Bears lose season-opener in Houston

HOUSTON - This Chicago Bears team is clearly a work in progress, especially on offense.

That much was obvious after a season-opening, 23-14 road loss to the Texans in which the Bears failed to take advantage of a 14-10 halftime lead.

The offense was operating with a rookie center Cody Whitehair, who up until a week ago, had spent the vast majority of his time working at guard.

The offensive line recently added a three-time Pro Bowler at left guard in Josh Sitton, but he has been with the team just seven days. Starting wide receiver Kevin White, who missed his entire rookie season after shin surgery, played his first NFL snap Sunday.

The youth and inexperience showed, and it proved costly.

With the Bears already holding a 7-0 lead on Jeremy Langford 1-yard touchdown run, the visitors were poised to pad the advantage. Veteran wide receiver Eddie Royal's 31-yard punt return set up the offense for its next possession at the Texans' 40-yard line.

Four plays later, on fourth-and-inches at the 31, the Bears disdained a 49-yard field-goal attempt and went for it. But the exchange between Whitehair and Jay Cutler was botched on an attempted quarterback sneak.

The ball went over on downs to the Texans, who drove to a field goal that narrowed the Bears' lead to 7-3.

Asked about the option of kicking the field goal in that situation, Bears coach John Fox said: "It's inches. You'd like to think you've got to get that. It's about execution."

Whitehair accepted the blame for the center exchange.

"It was on me," he said. "I've got to bring it up a little higher and give it to Jay."

Told later that Whitehair took the blame, Cutler said: "That's the type of guy he is. He's a team guy. It means a lot to him."

Despite Whitehair's limited time at center, the second-round pick didn't use that as an excuse.

"I felt confident out there," he said. "I felt comfortable. Jay helped me with stuff and had me feeling comfortable out there. Obviously there were a few mistakes, but we'll get those cleaned up."

Early in the third quarter, with the Bears up 14-10, White turned inside on a route as Cutler threw to the outside, right into the arms of Andre Hal at the Bears' 37.

"That was just poor execution," said Fox, who declined to single out either individual. "I don't like getting into blaming games, but it obviously wasn't executed very well."

Hal returned Cutler's only pick 12 yards, setting up Nick Novak's 28-yard field goal that made it a 1-point game.

"I'll talk to Kevin about it, but it's his first game out there," Cutler said. "It left my hands, so it's my responsibility."

White was targeted seven times in his NFL debut and had 3 catches for 34 yards. He missed practice time during the week with a hamstring injury but said it didn't bother him Sunday.

"We've just got to watch it on film and move on to the next play," White said of the miscommunication. "I was out there, so I have to perform. It'll get better and we'll get better."

That was the general consensus. Now it's a question of how long the maturation process will take.

"It's just time and experience," said Cutler who had a 76.2 passer rating and was sacked five times. "It's Cody's first game out there. (Sitton) has been with us for four or five (practices). Kevin (White) is going to be fine. We're not worried about him. I'm going to play better. Offensively, we're going to play better."

What Fox said he learned about his team Sunday probably is something he suspected before the opening kickoff.

"We haven't been whole for very long, particularly the offensive line," he said. "We just added a guy this past week. All in all, I think the ability is there. Now, it's just getting on the same page."

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