Bears and Texans Game Day Preview
Houston Texans (0-1-1) at Chicago Bears (1-1)
Kickoff: Noon, Sunday, Soldier Field, Chicago
TV: CBS (Andrew Catalon, James Lofton, Michael Grady)
Radio: WBBM AM-780, FM-105.9 (Jeff Joniak, Tom Thayer, Mark Grote)
Spanish Radio TUDN AM-1200, Latino Mix FM-93.5 (Omar Ramos, Miguel Esparza)
Streaming: fubo TV (free trial)
Latest Betting Line: Bears by 2 1/2 (Over/under 39 1/2). Latest info at SI.com sports book
The Series: The sixth meeting between these teams. Houston leads the series 4-1. The Bears won the last matchup in 2020, 36-7 at Soldier Field. Houston won the first four in this series by seven points or more.
The Coaches: Texans coach Lovie Smith has a coaching record of 89-88-2, including 81-63 in Chicago as Bears coach. He is 0-2 against his old team, the losses coming in 2014-15 while he coached Tampa Bay. Smith coached the Bears to Super Bowl XLI.
Bears coach Matt Eberflus is 1-1 in his first season. While serving as the defensive coordinator for the Indianapolis Colts, his team faced the Texans twice a season and they were 6-2 against Houston.
Last Week: The Texans went without a touchdown and lost 16-9 at Denver to Russell Wilson. The Bears had 122 yards rushing from David Montgomery but second-year quarterback Justin Fields threw only 11 passes and they lost 27-10 at Green Bay.
The Teams:
- Houston's offense was non-existent last week and they have 102 yards rushing from Dameon Pierce on the year. The defense has been tough in the red zone, allowing just two touchdowns on seven chances there. They had a 20-3 lead over Indianapolis in the opener but finished tied 20-20.
- The Bears have a league-low 153 net passing yards. They have relied heavily on the ground, although Fields threw two TD passes against San Francisco in the opener. The defense has had trouble against the run and could be without key defensive starters Roquan Smith (hip) and cornerback Jaylon Johnson (hamstring).
Matching Up:
- Houston's offense is 29th in the league, 27th rushing and 24th passing. The Texans defense is 31st in the league, 30th stopping the run and 26th against the pass.
- The Bears offense is 32nd (last) in the league, eighth in rushing and 32nd (last) in passing. Chicago's defense is 22nd in the NFL, 32nd (last) in run defense and seventh against the pass.
Injury Report
Texans: TE Brevin Jordan (ankle), CB Isaac Yiadom (thigh), T Austin Deculus (ankle) are out. DT Maliek Collins (knee), TE Pharaoh Brown (shoulder) and DL Kurt Hinish (foot) are questionable. Former Bears LB Kevin Pierre-Louis has been placed on injured reserve.
Bears: TE Ryan Griffin (Achilles), LB Matthew Adams (hamstring), S Dane Cruikshank (hamstring) are out. WR Velus Jones Jr. is doubtful (hamstring). LB Roquan Smith (hip) and CB Jaylon Johnson (hamstring) are questionable.
LB Joe Thomas has been elevated from the practice squad to the 53-man roster.
Of Note: Last week's 122 yards marked Montgomery's eighth 100-yard game. ... DL Trevis Gipson is coming off a two-sack performance when he had a career-high three quarterback hits. ... Texans receiver Brandin Cooks has 36 receptions in his last five games. ... Second-year Texans QB Davis Mills has been sacked six times and has fumbled three times so far, with one of those fumbles lost. ... Mills has thrown for two touchdowns or more in four of his last six games. ... Houston is plus-2 in turnover ratio and the Bears plus-1.
Next Week: The Bears are at the Giants at noon on Oct. 2 while the Texans host the Los Angeles Chargers at noon on Oct. 2.
Key Individual Matchups
Bears CB Kindle Vildor vs. Texans WR Brandin Cooks
Six times in his previous eight seasons Cooks went over 1,000 yards and it doesn't matter who he is playing for or who is throwing him the ball. He gets it done. He did it with Drew Brees with the Saints, with Tom Brady and the Patriots, with Jared Goff in Los Angeles and even now the last two years with Davis Mills, Tyrod Taylor, Deshaun Watson and A.J. McCarron throwing passes the last two years in Houston. He has 11 catches for 136 yards already, including seven for 82 yards against the Colts and a defensive scheme similar to the one run by the Bears. The 5-foot-10, 185-pound receiver gets it done with quickness, raw speed and route running. They'll likely even move him into the slot and attack rookie Kyler Gordon with Cooks at times, although they have other receivers for this. Vildor has been targeted seven times and allowed six completions after recording passer ratings against of 131.2 and 136.1 in his first two seasons. He's not giving up much size-wise to Cooks and has good speed but it's play recognition and going after the ball where Vildor has struggled.
Bears DE Al-Quadin Muhammad vs. Texans RT Tytus Howard
Muhammad was given the left starting defensive end role over Trevis Gipson after being behind Gipson throughout the offseason, training camp and preseason. He has done little in both Bears games while Gipson has delivered a pair of sacks early against Green Bay and had the highest Pro Football Focus pass rush grade for the Bears in the game (73.5). So it would be no shock if more playing time comes Gipson's way. Muhammad came over from the Colts with coach Matt Eberflus and has four tackles and two hurries in two games. PFs gives him a grade of 40.1 overall and 48.8 in the pass rush. The pass rush grade is 147th out of 149 pass rushers graded. Howard is no stranger to Muhammad, as they were in the same division the past three years. Howard is off to his best start with one sack allowed and two penalties. His 72.9 overall grade as a blocker by PFF is a big step up over his previous seasons. Although Muhammad had a career-high two sacks against Houston last year, it was when Howard played the opposite side of the line at left tackle. The Texans have Laremy Tunsil playing well at left tackle this year.
Bears WR Darnell Mooney vs. Texans CB Steven Nelson
Nelson's strength had been more man to man earlier in his career and is adjusting well to zone scheme with the 14th highest pass coverage grade among the 103 cornerbacks graded by PFF. He has allowed only 41.7% completions when targeted this year according to Sportradar. He has three pass breakups this year. Nelson had been an effective left cornerback in the past and was available at two years and $9 million for Houston when the Bears could have obviously benefited from an experienced upgrade at the other cornerback. Mooney normally had been a Bears strength but after two games and catches of only 8 yards and minus-4 yards, it appears he is not adjusting well to being the focus of defensive coverage. In the past, including at least the first half of last season, Allen Robinson drew the most coverage among Bears receivers. The Bears need to get Mooney involved with some shorter throws early to get the offense into a better rhythm.
Bears T Braxton Jones vs. Texans DE Jerry Hughes
At 34, Hughes appears to just keep rolling along much like Bears 32-year-old edge Robert Quinn. Hughes has two sacks after coming over from Buffalo. He had two sacks, an interception and fumble recovery in the first game of the year. Jones has not been the detriment a rookie tackle can be for a team. However, he has given up a pair of sacks and three pressures, both Bears highs. The Bears do try to give him help with a chipper to that side or even an extra blocker at times. PFF gives him a 62.7 pass blocking grade, the second best on the offensive line so far.
Bears G Cody Whitehair vs. Texans DT Maliek Collins
The Texans brought Collins back as a free agent and thought of the 6-foot-2, 311-pound three technique as a necessary piece. However, he hasn't been that in two games, particularly defending the run. Pro Football Focus gives him the worst grade overall of the top three Texans defensive tackles and he is rated currently the 80th of 94 defensive tackles in the league. Like with the Bears defense, the Texans require a dominant three technique to play the Tampa-2 and Collins does not seem to be this player. He has been better rushing the passer than he has stopping the run. Whitehair has been fairly steady so far and normally has been the most consistent of Bears blockers during his time in Chicago. The best three techniques rely on quickness into the gap but Whitehair is a quick lineman. His problems have come more from power-laden defensive tackles.
Bears TE Cole Kmet vs. Texans LB Kamu Grugier-Hill
Anticipate the Bears going with two tight ends while facing this defense even with Ryan Griffin out for this one. They'll try to get one of the tight ends to block Grugier-Hill in the running game. Grugier-Hill is highly thought of by the Texans but hasn't really lived up to that. According to PFF, he has a 29.8 grade defending the run this year, one of the worst marks in the league. He is average against the pass so far, but the Bears might find the running game they unleashed on Green Bay in the second half last week is the type of thing they can use to beat Houston's Tampa-2. Beating Houston at basic football with linebackers off the ball being blocked by tight ends or pulling guards can lead to big gains. And watch out for Bears wide receivers blocking downfield for big gainers, as well.
Bears WR Darnell Mooney vs. Texans CB Derek Stingley Jr.
Bears cornerback Kyler Gordon has had a rough start to his rookie year but compared to the Texans' first-round draft pick this year, Stingley, Gordon is Pro Bowl material. Stingley has allowed 14 catches when targeted in two games according to Sportradar. PFF grades him the 97th ranked cornerback out of the 103 they have grades on and he is 98th against the pass. Mooney has been invisible so far but is obviously the best Bears receiver and they will likely try to feature him after he made only two catches for 4 yards so far this season. He'll move all over the formation. Do the Bears really trust Justin Fields to throw, like they say, and do it against zone coverage? We'll find out, and most likely they'll be trying to target the rookie cornerback.
Bears DT Justin Jones vs. Texans G Kenyon Green
Green has played effectively at times in the past but is the 50th-ranked guard out of 70 PFF has graded at 49.5. Jones has been largely ineffective as a run defender but has been getting good penetration at times as a three technique should. However, he's sometimes out of his gap or causes a bubble by being too far out of sync with the rest of the pass rush. This is a position where the Bears can do damage because quarterback Davis Mills is not the highly mobile type QB they faced in each of the first two games, although he can step up or away from the rush enough to throw. He's just not taking off with it as 44 rushing yards in 13 career starts suggests. An interior rush here can be devastating for Houston. The Colts and Broncos combined for six sacks of Mills.
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