How Houston Texans can exploit these clear advantages over Bears opportunistic defense
TEXANS VS. BEARS
12 September
TEXANS VS. BEARS
The Texans are coming off a thrilling victory against the Colts in Week 1, and this week they host the Chicago Bears in the Houston home opener.
The Bears also come into this matchup with a 1-0 record, after their defense put on a show against Will Levis and the Tennessee Titans.
Bulls on parade
The Texans defense will face rookie QB Caleb Williams, who was unable to orchestrate a single touchdown drive against the Titans. Williams only passed for 93 yards last week, and failed to complete a pass over 13 yards.
This should work in the Texans favor, as they struggled with the deep ball against Anthony Richardson and the Colts. Two of the Bears' top receivers are dealing with injuries this week. Rookie Rome Odunze is expected to be unavailable, as he's dealing with an MCL sprain.
Pro Bowl receiver Keenan Allen is expected to play, but he's been playing through a heel injury that's lingered since August. Allen was also reported to have put on weight in the offseason, which is impacting his explosiveness. (Too much deep dish pizza in Chicago?)
Which means Pro Bowl receiver DJ Moore is the main threat to get over the top against the Houston secondary. Hopefully Derek Stingley Jr. can keep him in check.
CJ Stroud against the Bears defense
When looking at the PFF numbers for the Bears last week, all the highest-graded players were on defense. Pass rusher Montez Sweat only recorded two tackles, but he'll be a player to watch on Sunday.
Bears corner Jaylon Johnson had an impressive game, allowing only one catch and snagging an interception. Stroud may look to avoid throwing at Johnson when possible. He had an eye-opening 92.3 PFF grade last week.
Jaylon Johnson vs the Titans:
đź”’ 1 catch allowed
đź”’ -2 yards
đź”’ 1 INT
đź”’ 1 forced incompletion
đź”’ 2.8 passer rating allowed pic.twitter.com/rppRj4jj7q
— PFF (@PFF) September 9, 2024
The Chicago defense intercepted the Titans twice last week, and recovered a fumble.
They also sacked Levis three times and tallied ten QB hits. Stroud was sacked four times against Indy last week.
Nico Collins was the highest-graded Texans player against the Colts. He made a brilliant game catch along the sideline to seal the game for Houston. He caught six passes for 117 yards.
Stefon Diggs caught all six of his targets, two of which went for touchdowns. Tank Dell had one more target than Diggs, but only posted three catches for 40 yards. He also had two rush attempts for 19 yards.
With three top-notch options at receiver, we should expect at least two pass catchers to post big numbers each week. But it will be hard to know which two out of the big three will go off from game to game.
Ground and pound
The biggest offensive storyline from Sunday, was the emergence of running back Joe Mixon. Mixon rushed for 159 yards on 31 carries, including a touchdown.
Mixon should find some room to run against Chicago, as they allowed both Titans running backs (Tony Pollard, Tyjae Spears) to rush for over 5 yards per carry, totally over 100 yards.
Special teams
The Bears blocked a punt in Week 1, and the Texans had a punt blocked. Hopefully, the special teams unit will make some corrections before Sunday night.
What does Vegas think?
The Texans are currently favored by 6.5 points. The total for the game is 45.5 points.
Texans injuries to monitor
Houston #Texans Thursday Injury Report for Week 2 vs. the Chicago Bears: pic.twitter.com/cVazf8kn3c
— Houston Texans PR (@TexansPR) September 12, 2024
WR Nico Collins limited with an illness. RBDameon Pierce limited with a hamstring. TE Dalton Schultz didn't practice again (ankle). We wouldn't be surprised if he misses the game. Brevin Jordan recorded a quality 71.8 PFF grade against Indy. He may be set for a bigger role this week in the absence of Schultz. Center Juice Scruggs limited with a groin. Safety MJ Steward is still out of practice with a knee injury.
Don't miss the video above as the crew from Texans on Tap previews the Texans home opener against the Bears.
*Texans on Tap is a Texans podcast hosted by Brandon Strange, Josh Jordan, and Charlie Pallilo. We drop a Texans preview every Thursday and react live following every game on the SportsMapTexans YouTube channel.
A growing Houston restaurant group is ready to unveil its latest creation. Maven at Sawyer Yards will open this Friday, October 18.
Located in a former commercial trucking station on the Sawyer Yards campus (1501 Silver St.), the new restaurant is an evolution of Maven Coffee + Cocktails, the beverage-focused concept created by Astros pitcher Lance McCullers Jr. and his business partners, local entrepreneur Juan Carlos de Aldecoa and attorney Jimmy Doan as part of the Rex Hospitality Group.
Currently, Maven operates coffee shops and cocktail bars at Minute Maid Park, Toyota Center, and the Thompson Hotel, but the new Sawyer Yards location is an all-day restaurant that opens at 7 am daily for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. The 2,400-square-foot space has been divided into a main dining room, bar, and an outdoor patio.
“The opening of Maven at Sawyer Yards — the brand’s fourth outpost in less than 16 months — is a testament to the demand for quality-driven, handcrafted food and beverage experiences,” Nina Quincy, president of Rex Hospitality Group said in a statement. “We envision our Sawyer Yards location as a neighborhood destination that lends itself to both daytime and nighttime experiences. Maven at Sawyer Yards differs from our other concepts in that it offers a complete dining experience, rooted in quality, chef-driven cuisine.”
To deliver “chef-driven cuisine,” de Aldecoa recruited his cousin, chef Nicolás “Nico” Baizan de Aldecoa, to serve as the COO for Rex Hospitality Group. Baizan brings a range of experience to his role, including a lengthy stint working for superstar chef Jose Andres, as he discussed on an episode of CultureMap’s What’s Eric Eating podcast.
“I really strive for, like Lance said, it’s more than a coffee shop,” he said about the menu at Maven’s Thompson Hotel location. “It really is a place we want people to enjoy a good dinner and create memories that you’re not able to get otherwise. One of my favorite spots in Chicago is Kasama. It started off as a pastry shop with amazing breakfast, now it’s the first Filipino restaurant to have a Michelin star.”
Baizan’s Spanish-influenced menu includes smoked fish dip, beef tartare, octopus with fingerling potatoes, and deviled eggs topped with caviar. Entree choices include steak au poivre, roasted chicken, and a take on the trendy spicy rigatoni pasta. Morning options include breakfast tacos and avocado toast, while lunch features sandwiches such as a Cuban — a nod to McCullers’ Cuban heritage — a truffle grilled cheese, and a smoked grouper melt with American cheese, which sounds like a very adult version of a fast food fish sandwich.
For drinks, the partners turned to Chicago-based cocktail consultant Paul McGee, whose resume includes legendary Chicago tiki bars Lost Lake and Three Dots and a Dash. Of course, the restaurant will serve coffee-based cocktails such as the espresso martini and carajillo as well as takes on the Old Fashioned, margarita, daiquiri, and caipirinha. Non-alcoholic cocktails will also be available as well Maven’s full lineup of coffee drinks.
“We’re looking forward to Silver Street being an expanded Maven,” McCullers said during the podcast. “Very welcoming, approachable food. A place where people don’t really know why, but they feel like that’s their spot.”
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Fans of Houston sports and Houston food can now score tickets to The Tailgate, CultureMap's all-out party devoted to everyone’s favorite way to get in the gameday spirit. The event, presented by Verizon, goes down from 6-9 pm November 11 at 8th Wonder. Find out more about it here.