NFL Preseason, Hall of Fame Game: Bears 21, Texans 17 — Four Winners, Four Losers

After each Houston Texans game, I do an article listing the winners and losers of the game, as you are about to read. But the ultimate winner on Thursday night at the Hall of Fame Game in Canton, Ohio, was Mother Nature, as the game was called late in the third quarter amid thunder, lightning, and torrential downpours.

The score at the time of the game being suspended was Bears 21, Texans 17, so I suppose that’s the final score, a meaningless factoid unless you gamble on preseason football. There were indeed actual human beings who were winners and losers on Thursday night, so here are a few of them:

WINNERS

4. Collin Johnson
Normally, in the preseason, the winners and losers would all be associated with the Texans, but it’s hard to ignore the night that Johnson had. Folks down this way may be familiar with Johnson from his time as a Texas Longhorn in college. Since getting drafted in 2020 by the Jaguars, Johnson is on his third NFL team, and has only had a few hundred yards receiving total in his career. On Thursday night, though, he had three great catches, including two touchdowns. Thursday night, we were left wondering “How does a guy that big, 6-foot-6, not do this more often?”

3. Cam Akers
There are some hard decisions for Nick Caserio and DeMeco Ryans to make at a few positions. At running back, it’s very evident that Joe Mixon and Dameon Pierce have spots secured on this team, which leaves, at most, two running back spots. It would appear Dare Ogunbowale may have one of those, as he started on Thursday night. Akers made the best case for a spot on the team of the other backs, as the Texans touchdown drive in the second quarter saw him with seven touches, including the eventual touchdown. Akers looked very comfortable running in this scheme, which stands to reason, as he played in this offense in both Los Angeles and Minnesota.

2. Xavier Hutchinson
Running back is a competitive position on this team, as mentioned above, but no position has more competition just to make the team than wide receiver, and Hutchinson made quite a statement on Thursday night. The second year wideout from Iowa State had five catches on six targets for 56 yards, and tacked on an end around for 8 yards. This builds on a camp where Hutchinson has flashed a few times. I would expect the Texans to keep six wideouts, so Hutchinson is in a dog fight with John Metchie, Robert Woods, Ben Skowronek and Steven Sims, among others.

1. Davis Mills
2023 was an interesting season for Mills. On the plus side, he was the second string quarterback for most of the season, and he got to spend a year in the University of Shanahan at Slowik, learning the system that is taking over the NFL. On the minus side, when push came to shove and the Texans actually needed a backup QB against the Titans in Week 15, they elevated Case Keenum. Perhaps those days are over, if Thursday night is any indicator. Mills looked confident, in control, and even nimble in avoiding the pass rush a few times. He finished the game with two scoring drives

LOSERS

4. Teagan Quitoriano
Tight end is one of the more interesting position groups on this team. There are only four tight ends in camp, two of whom are locks to make the team — starter Dalton Schultz and rookie Cade Stover. Brevin Jordan has been impressive in camp, so Quitoriano is left hoping to impress the coaches enough for them to keep four tight ends. On the first drive, he was on his way to doing that, with a nice touchdown catch. Unfortunately, moments later, Quitoriano was carted off the field with an apparent leg injury. Injuries cut his first two seasons short, and it looks like his third season could be unfolding similarly.

3. Hall of Famers not named Andre Johnson
The Hall of Fame class, as is tradition, gets introduced to the crowd at the Hall of Fame football game prior to kick off. As Hall of Fame classes go, this is a pretty decent one. If there is a headliner, it might actually be Andre Johnson, who will be the final inductee to speak on Saturday afternoon at the induction ceremony. I don’t know how good Andre’s speech will be, but I can say with confidence that if I needed anybody from this class to go give me five or six snaps in an NFL game, Dre looks most equipped to handle that out of this year’s class.

Hall of Fame moments pic.twitter.com/c1X9wcRPnw

— Houston Texans (@HoustonTexans) August 2, 2024

2. John Metchie III
Metchie is in the third year of his rookie contract, but really only entering his second season as a player, having missed his rookie season while undergoing cancer treatments. His second season was underwhelming, but that’s to be expended after a year suffering from cancer. This spring and summer, Metchie seemed to regain his explosiveness, and he had made some plays in practice this year. However, he has also been inconsistent in securing the football, and in Thursday night’s game, Metchie was targeted just twice, with a four-yard catch and a crucial drop on a third down.

1. New kickoff rule
We got our first look at the new kickoff rules being implemented in an actual NFL game. As they outlined on the telecast of the game, the idea with the new kickoff rules is to encourage more returns and fewer touchbacks. One game in, we did see far more returns, but they were all smothered once the return guy reached the mass of humanity around the 25 yard line. No kicks were returned further than the return team’s own 32 yard line.

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