It’s official! The NFL has returned in full force! On August 1, the NFL kicked off its 2024-25 season in Canton, Ohio, at the Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium, where fans witnessed the season’s first preseason game between the Houston Texans and the Chicago Bears in the Pro Football Hall of Fame Game. Due to severe weather conditions, the game was suspended with 3:31 left in the third quarter, and the Bears emerged victorious with a score of 21-17.
The head coach of the Bears, Matt Eberflus, agreed with the NFL’s decision to suspend the game due to stormy weather and lightning. He elaborated on his thoughts in an interview with Grant Gordon of NFL.com.
“The NFL made the right move with lightning in the area,” said Eberflus. “That was good to see.”
He continued, “They knew the weather was coming in and told us before the game,” Eberflus said. “They had a plan in place to watch it because you never know how bad it’s going to be in terms of the lightning and the severity of it. It was severe enough that they called it. They made a good call.”
Although fans didn’t get a chance to see the No.1 overall pick Caleb Williams, the Bears’ backup quarterback Brett Rypien and receiver Collin Johnson played outstanding. Rypien completed 11 of his 15 passes for 166 yards and threw three touchdowns. Rypien’s performance didn’t shock Eberflus because the six-year veteran has experience playing under Bears offensive coordinator Shane Waldron. Late last season, Rypien played for the Seattle Seahawks where Waldron also served as the offensive coordinator.
“He’s been in this offense,” Eberflus said. “He knows the offense well. He’s heard the verbiage. He understands the concepts and you can see that. He definitely understands the space that needs to be occupied by the receivers and how they get open. You could see that today. He was throwing guys open.”
Meanwhile, Johnson made three phenomenal catches, for 56 yards and two touchdowns. One catch included when the 6-foot-6 receiver practically leaped over the 6-foot Ford and plucked the ball out of the air.
“It was one pass, one catch, but it was a big-time play for us,” Johnson said. “It was a go ball and he put it back shoulder right on the money, where a big receiver like me likes it. So I told him that’s the perfect ball for me.”
“We connected kind of the same way [in practice],” Rypien said. “It was another down-the-field, just-give-him-a-chance 50/50 type of ball. Even one of those gives you a lot of confidence in a guy that he’s going to go up and make a play. So anytime I saw an opportunity when they were playing man coverage tonight, I was trying to take advantage of that.”
The Houston Texans started the game on fire. They quickly went up 10-0 by scoring on their first two possessions. Although Texans fans didn’t see their superstar quarterback C.J Stroud, they did see Davis Mills, who played impressive in the first quarter. On the Texans’ opening drive, Mills led the team downfield and capped off an incredible drive by making an incredible 9-yard touchdown pass to tight end Teagan Quitoriano. Then after the Texans’ defense got a stop, kicker Ka’imi Fairbairn nailed a 33-yard field goal on the second drive. Both scores were the result of exciting 74-yard drives.
“Davis did a really nice job, really commanding the offense, really being efficient in the passing game,” Head Coach DeMeco Ryans said. “I like what Davis did tonight and it’s something that he can continue to build on.”
After playing two possessions, Mills’ night was over. He completed 10 of 13 passes for 102 yards and a touchdown, all in only 13 minutes.
“It was a great opportunity to go out there and play live football,” Mills said. “We’ve been grinding so far during camp, and it’s a battle each and every day going against our own guys. So it’s fun to actually go out there and play a different opponent and different scheme and really see how the hard work we’re putting in pays off. Obviously, we still have a long way to go. But I thought the guys that stepped up today played well and executed their job.”
Texans backup, Case Keenum also saw the field during the Hall of Fame game. The veteran quarterback threw a 4-yard touchdown to running back Cam Akers to give Houston a 17-14 lead going into halftime. Keenum finished completing 7 of 8 passes for 78 yards and one touchdown.
The Houston Texans will remain in Ohio to attend the Pro Football Hall of Fame enshrinement ceremony on Saturday, where the former Texans franchise receiver Andre Johnson will be inducted. Johnson played three seasons at Miami from 2000-02 and won a national championship team during his sophomore season. In his junior year, Johnson had 52 catches for 1,092 yards and averaged 21 yards per catch with nine touchdowns. His play led him to be selected by the Texans third overall in the 2003 NFL draft. He played 12 of his 14 season in Houston. He is 11th all-time in NFL career receptions, and in NFL receiving yards. He also made the Pro Bowl seven times and was named to four All-Pro teams. Johnson will be the first Texans player to be inducted into the Hall of Fame.
“I just never thought I would be a part of it,” Johnson, 43, said last week. “I never was like, ‘Oh, I want to be a Hall of Famer.’ I think for me, because I’m such a fan of the game, I was always excited to see other guys get in. But to be honest, I never really thought about it. Of course, when you’re playing, reporters would come up after games, telling me, ‘You could possibly be in the Hall of Fame one day,’ and things of that nature. But I just never thought about it.
“So, to get that knock on the door,” Johnson added, referring to the visit he received from Hall of Fame wide receiver Cris Carter welcoming him into the NFL’s most elite fraternity, “that was special.”
The Texans will have practice sessions in the Cleveland area from Monday through Wednesday. The team will depart on Thursday to face the Steelers in Pittsburgh next Friday.
