Brock Osweiler got off to a rocky start in his debut as Houston's new quarterback, but recovered nicely to lead the Texans to a 23-14 victory over the visiting Chicago Bears at NRG Stadium.
The 25-year-old Osweiler, who left the Broncos to sign with the Texans as a free agent in the offseason, threw an interception on the Texans' first possession. To be fair, Tracy Porter made a great play on the pass intended for DeAndre Hopkins.
Uh oh.
— NFL (@NFL) September 11, 2016
Brock Osweiler tries to find Nuk and... PICKED. #CHIvsHOU https://t.co/OBvbfVdsXB
But Osweiler, who signed a four-year, $72 million deal with the Texans, looked just fine on a play late in the first half, hitting Hopkins in the corner of the end zone for a 23-yard touchdown. He finished the half 12-for-17 for 83 yards with that TD and pick. He looked comfortable spreading the ball around, hitting eight different receivers.
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With the Texans trailing 14-13 early in the fourth quarter, Osweiler capped a nine-play, 64-yard drive with an 18-yard touchdown pass on third and long to wide receiver Will Fuller to put the Texans up 20-14.
Then, after the Bears punted on their next possession, Osweiler led Houston on a seven-play, 46-yard drive to set up a Nick Novak field goal. Osweiler came up big on third and short during that drive, hitting Fuller with a 35-yard completion.
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That would be all the Texans needed, as they held on for the victory. Curiously, the Bears are the only NFL team never to defeat the Texans.
As for Osweiler, he finished 22 of 35 for 231 yards, with those two touchdowns and the one interception. His counterpart, Jay Cutler, was 16 of 29 for 216 yards with a touchdown and, of course, an interception.