Caleb Williams, Bears O-Line Struggled to Handle Houston's Pressure

It has been anything but a good start to the 2024 season for the Bears offense. They rank 2nd-to-last in total yards and dead last in yards per play. I think we all anticipated some struggles considering a rookie quarterback would be at the helm, but no one expected dead last.

The biggest concern for Chicago so far is their inability to handle the pass rush. The Bears had a rough one against the Texans in Week 2, allowing pressure on over 40% of dropbacks as well as 7 sacks.

This falls primarily on the offensive line, which lost 1-on-1’s and struggled to handle the stunts Houston was throwing their way all night. But it also falls somewhat on Caleb Williams and his tendency to hold the ball.

We’ll focus on the offensive line first.

After converting a pair of 3rd downs to start the game, the Bears faced a 3rd-and-9 from the Texans’ 25-yard line. Houston came out in a tilted front with 3 defensive linemen to the left of the center and linebacker Azeez Al-Shaair on the line of scrimmage over the left guard:

This is a look we’ve often seen from DeMeco Ryans’ defense going back to his San Francisco days. It’s a front designed to create advantageous 1-on-1 matchups and is ideal for stunts, which is exactly what the Texans threw at Chicago on this play: