Week 2 features the Chicago Bears vs. the Houston Texans in an intriguing matchup of two young exciting teams to watch. Both teams enter the matchup 1-0 and will look to continue their undefeated seasons. Chicago will look to get their rookie quarterback going, while the Texans will look to continue to build off of their strong performance last season.
Chicago Bears vs. Houston Texans Matchup History
Overall, the Texans have the edge in this matchup. Houston has beaten the Bears four times, while Chicago has only won twice. However, those two wins are the last two times the teams have faced off – and the Bears will look to keep that streak going.
Key Players for the Bears
Caleb Williams was able to get his first win in the NFL out of the way last week, but he was not the reason for the win. Passing with less than a 50 percent completion percentage and only 93 yards was a little disappointing to say the least. For the Bears to continue to have success, he is going to need to step it up as a passer.
Both Keenan Allen and DJ Moore are going to have to continue to succeed on offense, especially now that Rome Odunze is dealing with an injury sustained during the Titans game. Both players are elite receivers that can heavily contribute against the Texans secondary.
Defensively, linebacker TJ Edwards was incredible last week. He led the team in tackles as well as recovering a fumble for the team. If he can continue to dominate NFL offenses, this defense will continue to finish near the top.
In the back-end, Tyrique Stevenson and Jaylon Johnson both got an interception – but it was Stevenson who was able to return it back for a touchdown. The secondary looks to continue to dominate this week against CJ Stroud.
Key Players for the Texans
Stroud was one of the better quarterbacks last week (and last year), and it looks like he plans to roll that over onto Sunday night. Stroud had two passing touchdowns and 234 yards against the Colts in Week 1.
The real force on offense so far has been Joe Mixon. Mixon currently leads the entire NFL in rushing yards. He could not be stopped against the Colts, and the Bears rushing defense looks to be in for a challenge this week.
Newcomer Stefon Diggs may be the alpha on his new team, as it was clear he was Stroud’s primary target all game. He may be due for a bit of regression on a week-to-week basis, but the Bears cannot forget about Diggs if they want to succeed.
On defense, look for pass rusher Will Anderson Jr. to continue to dominate after a very good rookie campaign the season before ended with him taking home defensive rookie of the year.
In the secondary, Derek Stingley looks to continue to dominate the air. While a slow start, and constant comparisons to Sauce Gardner, Stingley has developed into a very strong corner that Caleb is going to be tested with all game.
Strategy for Winning
On offense the Bears are going to have to try to get Caleb a bit more comfortable in the pocket. They must start with more high percentage throws to build confidence before testing the secondary with Moore and Allen as the game develops. Caleb needs to show his value to the team and continue to develop as he bounces back from his overall poor debut.
On defense, the team needs to be prepared for the ability to stop the run. Tremaine Edmonds and TJ Edwards should be ready to stop Mixon. As for the secondary, they need to be prepared for any of the Texans’ receiving weapons to emerge as well. Tank Dell, Diggs and Nico Collins can all be threats for the secondary to focus on. However, the main threat is to stop the emerging run game.
Randy Vuxta
Randy Vuxta (@RandallVuxta) is a beat writer covering sports picks and dynasty/redraft content for The League Winners with a little over a decade playing fantasy football. Before joining the staff, he studied Journalism and Sports Business management and created The Randy Report, a YouTube channel dedicated to covering all things sports. When he’s not watching game film or the latest Marvel release, he can be found on Twitch streaming everything from Spider-Man to NBA2K. Randy looks to not only win every league he joins, but help others achieve that goal as well.