Bear Digest

Chicago Bears at Houston Texans: TV, Radio and Betting

How to watch Sunday night's Bears and Texans game in Houston, with radio information and betting lines and trends.

Gene Chamberlain

The Bears and Texans just faced off in the Hall of Fame Game to start the NFL preseason, the Bears winning 21-17 in a game shortened by a storm.
The Bears and Texans just faced off in the Hall of Fame Game to start the NFL preseason, the Bears winning 21-17 in a game shortened by a storm. / Kevin Whitlock / Massillon Independent / USA TODAY NETWORK
In this story:

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 1/2

HOW THE BEARS DID AT ANSWERING THE BIG QUESTIONS THEY FACE

BEARS REPORTEDLY TRYING OUT RECEIVER/KICK RETURNER

VERDICT ON BEARS OFFENSIVE LINE FROM PFF: NOT GUILTY

UNIMPRESSIVE CALEB WILLIAMS EFFORT KEEPS POWER RANKERS GUESSING

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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: Houston leads 2-4. The Bears won the last game in 2022 at Soldier Field 23-20 when Roquan Smith intercepted a pass in the final minutes and Cairo Santos kicked the winning field goal.

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

Texans coach DeMeco Ryans is 12-8 in his second season, 6-3 at home. He hasn't faced the Bears yet. The Texans won the AFC South last year and advanced in the playoffs with a win.

Matching Up: The Bears rank 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: The Bears secondary and it's ability to stand up to a high-level passing attack, and whether they can get the offense going well enough to support the defense. Doing what they did last week with a special teams/defensive victory will be all but impossible against a team ranked second in offense after Week 1, which excelled last year under offensive coordinator Bobby Slowik. Last year their offense went for 400 yards or more against the Steelers, Bengals, Buccaneers and Cardinals. Also, can Williams get in sync with his receivers and can they protect him long enough to do it considering the edge rushers for the Texans are Will Anderson and Danielle Hunter?

Injury Concerns: For the Bears, Rome Odunze with a knee injury. Injuries they already had to Darrell Taylor (groin), Keenan Allen (heel) and Montez Sweat (toe) didn't seem too big of an issue in last week's game.

Of Note: Williams is trying to become the third No. 1 overall pick since 1950 to win their first two starts. The others were John Elway (1983) and George Shaw (1955). ... After 15 tackles last week, T.J. Edwards is trying to become the first Bears player since the 1970 merger to make at least 15 tackles in consecutive games.  ... With an appearance against Houston, tight end Marcedes Lewis would tie Tony Gonzalez for second most games ever played by a tight end (270). ... Kicker Cairo Santos needs two 50-yard field goals to move into second in team history for 50-plus field goals. ... The Texans signed former Bears guard Arlington Hambright to the practice squad Monday. ... Mixon's 30 carries last week was a career high and his rushing total was his most since 165 yards against Pittsburgh in November of 2021. .. The Texans lead the NFL in time of possession aftotaler possessing the ball for 40 minutes against the Colts.

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

Betting Trends

  • Houston is 9-9 against the spread since the start of 2023.
  • Texans games went under the total 11 of the last 18 games.
  • Houston was 4-5 against the spread at home last season.
  • Bears games are over the total in nine of the last 18 times.
  • The Bears were underdogs last year 13 times and won four of those games.
  • The Bears were 4-4-1 ATS on the road last year.
  • Odds refresh periodically and are subject to change.
  • If you or someone you know has a gambling problem and wants help, call 1-800-GAMBLER

Twitter: BearsOnSI

Published |Modified
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.