(670 The Score) Nobody can counter the argument that Chicago expected more from Caleb Williams in his first two NFL games.
Point out the two poor throws that led to interceptions Sunday night in the Bears' sloppy 19-13 loss to the Texans at NRG Stadium in Houston. Go ahead and offer damning evidence that's obvious in Williams' anemic passer rating or other unimpressive numbers that everyone expected to be different.
It's not hard to find underwhelming examples from a quarterback whom Bears fans were overjoyed to see arrive. So it's easy to understand why everyone in town feels as frustrated as Bears receiver DJ Moore looked walking off the field after Williams missed Moore badly on third down with less than three minutes left against the Texans.
But be careful to draw too many conclusions too fast about Williams after two disappointing starts. Be cautious in concluding anything but the Bears have done a lousy job of giving their rookie quarterback an offensive line that gives him a chance to succeed. That's the biggest problem staring at coach Matt Eberflus and general manager Ryan Poles.
"It's a protection thing," Eberflus said. "It's an everybody thing."
Everybody means from the quarterback to the offensive line, from the head coach to the general manager.
Yes, you could argue that the Bears have made this mistake before with young quarterbacks, most recently with Justin Fields, and you would be right. That makes it no less true — only more egregious.
How does Poles, who was an offensive lineman at Boston College, continue to put rosters together where the biggest weakness is at the position he supposedly knows best? This is Poles' third Bears roster in which that has been true. Give Poles credit for assembling an outstanding defense, a top receiving corps, depth and talent all over the field — except, frankly, for the offensive line. It remains lousy and has been that way for far too long.
The Texans sacked Williams seven times, and it probably will feel like 17 for him by Monday morning. Houston coach DeMeco Ryans blitzed more than usual, recognizing how flimsy Williams' protection was.
Williams' lofty reputation as a "generational talent" preceded him to Houston. But, as they say in Texas, he was all hat and no cattle.
Williams completed 23 of 37 passes for 174 yards with two interceptions. The last gasp came with the ball at the Chicago 20-yard line with 1:37 left and the Bears needing Williams to lead a touchdown drive to win the game. But after a 27-yard completion to Rome Odunze on first down, the offensive line turned into a sieve again and, three snaps and a sack later, any hope died.
The Bears offensive line simply bent and broke too often, notably in protecting Williams. Texans edge rushers Danielle Hunter and Will Anderson Jr. made it a long night for Bears offensive tackles Braxton Jones and Darnell Wright — especially Wright, who had two false start penalties in the first half. The Texans blitzed a higher percentage of snaps than they typically do, obviously an attempt to rattle a rookie. Anderson and Hunter looked like the fiercest edge rushing duo in the NFL, making everyone in orange skittish, such as when Anderson blew by an attempted block by Cole Kmet or when Hunter smothered Williams on the final drive.
For the Bears, everything was sloppy, from the nine penalties to questionable judgments on coaching challenges. Everything looked like an example of one team that was ready for primetime and one team that wasn't. The Bears had a delay-of-game penalty coming out of a commercial break. Shoddy protection prevented Williams from throwing deep. And why in the world is offensive coordinator Shane Waldron so enamored with pass plays to tight end Gerald Everett? Is that really going to help unlock Williams' potential?
As the Texans defense stymied Williams, meanwhile, counterpart C.J. Stroud made the Bears defense look mortal early until some halftime adjustments again changed the tone. The NFL's best corps of wide receivers helped Stroud, but the second-year quarterback did everything to justify the hype that accompanied him into this game. Stroud had 173 passing yards at halftime and finished 23-of-30 for 260 yards and one touchdown with a 94.7 passer rating.
The Bears can only hope that the Stroud-Williams comparisons NBC drove home remain valid after Williams' rookie year.
Already, Stroud has reached the level of NFL elite to which Williams aspires. On second-and-10 at the end of the first quarter, for example, Stroud escaped pressure and hit Nico Collins on the move for a first down, the kind of special throw the elite passers make. Simply put, Stroud looked the part and is perhaps the best quarterback the Bears will face all season.
More evidence came on the first play of the fourth quarter, when Stroud escaped the Bears' rush and found Collins again across the middle for a gain of 26.
The athleticism of Collins especially posed a problem the Bears struggled to solve. Collins used his quickness and strength to get inside Bears cornerback Tyrique Stevenson for a 28-yard touchdown in the first half. He did it again on the Texans' opening play of the second half. Stevenson, the reigning NFC Defensive Player of the Week, has had better days but will face few tougher challenges. He eventually found his footing, like the entire defense did.
Overall, the Bears only gave up 310 yards and surrendered 19 points to one of the best teams in the AFC. They found a way to get the ball back when defensive tackle Andrew Billings forced Cam Akers to fumble and Kevin Byard recovered at the Texans' 4-yard line with 6:38 left.
Suffice to say, the Bears offense has a long way to go to catch up to a defense that's legitimately a top-10 unit.
Tempers flared in the third quarter when Texans linebacker Azeez Al-Shaair hit Williams high on a scramble just before the quarterback stepped out of bounds. Had Al-Shaair had contact with Williams' helmet, officials likely would've thrown a flag for unnecessary roughness. It looked bad because Williams lost his balance and the momentum of the hit carried both players on the Bears sideline, where a melee ensued.
In the fray, Al-Shaair punched Bears running back Roschon Johnson — who wasn't even involved in the play — but somehow not a single official saw it. How can that happen? A Texans player punches a Bears player, but there's no penalty or ejection? In today's replay era, it's unacceptable when one NFL player can punch an opponent with no repercussions.
The Bears had to be encouraged, however, by the way teammates rushed over to defend their quarterback.
They obviously still believe in Williams, no small thing if people start to doubt the quarterback after another uneven performance.
On the opening drive, Williams appeared to improve his poise and overall pocket presence. But then it was as if the Texans decided to turn up the heat with their blitz package, forcing Williams to make throws he'll want back. A big one came on the first third down to open the second half, when Williams lofted a pass out of the reach of DeAndre Carter, who was open. That can't happen.
Harder lessons came later in the second half. Williams' first career interception came on a floater intended for Moore that Derrick Stingley Jr. picked off. Before that, Williams was spared by a Texans penalty when he forced an ill-advised throw across his body and the field intended for Odunze that cornerback Kamari Lassiter intercepted.
Later, Lassiter came down with one that counted in the fourth quarter after Williams somehow wriggled out of the grasp of Anderson — who ripped the quarterback's undershirt — and underthrew Kmet. It was the second consecutive series in which Williams appeared to be trying too hard to make something happen.
This version of Williams — the one with shaky throwing mechanics and bouts of skittishness — never surfaced in preseason. It's far too familiar now.
"I'm just trying to figure out what I need to get better at," Williams said.
Unfortunately, the answer is everything. But he can't do it alone.
David Haugh is the co-host of the Mully & Haugh Show from 5-10 a.m. weekdays on 670 The Score. Click here to listen. Follow him on Twitter @DavidHaugh.