In Week One, it was a less-than-stellar debut for the No. 1 overall pick Caleb Williams in his NFL debut for the Chicago Bears. Williams was held to less than 100 yards passing and the offense didn't record a single touchdown against the Titans. All seemed lost when the Bears fell behind 17-3 at halftime, with the offense continuing to sputter. Yet, like in many games before, Chicago's defense and special teams bailed them out, with Johnathan Owens scoring a touchdown off a blocked punt by Daniel Hardy.
After kicker Cairo Santos nailed his third field goal of the game, Will Levis threw one of the worst interceptions I've ever seen, leading to a Tyrique Stevenson pick-six and a Bears lead. The game came down to one final heave for the Titans and Levis, but Jaylon Johnson snagged a pass intended for Tyler Boyd, sealing the Bears 2nd Week 1 win in three seasons (They had gone 1-7 in their previous eight). For his efforts, Stevenson was named NFC Defensive Player of the Week. After an ugly win, the Bears will have a lot to clean up on the offensive end, and they'll have to do it in a hostile environment against one of the best young quarterbacks in the league in C.J. Stroud and the Houston Texans.
It was a back-and-forth shootout between the Texans and their division rival Indianapolis Colts. Stroud looked just as good as he did last year, completing 75% of his passes for 234 yards and two touchdowns to his new weapon Stefon Diggs. Joe Mixon made a statement in his Texans debut with 159 yards on the ground (5.3 yards per carry) and a touchdown. While Anthony Richardson had a few splash plays, the Texans' defense had a solid day, especially in the run game by holding Johnathan Taylor to 48 yards on 16 attempts (3.0 YPC). Each team missed a two-point conversion which ended up playing huge in the final result of this one, with the Texans winning 29-27.
Houston took a nine-point lead with 4:42 left on the second of Stroud's touchdowns to Diggs. Indy would respond with a three-yard touchdown with 2:14 left to bring it back within two points. The Colts had two chances to get the ball back, but a 12-yard catch by Nico Collins on 3rd & 11 heading into the two-minute warning and a nine-yard run by Mixon on 3rd & 3 with the Colts out of timeouts sealed the deal for Houston. It was their first Week 1 win for the Texans since 2021 when Tyrod Taylor threw for nearly 300 yards against rookie Trevor Lawrence.
Date: Sunday, September 15
Start Time: 7:20 CDT
Location: Houston, Texas
Stadium: NRG Stadium
TV Info: NBC (Broadcasters: Mike Tirico and Chris Collinsworth)
Bears Uniform Info: Orange Tops and Helmets, White Pants
Houston Texans Stats (From 2023)
Points Per Game: 22.7 (13th)
Points Allowed Per Game: 21.6 (16th)
Offensive Yards Per Game: 336.3 Yards (15th)
Passing/Rushing Yards Per Game: 243.6 Yards Per (8th) and 92.7 Yards Per (28th)
Defensive Yards Allowed Per Game: 331.5 Yards (15th)
Passing/Rushing Yards Allowed Per Game: 254.9 Yards Per (25th) and 96.6 Yards Per (6th)
Third Down Offensive/Defensive Conversion Rate: 37.3% (20th) and 36.2% (6th)
Red Zone Offensive/Defensive Conversion Rate: 55.3% (16th) and 55.7% (16th)
Penalties: 114 (29th)
Penalty Yardage: 937 Yards (5th)
Players Already Ruled Out Before Sunday
Texans: S M.J. Stewart (Out), RB Dameon Pierce and C Juice Scruggs are Questionable
Bears: FB Khari Blasingame (Out), C/RG Ryant Bates (Out), WR Rome Odunze, and WR Keenan Allen are Questionable
Houston Texans
Defense
There's a reason that the Texans' season opener was a shootout through and through. While they put on a showcase on offense, the defense was leaky at times, especially in the passing game. They did a tremendous job shutting down former All-Pro running back Johnathan Taylor in the run game by holding him to just 48 yards on 16 carries. Despite just completing nine passes, Anthony Richardson still passed for 212 yards and two touchdowns, including one of the most ridiculous 60-yard bombs you will ever see in an NFL game.
The other touchdown Richardson threw was another 50+ yard pass to Ashton Dulin for 54 yards. While we don't know the status of Rome Odunze or Keenan Allen yet, it will still be a tough day for the Texans secondary against D.J. Moore and Cole Kmet in the passing game. Houston's best bet is to copy-paste the Titans game plan by shutting down the run game and forcing Williams into uncomfortable situations in the passing game, with an allowance to go up a few notches if Allen and Odunze are out.
Offense
What can be said that hasn't already been about this upgraded Texans offense? The addition of Stefon Diggs makes the trio of him, Collins, and Tank Dell one of the best trios in all of the NFL and Joe Mixon is already paying huge dividends. Mixon went off for 159 yards in his Houston debut after being traded away by the Cincinnati Bengals this past off-season.
While the Colts have a solid defense, this will be a good test for the Texans against a very talented Bears defense, especially for their wide receivers against Chicago's corners. Jaylon Johnson is an All-Pro talent, Tyrique Stevenson looks just as good as he did at the end of his rookie season and Kyler Gordon is one of the better slot corners in the league. Mixon on the other hand, will have to deal with one of the best linebacking duos in the league in Tremaine Edmunds and T.J. Edwards, both in the run game and pass game.
Chicago Bears
Defense
As the case has been for decades, the Chicago Bears defense rescued a struggling offense. After allowing the Titans to take a 17-3 half-time lead, head coach Matt Eberflus made some serious adjustments at the break. In the second half, the Bears' defense shutout the Titans' offense didn't allow them to get across the 50-yard line and forced three turnovers, including a forced fumble that led to a field goal, a pick-six for Tyrique Stevenson, and the game-sealing interception by Jaylon Johnson.
While the second-half improvements were a welcome sight to see, the Bears cannot afford to be bailed out by their defense again. The Texans are a whole different caliber of a team compared to the Titans, especially on offense. It will be up to that talented secondary and the edge rushers to make the biggest impact on this game. If they want any chance of holding C.J. Stroud in check with all the weapons he has, then they will have to make him uncomfortable from the get-go and allow the offense to get in a rhythm. Look for Montez Sweat and Darrell Taylor to have the biggest matchup against Laramey Tunsil on the Texans' offensive line.
Offense
It was more of the same from the Bears' offense as they gained less than 150 total yards and were held to just three field goals and a two-point conversion against Tennessee. Caleb Williams looked jittery and out of sorts all day, missing passes he normally hit at USC and overthrowing receivers deep. D.J. Moore still had a solid day despite the low total from Williams, catching five passes for 36 yards with a long of 13. It was a rough debut for Keenan Allen in a Bears uniform, as he only snagged four of his 11 targets for 29 yards and dropped what would have been Williams' first career NFL touchdown pass.
The Titans defensive line gave Chicago fits in the run game as well, as D'Andre Swift was held to just 30 yards on 10 carries as the leading rusher, with Williams coming in second with 15. Despite the issues with center and right guard on this offensive line, the Bears won't be going up against a Jeffery Simmons-type player on the Texans' interior defensive line, which should hopefully open up more running lanes for Swift and Herbert to get Chicago back to a top-5 rushing offense like they have been over the last two seasons.
Betting Info
Points Spread: CHI +6 (-108) | HOU -6 (-112)
Moneyline: CHI (+215) | HOU (-265)
Over/Under: O 45.5 (-108) | U 45.5 (-112)
Lines via DraftKings as of Saturday, September 14
This goaround I will be going with a defensive pick for my first bet. After getting traded to the Bears in the pre-season, edge rusher Darrell Taylor made a huge impact in his Bears debut, recording two sacks and a forced fumble which led to one of the three Cairo Santos field goals in Week 1. Right now his prop for over 0.25 sacks is at +195, which I would hammer him for him to at least get half of a sack, with the Texans allowing four sacks in Week 1 against the Colts.
This one will be a bit out of left field, but after only giving new free agent signing D'Andre Swift 10 carries last week, I expect him to have a much bigger workload. With that in mind, I feel that Swift could be a low-risk-high reward in being an anytime touchdown scorer at +160.
Prediction
Caleb Williams will have a better game than his NFL debut, but when going up against a potential Super Bowl contender on the road coming off a divisional win, I just don't see the Bears stacking up with the Texans. Even if Keenan Allen and Rome Odunze see the field, Houston is a well oiled machine at this point and the growing pains with Williams will continue into Sunday Night Football.
Texans 28, Bears 20
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