With most of the starters on the sidelines in street clothes, the weather and one of the NFL’s biggest rules change in recent years stole the spotlight as the Chicago Bears defeated the Houston Texans 21-17 on Thursday in the Hall of Fame Game at Canton, Ohio.
The game, which serves as both the start of the preseason and the beginning of Hall of Fame weekend that ends with the enshrinement of this year’s class, was cut short because of inclement weather with 3:31 remaining in the third quarter.
With No. 1 overall pick Caleb Williams — slated to start at quarterback for the Bears on Week 1 — and Texans quarterback and reigning Offensive Player of the Year C.J. Stroud held out of the game, Houston’s Davis Mills and Chicago’s Tyson Bagent instead got the starts. Mills led Houston to a touchdown on the game’s opening drive, hitting Teagan Quitoriano for a 9-yard score.
Mills finished the game 10 of 13 for 102 yards and the touchdown.
While Bagent wasn’t able to do much (2 of 3, 16 yards) in his lone drive, Brett Rypien came in and sparked the Bears to the win.
After Ka’imi Fairbairn hit a 33-yard field goal with 12:13 left in the second quarter for a 10-0 Texans lead, Rypien threw for three touchdowns.
First, he hit Collin Johnson for a 20-yard score with 8:22 left before halftime. Then, after Cam Akers caught a 4-yard TD pass from Case Keenum with 1:44 left in the second to reclaim a 10-point lead for Houston, Rypien connected with Tommy Sweeney from 22 yards out with 46 seconds to go in the second to make it 17-14.
Rypien then hit Johnson again, this time from 9 yards, on the second half’s opening drive, scoring what ultimately became the game’s final points.
The game also featured the NFL’s new kickoff rules. Among the changes, most players on the kicking and returning teams line up 5 to 10 yards apart (between the return team’s 30- and 40-yard lines) and cannot move until the ball is received, and kickoffs fielded between the goal line and the returning team’s 20-yard line must be returned.
The Texans returned three kickoffs for a 20-yard average while the Bears returned four for a 24.8 average. The longest return of the night was 31 yards.
–Field Level Media
