Texans quarterback C.J. Stroud has all sorts of built-in excuses to struggle as a rookie starter this season.
He is playing for a team that went 3-13-1 last season. He is playing for a first-time head coach in DeMeco Ryans, whose background is on defense. He is playing for a first-time offensive coordinator in Bobby Slowik. He is playing in an offense that was mostly rebuilt, with only two returning full-time starters.
He is playing with modest weapons, with declining Robert Woods the big offseason addition. He is playing behind an offensive line starting together for the first time — and one that lost its best player, left tackle Laremy Tunsil, to a knee injury in Week 1.
And he is a quarterback from Ohio State. Those guys never work out.
But here we are, three weeks into the 2023 season, and Stroud has provided more evidence that he can be a franchise quarterback in three games with Slowik than the Bears’ Justin Fields has in 20 games with coordinator Luke Getsy.
Stroud passed for 384 yards against the Colts in Week 1. He passed for 280 yards and two touchdowns and had a 118.7 passer rating in an upset of the Jaguars on the road Sunday. He’s completing 64.5% of his passes. He has yet to throw an interception.
Stroud still has a long way to go to become the Texans’ franchise quarterback. He has to stay healthy and build on his initial success. Right now, however, he has provided a valuable commodity for a struggling franchise: hope. He has provided evidence that the general manager picked the right guy and that the coaching staff has a clue about how to develop him, even though circumstances around him aren’t absolutely perfect.
The Bears have none of that with GM Ryan Poles, coach Matt Eberflus, Getsy and Fields after three games. While Texans fans can dare to dream with Stroud showing early flashes, Bears fans are left with an age-old lament: Why is developing a quarterback at Halas Hall always like pulling teeth? Why does everything have to be perfect for a young Bears quarterback to have success? What is Slowik doing that Getsy isn’t?
This isn’t cherry-picking. Stroud is only one of several quarterbacks drafted since 2021 who have shown at least flashes of progress in 2023, while Fields continues to spin his wheels in Getsy’s offense.
Of the eight quarterbacks drafted in the last three years who have started three games this season, Fields is last in passer rating (67.7), with the 49ers’ Brock Purdy (106.3) and Stroud (98.0) topping that list.
Even the developing quarterbacks who are just OK and might not be the answer have had games with 100-plus passer ratings: the Falcons’ Desmond Ridder (111.8) in a victory against the Panthers; the Steelers’ Kenny Pickett (108.5) in a victory against the Raiders; the Commanders’ Sam Howell (108.8) in a victory against the Broncos. Getsy’s offense has been so poor this season that Fields can’t even provide false hope.
Fields and Getsy might make it yet, but you can’t blame Bears fans for thinking there’s got to be a better way. You only have to look around the league to know there definitely is.
2. The upshot of Alan Williams’ ‘‘resignation’’ as the Bears’ defensive coordinator is that, as bizarre as it was, it had no impact. It was almost like he was never there.
A year ago, the Bears lost to the Cowboys 49-29 the week after Robert Quinn was traded, then lost their final nine games after Roquan Smith was traded the next week. Their 41-10 loss to the Chiefs on Sunday wasn’t because of any emotional letdown; it simply was because they’re a poor team with no direction or identity.
In the Brian Urlacher/Lance Briggs era, the Bears could ‘‘bunker down’’ and rally behind coach Love Smith and the notion that everybody is against them in tough times, but those defenses were pretty good. It’s not surprising this team doesn’t have any rally in it. It remains to be seen whether it ever will. Eberflus’ job depends on it.
3. If you’re willing to give Getsy and Fields one more chance, this is the week. The Broncos are allowing a league-leading 133.6 passer rating (eight touchdowns, one interception) through three games. The Dolphins’ Tua Tagovailoa had a 155.8 rating against them in a 70-20 rout Sunday, the Commanders’ Howell had a 108.8 rating against them and the Raiders’ Jimmy Garoppolo was at 107.9.
4. How bad are the Bears? The Broncos are three-point favorites on the road against them Sunday — after losing by 50 points to the Dolphins.
The Broncos are the fifth team since the merger to lose by 50 points one week and be favored the next week. But the other four were playing at home.
5. This isn’t the single-game Futility Bowl of all time. In 2011, the Colts lost to the Saints 62-7 on the road and played the next week at the Titans, who had lost to the Texans 41-7 at home the previous week.
But even the 2011 Titans, coming off a 34-point loss, were 7.5-point favorites at home. The Bears, coming off a 31-point loss, are ’dogs against the Broncos.
6. You have to feel for Bears defensive end DeMarcus Walker, who never has played on a winning team in his seven-year career (34-67) and again seems to be at the wrong place at the wrong time.
‘‘I’m tired of losing, man,’’ Walker said after the loss to the Chiefs on Sunday. ‘‘I don’t like losing. I’m not that type of person. . . . I was born a winner. I know exactly how bad these guys around here and Poles want to win. It takes all 53 guys. Everybody on the same page, getting turnovers, stopping the run, making a play.’’
7. Quick hits: The Bears have trailed for 144 minutes, 43 seconds — 80.4% of the season. They’ve trailed by 10 or more points for 79:42 (44.3% of the season). . . . The last five starting quarterbacks the Bears have faced have had a season-best passer rating against them (Patrick Mahomes, Baker Mayfield, Jordan Love, Kirk Cousins and Jared Goff). . . . Former Bears offensive lineman James Daniels has played all 1,339 snaps in 20 consecutive starts at right guard for the Steelers since last season. The Bears have used six players at right guard during that span. . . . Former Bears linebacker Nick Morrow, playing behind rookie defensive tackle Jalen Carter, had a safety for the Eagles, plus another tackle for loss, in a 25-11 victory Monday against the Buccaneers.
8. Jim Harbaugh watch: The Michigan coach returned to the sidelines after serving a three-game suspension, and the No. 2 Wolverines (4-0) responded with a 31-7 thrashing of Rutgers — scoring on offense, defense and special teams. Michigan is 29-3 under Harbaugh in the last two-plus seasons.
9. Ex-Bears Player of the Week: Dolphins running back Raheem Mostert gained 142 yards from scrimmage and accounted for four touchdowns in a 70-20 demolition of the Broncos.
Mostert, who played 17 special-teams snaps for the Bears in 2016, had 13 carries for 82 yards and three touchdowns and seven receptions for 60 yards and a touchdown.
10. Bear-ometer: 3-14 — vs. Broncos (L); at Commanders (L); vs. Vikings (L); vs. Raiders (W); at Chargers (L); at Saints (L); vs. Panthers (W); at Lions (L); at Vikings (L); vs. Lions (L); at Browns (L); vs. Cardinals (W); vs. Falcons (L); at Packers (L).
