Bear Digest

Chicago Bears and Houston Texans Game Day Preview

A look at the key statistics and positional matchups in Sunday night's matchup as the Bears (1-0) try to win a Sunday night road game for the first time in a decade.

Gene Chamberlain

Roschon Johnson carries against the Texans in the Hall of Fame Game on Aug. 1. Johnson was inactive in the opener after a toe injury but could be active Sunday night in Houston.
Roschon Johnson carries against the Texans in the Hall of Fame Game on Aug. 1. Johnson was inactive in the opener after a toe injury but could be active Sunday night in Houston. / Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images
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Chicago Bears (1-0) at Houston Texans (1-0)

Kickoff: 7:20 p.m. Sunday

Where: NRG Stadium, Houston

TV: NBC (Mike Tirico, Cris Collinsworth, Melissa Stark)

Radio: ESPN AM-1000 (Jeff Joniak, Tom Thayer, Jason McKie)

Westwood One (Ryan Radtke, Mike Golic)

Spanish Radio: Latino Mix 93.5 FM (Omar Ramos, Miguel Esparza)

The Line: Fanduel, Texans by 6 1/2, over/under 44 1/2.

Draft Kings Texans by 6 1/2, over/under 45 ½

Bears On SI Pick: Texans 26, Bears 13

The Matchup: Two teams who started preseason against each other in the Hall of Fame Game, with the Bears winning 21-17 in a contest shortened to less than three quarters due to storms. .The Bears come in off of their season-opening 24-17 win over Tennessee needing an infusion of offense. They scored no offensive touchdowns, Caleb Williams threw for 93 yards and they became the first team in NFL history ever to come back from a 17-point deficit with only 148 yards of offense. An MCL injury to wide receiver Rome Odunze at the end of the victory took away a weapon from the offense as they got ready to face the Texans. On the other hand, their defense played spectacular football in the second half and their three takeaways plus a blocked punt for a TD showed their resiliency. They face C.J. Stroud and a Texans offense coming off a 413-yard effort against the Colts in a 29-27 win, including a 159-yard rushing effort from Joe Mixon in his Texans debut. Stroud was impressive, with a 115.9 passer rating on 24 of 32 for 234 yards and two TDs in a road game.

The Series: The Texans lead 4-2. The Bears lost the first four games in the series but have won the last two, including a 2022 game at Soldier Field 23-20.  Roquan Smith’s interception in the late fourth quarter gave Cairo Santos the chance to kick the winning field goal.

The Coaches:  Bears coach Matt Eberflus is 11-24 in his third season and is 3-14 on the road. He is 1-0 against Houston. The Bears finished 7-10 last season and last in the NFC North.

Texans coach DeMeco Ryans is 12-8 in his second season after coming over from the 49ers. His team is 6-3 at home and he hasn't faced the Bears yet. The Texans won the AFC South last year, then beat Cleveland in the playoffs but were routed 34-10 by Baltimore in the next round.

Matching Up: The Bears, heading into this week’s NFL games, ranked 32nd (last) in offense, 32nd (last) in passing and 24th in rushing; they rank eighth on defense, second against the pass and 22nd against the run. The Texans rank second on offense, 11th in passing and first rushing; they rank 17th on defense, 18th against the pass and 14th against the run.

What to Watch: How well the Bears secondary with Jaylon Johnson and Tyrique Stevenson at cornerback can stand stop Houston’s big three receivers—Nico Collins, Tank Dell and Stefon Diggs.  The Bears picked off two passes last week, one each by Stevenson and Johnson, and Stevenson’s pick-6 in the fourth quarter provided the winning points. C.J. Stroud’s ability to get the ball off before the Bears’ rush gets there will be key. Last week he put up a 115.9 passer rating in beating the Colts 29-27 and the Bears defense led the NFL in pass rush win rate while recording 10 quarterback hits and three sacks, including a strip-sack by Darrell Taylor.  When the Bears have the ball, the concern is how rookie Caleb Williams performs in his second start and first road start after he struggled in last week’s debut at home for only 93 passing yards.

Injury Report: For the Bears, receivers Rome Odunze (knee) and Keenan Allen (heel) are questionable and will be game-time decisions. Defensive end DeMarcus Walker (foot) is also questionable but is expected to play after practicing Friday in full. Guard Ryan Bates (elbow, shoulder) has been put on injured reserve.  For Houston, safety M.J. Stewart is out (knee). Running back Dameon Pierce (hamstring) and center/guard Juice Scruggs (groin) are questionable.

Of Note: Last week’s comeback by the Bears made them one of only three teams to overcome at least a 17-point deficit without scoring an offensive touchdown. The other teams are the 2006 Bears against the Cardinals and 2016 Chiefs against the Panthers. It was just the third time in 1,228 games that a team trailing by 17 was able to recover and win without a TD. … In two games against Houston, Bears WR Keenan Allen has 17 catches for 218 yards and two TDs. … Bears punter Tory Taylor had three punts downed inside the 20, the most by a Bears rookie punter since at least 1970.  … Nico Collins last week had his sixth career 100-yard receiving game. He has TD catches in four of the Texans’ last five home games. … WR Stefon Diggs was one of only three NFL players making two TD catches last week. … DE Will Anderson has seven sacks in the last six Texans home games. … Houston has 40 minutes of possession time and leads the NFL. ... The Bears last won a road game on Sunday night in Week 2 of the 2014 season at San Francisco 28-20. Houston's last Sunday night game was in 2019 against New England.

Next Week: The Bears are at Indianapolis for a noon game Sept. 22 and the Texans are at Minnesota for a noon game on Sept. 22.

Key Individual matchups

Texans WR Nico Collins vs. Bears CB Jaylon Johnson

Johnson, at 6-foot, 196 Is likely to match up on Houston’s 6-4, 222-pound X-receiver, who had  six catches for 117 yards last week following an 80-catch, 1,297-yard season with eight TDs, all career highs. Until last year, Collins hadn’t started more than half his team’s games and hadn’t put up more than 481 receiving yards. Collins’ size makes him a valued red zone target.According to Stathead, Johnson gave up two TD catches last year and didn’t give up one in Week 1.

Texans WR Tank Dell vs. Bears CB Kyler Gordon

Houston’s 5-10, 165-pound slot receiver put up 47 catches for 709 yards last year with seven TDs and one week after a three-catch effort goes against slot cornerback Kyler Gordon much of the time. Gordon, who is 6-foot, 200 pounds, allowed one completion in four targets last week and posted a 65.6 passer rating against. He had five interceptions in his first two seasons.

Texans RB Joe Mixon vs. Bears LB T.J. Edwards

Edwards put up 15 tackles last week, tying the third-highest total for a game in his career. His Bears high is his career high of 17. Playing weakside, Edwards frequently attacks the opposing running game through an interior gap and last week had two tackles for loss, tying his career high. Mixon had a his 16th career 100-yard game last week with 159 yards rushing. The 6-1, 220-pounder is a combo back with both speed and power. His 30 carries last week matched a career high and came in his first game since coming over from Cincinnati.

Texans T Laremy Tunsil vs. Bears DE Montez Sweat

Tunsil is  a 6-5, 313-pound tackle who was a first-round draft pick by Miami and is now in his ninth year. He was traded by the Dolphins after three seasons. Last week Tunsil allowed two sacks and committed two penalties, according to Pro Football Focus. Tunsil was graded 33rd out of all tackles last week by PFF. Sweat last week had two tackles and two pressures. He is coming off a year where he led by the Washington Commanders (6 ½) and Bears (6) in sacks, making him the only NFL player ever to do this for two teams.

Texans CB Derek Stingley vs. Bears WR DJ Moore

The third-year cornerback has started 21 games in his three NFL seasons after being the third pick overall in the 2022 draft. The grandson of former Patriots player Darryl Stingley has posted passer ratings against of 78.4 in 2022, 41.3 in 2023 and 56.8 last week while making six interceptions. He allowed two TD passes last year according to Stathead. Moore was held in check last week by Tennessee with five catches for only 36 yards, He has caught at least two passes in each of his 18 Bears games. Although he had only five receptions, he led the Bears in receptions and receiving yards last week.

Texans DE Danielle Hunter vs. Bears T Darnell Wright

Danielle Hunter has been a constant pain to the Bears since he was in Minnesota, producing 7 ½ sacks against them and 14 tackles for loss in 14 games. He had 3 ½ tackles last year in two games, and faced off against Darnell Wright in Wright’s rookie year. Wright has learned, it seems. He is coming off one of his best weeks pass blocking, with the 10th-highest pass blocking grade from PFF among tackles.

Texans DE Will Anderson Jr. vs. Bears T Braxton Jones

Anderson came up with seven sacks as a rookie but none last week. A speed rusher, he could challenge Jones, who was graded 23rd  among tackles by PFF last week as a pass blocker.

Twitter: BearsOnSI

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Gene Chamberlain

GENE CHAMBERLAIN

BearDigest.com publisher Gene Chamberlain has covered the Chicago Bears full time as a beat writer since 1994 and prior to this on a part-time basis for 10 years. He covered the Bears as a beat writer for Suburban Chicago Newspapers, the Daily Southtown, Copley News Service and has been a contributor for the Daily Herald, the Associated Press, Bear Report, CBS Sports.com and The Sporting News. He also has worked a prep sports writer for Tribune Newspapers and Sun-Times newspapers.