Game Recap: Rypien tosses three touchdowns in win over Texans |
CANTON - The unofficial, official start of the 2024 NFL season kicked off on Thursday as the Houston Texans and Chicago Bears opened up the preseason slate with the annual Hall of Fame Game. These are two of the more highly anticipated teams for this upcoming season, as both made a ton of offseason noise to better their roster.
Although none of the starters played for either side, there was still plenty of action to go around, leading to a great game. Behind three touchdown passes from Brett Rypien, the Bears came out on top of the Texans 21-17 in what was a rain-shortened victory for the Bears. No one ever wants to get excited about the preseason or the overall wins and losses, but this is one of those years where the Bears will have a ton of attention on them as they look to take the next step as a team. For that to happen, they will need their starters, especially the offense, to live up to expectations, but the backups put on a show last night. Things didn't get off to a great start for the Bears as their defense looked flat in the early going and allowed the Texans to march right down the field for an opening drive TD that took 13 plays and nearly half the first quarter off the clock. Davis Mills orchestrated that drive as the Texans used small gains to keep the chains moving before Mills hooked up with Cade Stover for 11 yards to move the ball inside the Bears red zone. He then found Xavier Hutchinson for another nice gain before delivering a nine-yard TD to Teagan Quitoriano as the Texans grabbed an early 7-0 lead. With the Bears first offensive series stalling out without any points, the Texans came back on the field as they continued to make things look easy against what was expected to be a strong defense this season. For the second drive in a row, the Texans used more than 11 plays and six minutes off the clock as they did a great job of keeping the Bears defense on the field. A lot of their plays were short to medium-sized gains until Mills hooked up with Ben Skoronek for 27 yards to move the ball inside Chicago territory. A few plays later, Dare Ogunbowale got involved in the passing game for another big first down, only to have the Bears defense tighten up in the end and hold the Texans to a 33-yard field goal to make things 10-0. Apparently, all the Bears needed to get their offense going was a change at QB, with Rypien coming in to relieve Tyson Bagent to start the second quarter. All he did in his first possession under center was lead the team 80 yards on eight plays as you started to see some of the explosive plays this team is hoping for this season. Khalil Herbert had several nice runs on that drive, including a 19-yard burst to move the ball inside the Texans red zone, but it was the arm of Rypien that did the most damage as he found Tommy Sweeney for 18 yards earlier in the drive before hooking up with Collin Johnson for one of his two touchdown receptions to pull Chicago within 10-7. Lettin' it Ryp 🎯 Johnson led the Bears with 56 yards receiving and two TDs, and he showed a ton of promise in this one. Following a pair of punts from both sides, the Texans' offense returned to the field with Case Keenum under center. This was the first time throughout the first half that Houston used a sense of urgency, as they needed nine plays to go 70 yards, taking less than four minutes to do so. While Hutchinson came away with close to 30 yards receiving on that drive to finish with a game-high 58 yards, Cam Aykers shouldered the load as he touched the ball five times on that possession, with his final touch coming on a four-yard TD reception. Aykers is coming off a torn Achilles, so to see him playing this soon is remarkable, as he could emerge as a real threat in Houston this season. Despite being down 17-7 and having less than two minutes to go in the first half, the Bears got one last opportunity as this was their first chance to execute a two-minute drill. Talk about implementing it to perfection, as the arm or Rypien was in full force, hooking up with Johnson for 33 yards before finding Dante Pettis for 22 to move the ball inside the 25. One play later, Rypien threaded the needle to Sweeney, who pulled it in for the 22-yard score as the Bears trailed 17-14 at the break. .@brettryp finds @Tommysweeney15 for 6! Rypien had the hot hand all night, going 11-16 for 166 yards and three scores as he continued to deliver to open the third. This time, Brendan Bates got involved as a massive 22-yard reception moved the ball toward midfield as the Bears were threatening again. Two plays later, Johnson appeared to come down with another big catch, only to have a replay overturn the play. .@Call_In_Johnson putting on a show 🤩 That didn't stop the Bears from attacking the Houston secondary, as Bates followed up his 22-yard reception with a 27-yard play, and the Bears were down to the Texans 14. Rypien capped off that drive with a nine-yard score to Johnson as the Bears took their first lead of the game, 21-17. The Collin Johnson game It was a lead they would never let get away as the Texans had an opportunity to pull within one later only to miss a 58-yard field goal as the inclement weather followed to end this game early with the Bears winning 21-17. Bears win? pic.twitter.com/NmnlGr9V5W
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