Houston Texans vs Chicago Bears: Final Game Grades and Player Analysis

The weather was sloppy and so was the field. The Bears could not muster up much of anything on offense and lost to the Texans 13-6. 

Jay Cutler left the game after the first half with a concussion after taking a blow to the head. He finished with a quarterback rating of just 16.7 and had two interceptions. The Bears had four turnovers on the night. 

Arian Foster had a big first half for the Texans but was shut down in the second half. He finished the game with 102 yards on the ground in 29 carries. He had the game's only touchdown, a two-yard pass from Matt Schaub. 

Brandon Marshall was the Bears biggest offensive threat with eight catches for 107 yards. Matt Forte finished with only 39 yards on the ground and Jason Campbell had a ton of check downs with only 94 yards through the air on 11 completions. 45 of those yards came on one pass to Marshall. 

The Bears are now 7-2 and still atop the NFC North. They will prepare to face the San Francisco 49ers next week who finished in a tie with the St. Louis Rams. 

Quarterbacks

Jay Cutler: D

There was only one half of action for Cutler but it wasn't pretty at all. He had two interceptions, both very bad passes that should have never left his hand. Ultimately, his inability to avoid the big hit was his demise in the game. 

Jason Campbell: D

Campbell had one nice play. The 45-yard pass to Brandon Marshall. Other than that he looked timid to throw the ball down field even when receivers were open. There has to be some concern now about the backup position going forward. 

Running Backs

Matt Forte: C-

Forte only had 39 yards on the ground in 16 carries. He just could not grind out chunks of yards in the middle of the field and the Texans are too fast to beat them on the corners.

Michael Bush: C-

That fumble was huge. Not only was it a big momentum killer but it probably caused the coaching staff to lose confidence in Bush. Had he not have fumbled he could have had a big game because the conditions were perfect for his style. Just look at when he did get a chance, he had 34 yards on the ground in only three rushes.

Evan Rodriguez: B

Rodriguez continues to show he is a solid blocking fullback. Unfortunately that's all he is right now and everybody thought he was brought in to be more than that. 

Defense

Brandon Marshall: B

Good game for Marshall. Led the way again with eight receptions for 107 yards. Does not get an A though because he dropped a touchdown pass in the end zone. 

Earl Bennett: C

Bennett only had one catch and he was open more than that especially in the second half. 

Devin Hester: D

Hester is terrible at working toward the quarterback and coming back to the football. He left some big plays out on the field due to his inability to be a marginally decent receiver. 

Tight Ends

Kellen Davis: F

The Bears need to seriously evaluate why Davis is still on the team. He gives them nothing in the receiving and blocking game. When he's not slipping or dropping passes now he's fumbling? Not good at all. 

Matt Spaeth: B

Solid blocking game for Spaeth and hey he caught three passes. That's two more than Davis if you're keeping track. 

Kyle Adams: B-

Did solid in the blocking game. Was used to help out the tackles on the outside and was able to keep the defensive ends at bay. 

Offensive Line

J'Marcus Webb: B+

Remember, when you don't hear Webb's name that means he's had a good night. Webb played well and pressure from the blindside was not an issue throughout the game. 

Chilo Rachel: D

Rachel did not open too many holes in the running game and had a couple key penalties on top of that. Not a good game at all for him. 

Roberto Garza: C-

Garza was free to get to the second level against the Texans' linebackers but he didn't do a good job in getting a hat on guys. The inability to not block at the second level really slowed down the running game. 

Lance Louis: B

Seen often throughout the night helping on J.J. Watt, Louis did a nice job keeping the star lineman at bay. He was beat a couple times but that's to be expected against a player the caliber of Watt. 

Gabe Carimi: B

Like Louis, Carimi did a nice job on Watt. He was also beat about twice but you take that anytime especially coming from Carimi who has been terrible the last couple of weeks. 

Defensive Line

Julius Peppers: B

Peppers was credited with the only sack in the game. He did a nice job setting the edge early in the game. He was beat in the second quarter when Houston made an adjustment but rebounded very well in the second half. 

Henry Melton: A

Melton provided outstanding push up the middle the entire game. He was the star of the second half for the Bears as they shut down Arian Foster after a big second quarter. 

Stephen Paea: C

Somewhat forgettable performance for Paea. He was on the field quite often in that second quarter when the Texans gashed the Bears on the ground. 

Israel Idonije: B

Idonije also did a nice job setting the edge throughout the game. 

Corey Wootton: B-

Saw extended time on the field due to an injury that shortened the Bears linemen rotation. He didn't get much of a pass rush but was able to get a big hit on Matt Schaub and do a solid job in the second half when the Texans ran it. 

Nate Collins: B

Collins continues to impress since dressing for the first time a couple weeks ago. He provides great energy for the team up the middle and is gaining playing time over the slumping Paea. 

Shea McClellin: Incomplete

McClellin was lost early in the game due to a concussion. 

Linebackers

Brian Urlacher: B

Urlacher was active in the game. He played the underneath routes and running game well. On a couple of occasions had had a hard time cleaning up tackles he used to make but otherwise a good game and led the team in tackles overall. 

Lance Briggs: B

Briggs really turned it on in the second half to help shut down the run. He did have outstanding coverage on Arian Foster when he caught the touchdown pass, Foster just made a great catch. 

Nick Roach: C+

Roached started off well, had a terrible second quarter and come back to finish strong in the second half. Sadly, it was the second quarter that did the Bears in. It wasn't all on him but he missed some tackles in the running game that led to some big runs. 

Secondary

Charles Tillman: B

Look, Tillman is not going to have a game like he did against the Titans every week. That still doesn't mean he can't be good. He did a good job shutting down Andre Johnson who is one of the top talents in the league at the receiver position. 

Tim Jennings: A

Matt Schaub saw that Johnson wasn't open most of the time and decided to look Jennings' way. Big mistake. Jennings had two interceptions to add to his lead leading total with eight. 

Kelvin Hayden: A

Hayden had really done a nice job since taking over the nickel role for the Bears. Tonight might have been his best game coverage wise of the season. 

Chris Conte: B-

Whenever Conte stuck his nose around the line of scrimmage he seemed to get swallowed up by the Texans' big offensive line. When he dropped in coverage he was good. 

Major Wright: B

Good game for Wright. He made plays early on near the line of scrimmage and helped protect the back half of the field throughout the game. 

Special Teams

Robbie Gould: B-

If you ask Gould he will tell you he should have made that late kick that would have made it a one point game. He pushed it just a little too much and it hit the upright. He still accounted for all the Bears' points in the game. 

Adam Podlesh: A

It was Podlesh's punting in the second half that kept the Bears in the game. It allowed the defense to not be up against the wall and the Bears won the battle of field position in the second half even though they could not take advantage on offense. 

Coaching

Lovie Smith: B

Tactically, there wasn't much else Smith could do. He managed the clock well especially for the last drive and any coach would have challenged the Cutler throw that was past the line of scrimmage. The offense does have to be a concern for him going forward. 

Mike Tice: D

Not enough Matt Forte in the passing game and Tice continues to do a poor job and allowing his quarterback to get into any kind of a rhythm. The Bears are terrible on first down and have to settle for too many field goals when they reach the red zone. 

Rod Marinelli: B+

Marinelli and the defense came out with a gameplan to slow down Matt Schaub and Arian Foster. You can say it worked for all of one drive and fatigue more than anything might have set in there. His defense responded in the second half do to an outstanding job.