Chicago Bears: Keys To Beating Houston Texans In Week 3

The Chicago Bears look to regroup after Week 2’s disaster. They try to do that when they host Lovie Smith and the winless Houston Texans.

Ok, so we can all agree that the Chicago Bears game last week against the Green Bay Packers was a debacle. We saw the defense miss tackles like it did last season. Also, the offense could not move the ball. They again had a game in which the quarterback completed single-digit completions and throw for less than 100 yards.

This is a recipe for disaster and needs to change.

What may help that change comes to Soldier Field on Sunday. The Bears host the Houston Texans. Former Chicago Bears head coach Lovie Smith is leading Houston now. However, the Texans have yet to win a game this season as they own a 0-1-1 record.

The Texans find themselves also with a struggling offense. They rank 26th in the league in scoring, 24th in passing yards, and 2ex7th in rushing yards. The Bears are similar, ranking 26th in scoring and last in passing yards. The big difference is that Chicago ranks 8th in rushing yards.

Both offenses need a jolt this week. The Texans, like the Bears, are in the midst of a rebuild. They want a win this week so they don’t face an extended period of time winless. They have an incredibly difficult schedule and the only possibility of wins could come via the two Jacksonville Jaguar games. However, even Jacksonville has shown some improvement.

The Bears, on the other hand, just want to get back over the .500 mark. Many experts predicted just three wins at the most for them, but they already got the first with an upset win against the San Francisco 49ers. They did come back down to earth against the Packers, though.

Now the Bears just want to prove the doubters wrong and that they can string together some wins.

Here are some keys to a Chicago Bears victory.

The defense must put pressure on Mills

One of the positives that came out of the Packers game last week was the pressure the defense put. The Bears sacked Aaron Rodgers three times and hurried him a few other times.

Of course, Rodgers being the future Hall of Fame quarterback that he is, was able to avoid a lot of the pressure and burn the secondary. It’s just what he does.

The Bears won’t have that problem with Texans quarterback Davis Mills. He is in his second season and despite showing some hope, he isn’t on Rodgers’ level. If the Bears’ defense can pressure him, he won’t be able to avoid it and complete passes. He will give the secondary a chance at forcing some turnovers. That will give the offense good starting position on some of their drives.

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Which run defense fails first?

In addition to the pressure, the Chicago Bears defense needs to stop the run. They rank last against the run this season so far.

The thing is that the Texans also have a horrible run defense. They rank 30th in that category.

As mentioned before, the Bears rank 8th in rushing. Despite the blowout loss last week, David Montgomery had 122 rushing yards and averaged 8.1 yards per run. If he can continue that this week, the Bears could cruise to a victory.

The Texans are trying to get rookie Damean Pierce going. He only has 102 total rushing yards and his longest run has been for 12 yards.

If the Bears defense can just stop the run for the first time this season then the team can stay atop of the NFC North standings. I know it’s early but being on top three weeks after the season opened is big for them.

Open up the passing game

The Chicago Bears’ passing game has been horrible. Justin Fields has just 28 pass attempts and 191 passing yards. That won’t get you many victories.

Offensive coordinator Luke Getsy needs to do something to improve the passing attack. He did a good job of helping Rodgers in Green Bay now it’s time to do the same for Fields in Chicago.

One of the problems with the offense is not getting key players involved. Wide receiver Darnell Mooney has just two catches on five targets for four yards in two games. Tight end Cole Kmet has zero catches on just two targets.

These players are supposed to be the ones Fields has to lean on. So far, however, it isn’t happening. Getsy has to find a way to get them the football.

Having Fields drop back just 14 times in a game is not enough. I understand that he needs to have a balance between running and passing, but right now there is practically no passing. Without any passing there will be no victories.

It isn’t clear whether the Bears coaching staff doesn’t trust Fields or his receivers. At any rate, they need to open up the play-calling so they can find out what is the problem. Fields’ development is paramount for the Chicago Bears’ rebuild going forward. He needs to show what he has and dropping back only 14 times won’t help him show that. Take the handcuff off of Fields!