Bears 36, Texans 7
Q. Romeo, how would you describe the way you guys played today, especially on defense?
ROMEO CRENNEL: It was uninspired. You know, we didn't have the energy that we have been having the last couple weeks. I don't know why, what it was. But that will, that attitude the last couple weeks that we've played with, we didn't have that today.
Q. You being a defensive specialist, the way you performed on defense, does that hurt worse, especially considering you'd been playing better?
ROMEO CRENNEL: Well, losing hurts, whether it's on defense, offense, special teams. Losing hurts. And then the fact that we didn't play with the kind of energy that we have been playing with, you know, that was disappointing.
Q. Was there any thought given to taking Deshaun Watson out, and what was the nature of the exam that he underwent when he missed the play? Was it his elbow or was it his hand?
ROMEO CRENNEL: He got hit on the funny bone. You know how those funny bones in the elbow, they, boom, bang the nerve for a minute. But he came off and worked it around and got the feeling back, and so we put him back in the game.
Q. With the duress he was under, not having Brandin Cooks but also the hits he was taking, could you talk about the situation he was facing today?
ROMEO CRENNEL: Well, we didn't protect him well enough so he took some hits, and we don't like to see him take hits, but hits are part of the game, and so he's a competitor and he wants to try to win every play, every snap, every game. And so that's what we were trying to do, particularly when we got behind pretty early in the game.
Q. What was the conversation you had with Deshaun after he came out of the game for that one play?
ROMEO CRENNEL: I told him to make sure he protected himself as we went down the line.
Q. Do you worry at all about his protection the rest of the season and making sure that he can make it through the season in one piece?
ROMEO CRENNEL: Well, if we let him get hit as many times as he did today, there would be reason to worry. But you know, the last couple weeks, there's been better protection, better attitude all the way around. And so if we can get back to what we've been doing, playing with the energy and effort that we've had the last several weeks, then we will not worry as much.
Q. Very few of Trubisky's passes traveled more than 10 yards downfield. Was there anything you guys could have done to take away some of those shorter completions, make him have to prove himself further downfield and make life a little harder on him?
ROMEO CRENNEL: You know what, we were playing a little bit more zone, and so a lot of times when you play zone, there are soft spots in the zones, and they were hitting those soft spots. When they hit those spots in the zones, what you have to do is you have to rally up and be strong tacklers to get him down on the ground, discourage him from making those throws, and we didn't do that well enough today.
Q. You guys were down 37 at halftime and it was 33-7 going into the fourth quarter. Did you consider taking Deshaun out of that game, especially when he was taking those really hard hits?
ROMEO CRENNEL: Well, hey, this game is called football, and there are hard hits that occur in the game. When you're at the quarterback, you're going to take some of them.
We decided to leave him in the game and let him finish the game.
Q. Y'all got down 14-0, you cut it in half to get it to 14-7. You get a stop and after that stop Deshaun takes a safety. How much did that sequence impact the game?
ROMEO CRENNEL: Well, you know what, anytime that you have it close and then you give up a play that puts points on the board for them and then gives them the ball back, that makes it more difficult.
You know, I think after that safety, our defense came out and I don't know if they held them to a field goal, but they didn't score a touchdown. So that was a mini-victory in itself.
But you have to react to what happens in the game, and as the game went along, they got too far ahead, and we were not as competitive as we needed to be.
Q. How do you think Trubisky played?
ROMEO CRENNEL: Well, he played decently, to tell you the truth, because he's completing his shorter passes, moving the sticks, and even though he didn't have to go deep, he took what was open for him, and so you've got to give him credit for that.
Q. With the injury to Brandin Cooks, was that something where you were expecting even on Saturday that he might not be able to go or was that something overnight you felt like it wouldn't be a good idea for him to play?
ROMEO CRENNEL: Well, during the course of the week we worked on him and tried to get him ready and he wanted to try to play, but as it turned out he wasn't able to play. We had to elevate some other guys.
Q. And the personnel that you had, how tough was that to not have David Johnson and Brandin and then have to plug in so many other people? And do you have an update on David and his testing and his status on the reserve COVID-19 list, if he's a positive or a close contact?
ROMEO CRENNEL: It was close contact. That's why he was on the list. And hopefully he'll be back because it's a five-day deal, so he should be back getting ready for the next game.
You know, when you lose your ability guys, then you try to replace them as best you can. Like Buddy came in and did a pretty decent job running the ball today, so that's what we have to do.
FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports