky isn’t falling yet, Bears fans. And there’s no reason to lose faith or confidence in Justin Fields. Remember: Sunday was Fields’ 13th start in the NFL. He hasn’t gone through a full season of starts, so patience, as they say, is required.

Can Darnell Mooney handle WR1 duties?

One bad game from a WR1 is no big deal. Back-to-back clunkers? Perhaps there’s an issue with playcalling. But Mooney has now had three terrible games to begin the 2022 season, and Sunday’s win over the Texans may have been his worst performance so far. He was targeted six times and caught two passes for 23 yards. He had an inexplicable drop in the second quarter on a quick pass that had the potential for a chunk gain. Mooney put in work after the game to try and correct whatever it is that’s going wrong right now:

Darnell Mooney still on the field an hour after the game, practicing. He said his team has to be able to depend on him and he’s upset about his drops today. Bears starting receiver was targeted 6 times for 2 catches and 23 yards #BearsVsTexans #bears @cbschicago pic.twitter.com/EP0jaXlbfh

— Jackie Kostek (@JackieKostek) September 25, 2022

I’m a big fan of Mooney’s game. I believe in his top-shelf route-running and YAC ability. But it’s obvious the Bears’ passing game can’t get on track with him as the WR1 right now. Chicago needs a bigger-bodied alpha in order to complement his skill set, it’s been too easy for defenses to take him away through three games.

Perhaps, Mooney’s struggles are part of a bigger problem plaguing the Bears. The offensive line didn’t do Fields or the passing attack any favors Sunday, and with Mooney’s downfield traits, Fields needs more time to set up and throw to him.

Mooney has four catches for 27 yards through three games. It’s embarrassing.

Roquan Smith announced his arrival in Matt Eberflus’ defense

Welcome to the 4-3 defense, Roquan!

Smith’s performance Sunday against the Texans can be described in one word: wow. He finished the game with 16 tackles, two tackles for loss, and what turned out to be the game-winning interception (it set up Cairo Santos’ field goal as time expired.)

16 Tackles & an INT! Roquan Smith TOTW? #Madden23 pic.twitter.com/LaWStGIQ8h

— Madden Ultimate Team (@EASPORTS_MUT) September 25, 2022

Smith wasn’t great during the first two weeks of the season, but if Sunday is any indication of the impact he can make in Eberflus’ scheme, lookout. He could finish the year as the NFL’s leading tackler, which will only help his cause to get paid like an elite player at his position.

The Bears’ rushing attack is the beginning, middle, and end of the offense

At first glance, it appeared that starting running back David Montgomery had suffered a season-ending knee injury in Sunday’s win. Eberflus said after the game that the early medical returns are encouraging, but we’ll wait until all tests are completed before breathing a sigh of relief.

The NFL is a ruthless sport, though. And an injury — even to a beloved player like Montgomery — sometimes proves that the backup is actually better than the starter. When Khalil Herbert replaced Montgomery in the lineup and ran for 157 yards and two touchdowns, he may have established himself as the best option for the Bears’ backfield.

Khalil Herbert goes 52 yards! He’s up to 116 yards on the day. @JuiceHerbert

: #HOUvsCHI on CBS
: Stream on NFL+ https://t.co/i8TlkqNe5b pic.twitter.com/0VcG1aEFFx

— NFL (@NFL) September 25, 2022

Herbert’s no-nonsense, one-cut running style simply works. It worked in Matt Nagy’s system in 2021, and it’s working in offensive coordinator Luke Getsy’s this year. Herbert kept the Bears’ offense in the game, if he didn’t make his chunk plays, the Bears would’ve had a collection of three-and-outs.

Khalil Herbert stepping up!
pic.twitter.com/6TEGIHxwaR

— Bears On Tap (@BearsOnTap) September 25, 2022

Eberflus said Montgomery was “day-to-day” during his postgame press conference. The injury looked a lot worse than that in real-time, and I expect he’ll miss at least a few weeks. If he does, he’ll have a hard time unseating Herbert from the starting job when he returns.

The bigger point, however, is that the Bears’ offense is completely dependent on the running game right now. That’s not necessarily a bad thing, but defenses will adjust soon. If Fields and the passing game doesn’t do a better job proving they can take advantage of safeties cheating up in run defense, an already ugly offense is going to get much uglier.

When it’s all said and done, the Bears are 2-1

It doesn’t feel like a traditional victory Monday or victory week. The Bears didn’t look like they were the clearly better team for four quarters against the Texans, which was pretty sobering. Perhaps, Bears fans expected more — this was going to be the get-right game. But reality painted a different picture. Chicago won the game, they outlasted Houston and made timely plays when they were needed. But the Bears didn’t dominate the way “the better team” should.

But none of that matters. The Bears did win the game. And every win at this point in the schedule buys time, it gives a new coaching staff an extra week to fix mistakes, evaluate the roster, and make the necessary changes for development and improvement.

Chicago should get wide receiver Velus Jones Jr. back soon. Center Lucas Patrick should return to the pivot, too. Jaylon Johnson will heal up, and Justin Fields will go back to the lab and work on his craft.

All this while the Bears are above .500 and in a three-way tie for first place in the NFC North. It could be a lot worse.

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