After a dominant first game repping the H, Joe Mixon looks to continue his revival tour against a formidable Chicago Bears defense. Caleb Williams and C.J. Stroud are two quarterbacks with all of the media attention, but through the first week only Stroud has lived up to the fame. Let’s take a deeper look at the Week 2 matchup between the Chicago Bears and Houston Texans.
Current Standings
Obviously, with only one week under our belts, the playoff picture is far from being decided, but as the year goes on, this section will become increasingly important.
Chicago Bears: 1-0 Record, 3rd in NFC North, 9th in NFC
Houston Texans: 1-0 Record, 1st in AFC South, 2nd in AFC
Game Info
Date: Sunday, September 15, 2024
Start Time: 7:20 PM CST
Location: NRG Stadium, Houston, Texas
TV Info: NBC/Peacock (Mike Tirico, Cris Collinsworth, and Melissa Stark commentating)
Houston Texans Uniform Info: Liberty White Out Uniforms
Houston Texans and Chicago Bears Statistical Rankings (2024 Season)
(Per Pro Football Reference)
Texans Players Already Ruled Out Before Sunday
Questionable: Dalton Schultz (TE), Dameon Pierce (RB), Nico Collins (WR), Juice Scruggs (IOL)
Injured Reserve: Kurt Hinish (DT), Christian Harris (LB), Case Keenum (QB), Jeff Okudah
Suspended: Denico Autry (DT/DE)
Bears Players Already Ruled Out Before Sunday
Questionable: Rome Odunze (WR), Keenan Allen (WR), Demarcus Walker (DE), Khari Blasingame (FB), Ryan Bates (IOL), Kiran Amegadjie (OT)
Injured Reserve: Larry Borom (OT), Patrick Scales (LS)
Chicago Bears
Defense
What a debut for the Bears’ Defense! After going down 17-3 in the first half, Chicago rallied back for a 24-17 victory against the Tennessee Titans. What’s really impressive about this win is that it was done without scoring an offensive touchdown.
On the Titans’ first drive of the second half, defensive end Daniel Hardy came up with a huge block, which safety Jonathan Owens was able to return for a touchdown. Later in the half, Tyrique Stevenson came up with a huge interception and took it 43 yards for their second defensive touchdown of the game.
While the Bears had a great game defensively, these sorts of plays may not be sustainable, and the offense will likely have to do a little bit more next week to relieve some pressure on this defense.
Offense
What was great on the defensive side of the ball was equally as poor on the offensive side. After spending a first round draft pick on a new quarterback and a new receiver, to say that ending Week 1 as the worst passing offense and second worst scoring offense would be a vast understatement.
Caleb Williams could not surpass 100 yards passing despite completing 14 passes. The run game wasn’t much better, with only 84 yards on 22 attempts. While it’s always great to be able to “win and learn,” the offense will need to do its part in the future if it wants to continue having success.
Houston Texans
Defense
Houston did what they needed to defensively. It was far from perfect, but they managed to squeak one out in the W column against a very underrated Indianapolis Colts team. Anthony Richardson is a force to be reckoned with, and one thing he especially showed was that Houston still needs some work on their tackling.
Despite some clear negatives, there were also a number of positives from the game. Calen Bullock looked incredible for a rookie safety and even managed to snag an interception in the red zone during the first half. On the Colts' opening drive, they elected to go for it on 4th and 1, but Houston managed to make the stop and create a turnover on downs.
Lastly, a number of players who have been continuously ridiculed for being weak points on the team showed up. Folorunso Fatukasi was great on the interior, recording a tackle for loss to go along with a sack. Henry To’oTo’o also looked very solid at linebacker in place of the injured Christian Harris. Overall, I anticipate the defensive play to only improve as players return from injured reserve and suspension.
Offense
The Texans' offense looked as electric as ever, but what many weren’t prepared for was Joe Mixon being their X factor. Offensive Coordinator Bobby Slowik managed to get him involved with inside runs, outside sweeps, and a lot in the passing game as well. He finished with a solid 178 all-purpose yards and is a large reason why Houston currently leads the league in rushing yards.
Stefon Diggs also looked fantastic in his Texans debut, bringing in a pair of touchdowns. The final player to highlight comes from a seldom heard position as an offensive lineman, but Kenyon Green’s transformation cannot be ignored. Not only did Green allow no pressures for the entire game, but his presence in the run game was an enormous reason behind its success. I see this offense having an even better game this week.
Prediction
When you first look at the stats, it seems like the Bears' defense is miles better than the Texans', and the Texans' offense is a whole lot better, but that’s without taking into account who they were playing.
Houston was battling a solid Indianapolis, which featured Anthony Richardson, one of the premier young quarterbacks in the NFL, while Chicago was playing the Tennessee Titans, who are considered average at best.
It seems pretty clear that the Texans' offense is better than the Bears', but I also feel this week will prove their defense is better, especially against the weak Bears' O. This game might feel close to start, but eventually, Houston will pick up steam and leave Chicago in the dust. Expect a fairly one-sided second half.
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