PREVIEW – Week 2: Bears at Houston Texans on Sunday Night Football
The Chicago Bears head on the road to Houston for a primetime Sunday Night Football showdown with C.J. Stroud and the Texans.
The Texans are the Bears’ least common opponent, only squaring off six times all-time (Texans lead 4-2). The most recent meeting was in 2022 when Khalil Herbert led the Bears to a 23-20 home win with his 157 rushing yards and two touchdowns.
Let’s look at how these two stack up for this enticing game:
The Bears are coming off a 24-17 home opener win, which saw Chicago’s defense flying around. Tyrique Stevenson was named NFC Defensive Player of the Week after finishing with four tackles, two pass deflections, and this ‘game-ending’ pick-six. T.J. Edwards was all over the place as he finished with 15 total tackles, tied for the NFL lead as of week one. Jaylon Johnson put the seatbelts on Titans receivers, allowing NEGATIVE yardage and coming up with the Bears’ other interception. New addition Darrell Taylor was a monster and is already proving to be a steal, as he recorded two sacks and eight total tackles in his first game as a Bear.
PHOTO: NFL.com
Ultimately, this defense will have its hands full on Sunday night. The Texans are obviously a more talented team than the Titans, especially after the addition of Stefon Diggs, whom the Bears know well from his time in Minnesota, and running back Joe Mixon. Houston’s receiving core is amongst the elite in the NFL, with Diggs, Nico Collins, Tank Dell, Robert Woods, John Metchie, and Dalton Schultz at tight end. The Bears secondary has earned enough trust to be able to hold this squad led by Stroud. In general, it should be considered a successful Sunday night for the Bears’ defense if they hold the Texans to under three touchdowns while playing well in clutch moments. The Texan’s offensive line is in the top half of the league, but if Taylor has another breakout performance mixed with a solid game from Montez Sweat, the Bears’ line should be able to get home.
This Texans offense shined in a week one clutch victory at home versus the Indianapolis Colts, 29-27. Stroud showed off his precision, completing 24/32 attempts for 234 yards and two touchdowns. Mixon ran all over the Colts defense, totaling 159 yards and a touchdown on 30 carries. Diggs was the go-to man in the red zone, hauling two touchdowns on his six receptions for just 33 yards. Nico Collins was the ‘big-play’ receiver, racking 117 yards on his six catches.
Defensively, Houston has some problems. The bright spot last week was rookie safety Calen Bullock, who recorded the Texans’ lone interception and two tackles in his first career game. The former Georgia Bulldog was the highest-rated rookie of week one, per PFF. The Texans only recorded two sacks and struggled to take down the elusive Anthony Richardson last week. This should come as a relief to a Bears offensive line that struggled against Tennessee.
The door is open for Caleb Williams and the Bears offense to have themselves a nice primetime showing.
The week one struggles offensively were less than desirable. On a positive note, Caleb did a nice job protecting the ball and keeping it out of harm’s way, for the most part. D’Andre Swift had some potential big-play opportunities that he will inevitably capitalize on as the season continues.
Other than that, nothing was going on. Offensive play caller Shane Waldron must get Williams comfortable as an NFL quarterback.
Perhaps nerves played a factor last week, but a ‘coming out’ game for Williams in primetime would set the NFL world ablaze.
PHOTO: NFL.com
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