Albert Breer on Bears’ Explosive Offense, Bills’ Shootout Win and Vikings’ QB Situation

The numbers tell you all that you need to know .

All right.

Welcome in to the Brew Report for Monday, September 14th.

Week one isn't quite in the books yet.

We still have one more game to go, but 15 games down.

We have a lot to get to this morning.

And the first thing that I want to touch on is the Bills beating the Texans in Houston.

Of course, that's been a house of horrors for Josh Allen in the last couple of years, 36 to 31.

And some of the statistical things they were able to do.

Um, against the Texans defense really stand out.

Number one, they went for 409 total yards.

That's the most the Texans defense has given up since Christmas of 2024.

They're 36 points were the most Texans have given up since Christmas Eve of 2023 and tied for the second most that they've given up.

In the 58 games that Damio Ryan has served as Texans head coach.

So, getting 100 yards from Dalton Kincaid, getting 100 yards from DJ Moore, getting over 300 yards from Josh Allen, um, all of it is a good indication of where the Bills are coming out of their first camp with Joe Brady as the head coach.

But more than just that, I think that there was an intangible value to this win.

Just in the way the team handled some stormy waters at the end of the game.

And the first thing would be the Josh Allen near interception towards the end of the game.

And if you remember, he threw the ball to Josh Palmer who didn't have a catch in the game.

It looked like Palmer lost the ball.

Either way, um, Allen put it up there and what the broadcast called a YOLO throw, it hung in the air.

Kamari Lasser had a real good shot at the interception.

It wasn't Josh Allen's first turnover-worthy play of the game.

And Lasseter just dropped it.

That's a really good player dropping a relatively easy interception, and that sort of throw is the sort of thing that might stick with a player, especially when he's playing against the defense in a stadium where he's had trouble in the past.

Instead, on the next play, Josh Allen went back to the same player, uh, on the same sort of downfield route against the same corner.

And wound up hitting Josh Palmer for a 34 yard touchdown.

So, If we're talking about some of the intangible things that Joe Brady was looking to bring to, to the Bills from a program standpoint, this is nothing against Sean McDermott.

Brady loves McDermott.

Allan loves McDermott still.

Um, the time had come to make a change, but, you know, this isn't anything against the way that it was done for 9 years under Sean McDermott.

But the things that Brady was looking for, wants his teams to have a little swagger, wants his teams to play with confidence, wants his teams to play with aggression.

I think that two-play sequence shows you all of it.

They went for the jugular once, almost turned the ball over, went for the jugular again, and got it, and that wound up providing the Bills with the winning points.

And then, At the end of the game.

They're in 1st and goal from the 9, and the defense is able to close it out.

Again, there's an intangible value to this.

CJ Stroud and the Texans' offense had actually played really well against that Bills defense with their first-year coordinator, Jim Leonard.

Um, but they're able to score 2 sacks at the end of the game.

The second one coming when Greg Russo beat Trent Brown on a 3-man rush, it's only 3 guys rushing.

Um, he was able to get to CJ Stroud, force a fumble, and the game.

So now, the Bills are 1-0, and again, it's more than just that they won, it's who it was against, it's where it was, and it's how the win happened.

Um, the Bills head into Thursday night's game, um, their first game at the new Highmark Stadium against the Detroit Lions, 1-0.

All right, our second game to get to, and, and this is one to me that I think is a You are who we thought you were, type of game, in a good way, maybe not 100% a good way, but in a good way, mostly.

That's the Chicago Bears lighting up the Carolina Panthers in Charlotte, winning that game, 59 to 38.

This one was actually relatively close until the Bears pulled away in the 4th quarter.

But the story of the game to me is that the Bears are intergalactic on, on, on offense and still have some problems on defense.

And that's, they've invested so much into the offense, Obviously, the head coaching hire being a huge piece of that of 2025.

And it looks like Ben Johnson's offense, which was really good by the end of last year, is ready to take another step.

The numbers tell you all that you need to know.

291 yards rushing, 261 net yards passing, a 124.

1 passer rating for Caleb Williams, 71.

43-down conversion rate, and 8 plays of 20 plus yards.

And to me, the most interesting thing about it , I had D'Andre Swift on the phone after the game.

To talk about what they've done.

I thought he'd have good perspective.

He spent two years with Ben Johnson in Detroit.

He was with Ben Johnson when Ben Johnson was a first-year coordinator.

So he saw the process there.

Now, in Chicago, he's gotten to see Ben Johnson at the ground level in 2025 and where he's taking it in 2026.

And so I asked him, you know, what are you guys doing better?

What are you guys doing differently?

Cause it feels like you're clicking on all cylinders.

And he stopped me and he said, well, I wouldn't say we're clicking on all cylinders.

And he pointed out that they had a handful of penalties on the offensive side of the ball, and they had 4 negative plays, 2-runs stuff for losses, 2 sacks.

And so, I think it gives you an idea of where the bar is for this team.

That's an easy thing to say, of course, but on a day that they score 59 points, on a day that they pile up over 500 yards on offense, on a day when it looked like they could do whatever they wanted, get the ball down the field, make the routine happen.

All of it was there for Chicago.

He's still looking at those 4 negative plays and those 5 penalties that the Bears' offense committed.

And to me, I think that sort of tells you where the bar is for the Bears now.

Now the question is gonna be how their defense plays.

And that wasn't great against the Carolina Panthers for the balance of the day.

Uh, they've got a very capable defensive coordinator in Dennis Allen, but the other side of the coin when you're talking about how much that they've invested.

Draft pick-wise, money-wise, on the offensive side of the ball, is that there are some holes on defense.

They do need to get a little healthier on that side of the ball for sure, and losing Kobe Bryant for the year didn't help.

But, um, there's there, there, there, there are real concerns on that side of the ball.

So, I think you look at both sides of this, and the Bears are gonna be an exciting team to watch because they're gonna score a lot of points and there's a chance.

There are plenty of points scored on them.

And finally, a weird opener for the Minnesota Vikings, they're able to go out and beat the Green Bay Packers, 39 to 22 in a game that wasn't as lopsided as it may look here.

Now, the game starts with the Vikings suffering a very bad-looking concussion.

Kyler Murray went into the fencing posture.

Obviously, you never want to see that.

Carson Wentz comes into the game.

And for the most of, for the most part, over the next 3 quarters, the Packers are able to control play.

Jordan Love's playing pretty well.

Um, they had some issues running the ball without Josh Jacobs in there.

They're playing relatively, relatively good defense.

And then I think we saw what the story of these Vikings might wind up becoming, which is Brian Flores and the defense took over.

And they took over with a 4th and 1 stop that was critical.

Um, and the Packers at that point were up 22 to 17, had a chance to take an 8-point lead .

Um, they were at the Vikings' 17-yard line.

You go up 25-17 then there, and maybe the context of the game changes.

Instead, turnover on downs, the Vikings drive the field, score a touchdown, get a two-point conversion.

Now the Vikings are playing with a lead, and I want to read to you a quote that Blake Cashman gave me after the game.

Um, and this was really interesting, and this will be our, our entry point into what happened the rest of the game.

So I personally believe we're the scariest defense to go against if we have a lead because that just unlocks an entire arsenal of max pressure looks, reading protections, all of our presentations and mixing up coverage.

It's hard on an offense and it's stressful.

They know what time it is, and we know what time it is.

And certainly, the Vikings knew what time it was on the Packers' next possession.

Uh, they had veteran linebackers, Blake Cashman and Eric Wilson reading off of each other.

And with Harrison Smith showing pressure over to Cashman's side, protection led to him.

It created a free run for Cashman.

Cashman's able to converge on love with Andrew Van Winkle.

The Vikings get the fumble.

That gives them, uh, puts them in a position to score another touchdown, and now it's a two possession game.

And then the next possession for the Packers, with the Packers hanging on for dear life.

Yeah, what Cashman described to me is just good, good team defense.

Cashman again winds up getting pressure from his linebacker spot, that forced in Aaron throw to the sideline, and then James Pierre Junior, their veteran corner, picks it off.

Here's the point.

The Vikings play on afraid on the defensive side of the ball, and the Vikings, when they're in the lead, have a chance to dictate terms to offenses.

And, and this number was crazy, 78.3% of Jordan Love's dropbacks, the Vikings brought blitz pressure.

That is the highest such percentage in a game.

In 8 years from any defense.

So, an insane amount of pressure and uh a circumstance that was created again by that 4th and 1 stop, which set the Vikings up to take the lead.

And once they took the lead, as Cashman mentioned, now we're in a different position and now we can dial things up and be a little bit more creative, more exotic, and more aggressive.

And I think that's gonna be a key for the Vikings now going forward.

There's a lesson learned here.

I think Brian Flores is worth his weight in gold, and I think to truly unlock Brian Flores, you need to play offense a certain way.

And so, if they can't get high-level quarterback play, then you start to ask the question, what kind of offense do we want to be?

And being a ball control offense that can keep the score close, that can allow the Vikings to control the game better.

Might wind up being the best option for them.

And who's the best quarterback for that?

Is it Kyler Murray?

Is it Carson Wentz?

For right now, it's a non-issue.

For right now, Kyler Murray is in the concussion protocol, but should he come back, Carson Wentz plays good from a game management standpoint over the next couple of weeks, maybe they have a decision to make.

I think it's an important question to ask now because Kevin O'Connell really is committed.

To finding a way to give his veteran players the best answer they possibly can, can, can, can get at the quarterback position after everything they went through last year.

A lot of those veteran players, Blake Cashman is one of them, um, you know, on that defensive side of the ball, guys like Byron Murphy, um, you know, on offense, Christian Daria, Justin Jefferson, Jordan Addison, TJ Hawkinson, like all these guys are part of a 14 win team two years ago.

And I think O'Connell's committed to giving them the best chance to get back there this year.

And based on how the defense played in week one, based on what we've seen from the defense over the course of the last couple of years.

There's a certain style of play that I think might wind up giving them the best answer, um, to that question, how do we get back to that level we were at in 2024?

And it'll just be interesting to see how A quarterback decision coming whenever Kyler Murray is ready to play again, plays into all of that.

Appreciate you guys coming out as always.

You can leave your questions and comments down below here on the YouTube page.

You can also get to me on my social media at Albert Breer on Twitter, at Albert Arbrey on Facebook, at Albert_Breer on Instagram.

We have a mailbag edition coming for you guys on Wednesday morning.

We'll see you then.