Chicago Bears: 3 Keys to Beating the Houston Texans
By David Mamola
Here’s how the Chicago Bears can defeat the Houston Texans in Week 1 of the NFL Season.
The Chicago Bears finished last year with a 6-10 record, while their opponent on Sunday—the Houston Texans—finished 9-7 and won the AFC South division.
Houston is the only team the Bears have never beaten in the regular season, and on paper, the Texans appear to have the edge in this Week 1game. However, the Bears have a shot to pull the upset. Of course, it’s going to take more than just the obvious “don’t turn the ball over” to get that done.
Here are the three keys to the Bears topping the Texans in Week 1:
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1. Have Success on Third Down
The Houston Texans boasted a top-10 defense a year ago, their third-down defense being a big reason why. They allowed teams to convert third downs only 28.5% of the time in 2015.
Therefore, the Bears need to have success on first and second down so that they can be in third and manageable. Converting third downs will help the offense build momentum and keep the potentially dangerous Texans’ offense on the sideline.
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2. Win the Line of Scrimmage
The Texans have a dominant defensive line led by J.J. Watt and Vince Wilfork, but if the Bears want to win, they’re going to need to be able to find some running lanes. Watt has an achy back (he had surgery in July), so expect the Bears to target him early with some double-teams, chips, and low blocks. Right tackle Bobby Massie and right guard Kyle Long are excellent run-blockers, thus the majority of the Bears’ rush attempts should head in that direction (Watt oftentimes lines up on that side, so we should see pretty early if he has his “A” game working).
On the other side, the Texans offensive line is already without starting center Nick Martin (on injured reserve) and left tackle Duane Brown. Brown is still not recovered from offseason quadriceps surgery. Subsequently, Greg Mancz will be making his first NFL start at center on Sunday after playing only one snap in his rookie season. That leaves Bears nose tackle Eddie Goldman, who finished last year on a tear, needing to take advantage of this matchup and dominate from start to finish.
The Bears’ front seven has been talked about a lot this preseason, so now it’s time for them to shine. Houston quarterback Brock Osweiler does not do well when under pressure, thus making getting to him imperative come Sunday.
3. Use the Tight End
If there was one weakness on this Texans’ defense a year ago, it was their ability to defend the tight end position. Houston’s safeties (Andre Hal and Quintin Demps) are just average in coverage, and inside linebacker Brian Cushing was awful against the pass last year (59.2 coverage grade from Pro Football Focus).
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Bears’ tight end Zach Miller missed all of the preseason with a concussion, but he proved last year that when healthy, he can be a difference maker. Houston gave up only 5.03 yards per play in 2015 (5th best in the league), so dinking and dunking down the field may be the Bears’ best bet. Miller is a quarterback-friendly target, and could have a big game on Sunday.