The Houston Texans once again came up just short of a win in Week 3, this time against the Chicago Bears. They lost this time by a score of 23-20, and were in it right until the end, very nearly pulling off an upset. But, as has been the case for the first three games of the season, Houston simply couldn't get out of their own way in this one, and they fell to 0-2-1 on the season.

This game was the continuation a strange start to the 2022 season for the Texans, as they have remained fairly competent in each of their first three contests, but just haven't been able to make game-winning plays. They tied the Indianapolis Colts in Week 1, and were hanging with a high-powered Denver Broncos offense deep into the fourth quarter in Week 2.

They stayed neck-and-neck with Chicago throughout this one, and they probably should have ended up winning this game. But they once again find themselves in the loss column, and there are quite a few guilty parties for this loss. Let's take a look at three of those players and see how their poor play hurt the Texans.

3. Brandin Cooks

While there weren't many expectations for the Texans offense heading into the season, it was clear that their top wide receiver Brandin Cooks was expected to have a solid season with Davis Mills under center. Cooks managed to overcome some inconsistent quarterback play last season to have a strong year, and given his success with Mills last season, it seemed reasonable to expect Cooks to do some damage for Houston this year.

Through three weeks, though, Cooks has largely been a nonfactor in their offense, and he was invisible for most of their Week 3 contest. Cooks commanded a team-high seven targets, but only managed to turn that into two catches for 22 yards in this one. That's not very good considering the weakened state of the Bears secondary.

It's a bit unfair to harp on Cooks given that Houston's passing game hasn't really gotten off the ground this season, but it's clear he's going to have to be better if the Texans want to win any games this season. His inability to capitalize on a favorable matchup against Chicago hampered Houston, and it will be interesting to see if he can bounce back in Week 4 against the Los Angeles Chargers.

2. Davis Mills

The most obvious reason for Cooks' struggles is Davis Mills. For the second straight week, Mills poor play under center cost the Texans dearly, and he made the biggest mistake of the game for Houston at the worst possible time. If Mills has even an average game for the Texans, they probably would have come out on top in this one.

Mills statline (20/32, 245 YDS, 1 TD, 2 INT) was an improvement from his contest last week against the Broncos, but he still looks rather out of sorts to start the season. He has struggled to consistently get his top target in Cooks involved; in fact, he really hasn't gotten on the same page of any of his receivers for the most part to start the season.

Mills had a chance to win this game for the Texans when he got the ball back with about 1:40 left in the fourth-quarter of a 20-20 game, but he threw an interception on the third play of the drive that gifted the Bears great field position, which they eventually turned into a game-winning field goal. Mills was better in Week 3, but he is going to need to play a lot better moving forward if Houston wants to win.

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1. The entire Texans rush defense

It would be unfair to single out one player in the Texans defense for the unit's overall struggles against the run. One player can help slow things down, but when an opposing rushing attack has a big day, it typically isn't because of one player. For that reason, the entire Texans rush defense earns the top spot on this list.

Houston probably breathed a sigh of relief when David Montgomery was forced out of the game on the Bears second drive, but they ended up getting absolutely torched by his backup Khalil Herbert. Herbert led the Bears on the ground with 157 yards and two touchdowns on 20 carries, leading Chicago to victory.

Herbert wasn't the only one to have success on the ground, as Chicago's rushing attack as a whole picked up 281 yards on 40 carries throughout the day, good for an outrageous seven yards per carry. You aren't going to win many games when you are giving up seven yards on every run. Mills wasn't great in this game, but if the Texans defense did anything to slow down the Bears on the ground, this game wouldn't have been close.