How Houston Texans can exploit these clear advantages over Bears opportunistic defense
TEXANS VS. BEARS
12 September 2024
The Texans host the Bears on Sunday night. Composite Getty Image.
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.
Expectations
The Texans are favored to win the AFC South for a third straight season with a team led by young stars quarterback C.J. Stroud and defensive end Will Anderson. Stroud’s strong first two years helped the Texans turn things around and this year they’ll try to reach the playoffs in three straight seasons for the first time in franchise history. Stroud will be directing a new offense led by first-time offensive coordinator Nick Caley, who took over after Bobby Slowik was fired this offseason following Houston’s loss to the Chiefs in the divisional round. General manager Nick Caserio also beefed up the team’s receiving corps, led by Nico Collins, by adding veteran Christian Kirk and drafting Jayden Higgins in the second round and Jaylin Noel in the third. Coach DeMeco Ryans has vowed the offensive line will be better this season after Stroud was sacked 52 times last season, which was second-most in the league. But it’s difficult to see how his protection will be better after they traded left tackle Laremy Tunsil and didn’t make any big moves to replace him. Defensively, Anderson should take another step forward in his second year playing with veteran Danielle Hunter after the third-overall pick in the 2023 draft had 17 sacks combined in his first two seasons. Cornerback Derek Stingley returns to lead a talented young secondary after earning first team AP All-Pro honors last season when he had five interceptions and defended 18 passes.
New faces
OC Nick Caley, WR Jayden Higgins, WR Christian Kirk, WR Jaylin Noel, LT Cam Robinson, RB Nick Chubb, RT Aireontae Ersery, LG Laken Tomlinson, C Jake Andrews.
Key losses
LT Laremy Tunsil, WR John Metchie III, G Kenyon Green, TE Brevin Jordan, CB Eric Murray, WR Robert Woods, CB Kris Boyd.
Strengths
Stroud and Houston’s stacked receiving group should be the stars of the team this season. The 2023 AP Offensive Rookie of the Year has been great in his first two seasons to bring the Texans back into contention after an awful stretch. His interception rate was up last season but he’s looking for improvement this season in Caley’s offense, which he has described as “exciting.” He’ll have plenty of strong targets to throw to, led by Collins, who had a second straight 1,000-yard season last year despite missing five games with injuries. He’ll be joined by Kirk, who should fill in at the slot with Tank Dell likely to miss all season recovering from an injury he suffered in December. Higgins and Noel come to Houston after combining for 2,377 yards receiving and 17 touchdowns last season at Iowa State.
Weaknesses
It’s hard to see how the offensive line will be improved this season with Tunsil gone to Washington. Though he was penalty-prone, he was the team’s most consistent lineman. They completely revamped the line after his trade and return just one starter from last year’s group. They’ll likely rely on rookie Ersery to protect Stroud’s blind side after taking him in the second round of the draft. He started 38 games at left tackle over three seasons at Minnesota. Veteran Tytus Howard returns at right tackle after starting 16 games there last season. The center is Jake Andrews in his first year in Houston and he returns after missing all of last season with an injury before being released by the Patriots. Left guard Laken Tomlinson and right guard Ed Ingram are also new to the team.
Camp development
Houston’s secondary sustained a big blow in camp when safety C.J. Gardner-Johnson suffered a leg injury. The injury isn’t season-ending but he is likely to miss significant time. Gardner-Johnson is in his first year in Houston after he was acquired from the Eagles in March in exchange for left guard Kenyon Green. He was expected to be the team’s starting free safety after the Texans lost Eric Murray in free agency to the Jaguars. The Texans will also be without backup Jimmie Ward indefinitely after he was placed on the commissioner exempt list Tuesday as he faces a felony domestic violence charge after a June arrest.
Fantasy player to watch
Collins should have another big year after finishing with more than 1,000 yards receiving in each of the last two seasons. He’s had 15 touchdowns combined in the last two seasons despite missing seven games with injuries.
BetMGM Sportsbook
Win Super Bowl: 35-1.
