(2) Contain the explosive Texans offense

Reigning AFC offensive rookie of the year C.J. Stroud quarterbacks a star-studded collection of skill-position players that includes receivers Stefon Diggs and Nico Collins and running back Joe Mixon. Houston traded for Diggs and Mixon during the offseason, and the two newcomers combined to score all three Texans touchdowns in last Sunday’s 29-27 season-opening road win over the Colts.

Stroud threw for 234 yards with two touchdowns and a 115.9 passer rating. Diggs had six receptions for 33 yards and two TDs. Collins caught six passes for 117 yards. And Mixon rushed for 159 yards and one TD on a career-high 30 carries, the most yards by any NFL running back in Week 1. Those performances helped the Texans possess the ball for 40:00 and run 76 plays to the Colts’ 43.

In 2023, Stroud had one of the best rookie years in league history, throwing for 4,108 yards with 23 TDs, five interceptions and a 100.8 passer rating in leading the Texans to the AFC South championship. His 25-5 touchdown-to-interception ratio since the start of the 2023 season is tops in the NFL.

“He’s an all-around quarterback,” said cornerback Tyrique Stevenson. “If the pocket closes, he can get out with his feet. He can make all of the throws. He’s a great quarterback. He showed you all last year coming in with the rookie season, taking this team where they needed to go to make the playoffs.”

The Bears will counter with a defense that held the Titans scoreless in the second half last Sunday and generated the go-ahead touchdown on Stevenson’s 43-yard interception return of a Will Levis pass. With their rush and coverage working in concert, the Bears permitted just 104 yards passing, the second fewest in Week 1.

“Good challenge for us this week,” said defensive coordinator Eric Washington. “The first is to the defense making sure we play to our standard for four quarters in every aspect of what we do with all of our values, our culture, and then just stopping the run and just doing everything we can going into this week to elevate our level of play: our discipline, ball production, hits on the quarterback, just being efficient on first and second down. We want to make sure we take a pretty decent jump this week.”