NEWSLETTER
If there were ever a perfect rebound game, this is it.
Lovie Smith and the Texans come into town on the heels of another forgettable Packers week, and the home cooking against a bad team is exactly what the Bears need this week.
Game Info
Houston Texans (0-1-1, 2nd AFC South) at Chicago Bears (1-1, T-1st NFC North) – CBS (Andrew Catalon and James Lofton); WBBM 780 AM, 105.9 FM (Jeff Joniak, Tom Thayer, Mark Grote)
Kickoff Time: Noon CT
Site: Soldier Field, Chicago, IL
Referee: Clete Blakeman
Odds: CHI -3, O/U 39.5 (via DraftKings Sports Book)
We Got $5 On It
Note: Patrick’s listed bets were placed on Draft Kings Sportsbook, while Luis’ were made at BetMGM.
Lu’s Plays (Season Record & Net Winnings: 0-3, $-15.00)
Patrick’s Plays (Season Record & Winnings: 1-3, $6.50)
You can get in on this action at DraftKings:
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But there are a number of other official gambling apps you can use (with some juicy promos) right here.
Starting QBs and Projected Game Stats
Texans: Davis Mills: 23/36, 251 passing yards, 1 TD, 1 INT; 2 carries, 8 rushing yards
vs.
Bears: Justin Fields: 15/25, 172 yards, 1 TD, 1 INT; 8 carries, 39 rushing yards
Week 3 projected stats via ESPN projections
Bears Projected Starters
Offense
• QB Justin Fields
• RB David Montgomery
• WRs Darnell Mooney, Equanimeous St. Brown, Dante Pettis
• TE Cole Kmet
• LT Braxton Jones, LG Cody Whitehair, C Lucas Patrick, RG Teven Jenkins, RT Larry Borom
Defense
• LDE Al-Quadin Muhammad, LDT Angelo Blackson, RDT Justin Jones, RDE Robert Quinn
• SAM Nicholas Morrow, MIKE Matt Adams (he’s already been ruled OUT), WILL Roquan Smith
• LCB Jaylon Johnson, RCB Kyler Gordon
• FS Eddie Jackson, SS Jaquan Brisker
Specialists
• Cairo Santos (kicker), Trenton Gill (punter, holder), Patrick Scales (long snapper), Trestan Ebner (kick returns), Dante Pettis (punt returns)
Texans Projected Starters
Offense
• QB Davis Mills
• RB Dameon Pierce
• WR Brandin Cooks, Nico Collins, Chris Moore
• TE Pharaoh Brown
• LT Laremy Tunsil, LG Kenyon Green, C Scott Quessenberry, RG A.J. Cann, RT Tytus Howard
Defense
• LDE Jonathan Greenard, LDT Maliek Collins, RDT Roy Lopez, RDE Jerry Hughes
• WLB Kamu Grugier-Hill, MLB Christian Kirksey, SLB Blake Cashman
• LCB Steven Nelson, RCB Derek Stingley Jr.
• FS Jalen Pitre, SS Jonathan Owens
Specialists
• Ka’imi Fairbairn (kicker), Cameron Johnston (punter, holder), Jon Weeks (long snapper), Tremon Smith, Desmond King III (kick and punt returns)
Three Bears
Darnell Mooney has been missing in action to start the season, catching just two passes on five targets for a whopping four yards. Mooney was targeted 140 times last season and was expected to be a major player in the Bears’ offense this season thanks to a thin wide receiver core and his budding relationship with Justin Fields.
Thankfully, Matt Eberflus seems like a head coach that understands that he has to get his playmakers involved some more moving forward.
“In the passing game, let’s highlight our skill,” Eberflus said Monday. “Let’s feed the guys that have skill that can take a short throw and turn it into a big gain, that can go downtown. And we have a good deep ball thrower, so we should utilize that too. And we’re going to look at all aspects of that.”
With a shoddy Texans secondary in town, Mooney should be able to finally emerge and make an impact offensively. The Texans are ranked 19th in the NFL when it comes to coverage grades on PFF and rank 26th in passing yards allowed (571) through two weeks. Houston’s secondary is allowing opposing receivers a 62.2 percent catch rate and giving up 14.2 yards per reception.
Justin Fields has a perfect bounce-back matchup in front of him. The Texans’ secondary is trash, the Bears are at Soldier Field, and the weather is going to be gorgeous. While it’s entirely to early to panic when it comes to Justin Fields, there’s not doubt that he needs to clean some things up moving forward.
We saw some mistakes on Sunday night in Green Bay that Fields needs to remedy. Not making it through progressions (and missing potential chunk and touchdown plays as a result), holding the ball too long, fleeing the pocket too quickly, etc.
The good news is these are common mistakes for a quarterback with 14 games of experience under his belt. Houston is precisely what the doctor ordered, and I expect Fields to take advantage.
Roquan Smith hasn’t had the explosive start that I’m sure he wished he would have after the training camp hold-in drama, but this is as good a time as any for his revenge tour to start. Smith landed a 36.0 defensive rating on PFF for his performance in Green Bay and was visibly unable to help the Bears slow down the two-headed monster of Aaron Jones and A.J. Dillon.
I have a feeling that Lovie is going to run the ball plenty this week, given Davis Mills’ ugly home-road splits. Mills posted a 109.6 passer rating with 12 touchdowns and one interception at home last season while posting a 63.1 passer rating with four touchdowns and nine picks on the road last season. This season, Mills has a 98.9 passer rating in one home game and a 63.2 passer rating in one road game.
If the Texans are going to lean on the run, it’s imperative that the Bears play much better than they did last week when they were gashed play after play and unable to get off the field. Look for Roquan to have a game this weekend.
