3 reasons for optimism as Bears face the Texans in Week 3
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The Chicago Bears (1-1) will host the Houston Texans (0-1-1) on Sunday, where the Bears will be looking to get back into the win column following a brutal Week 2 loss.
We already took a look at some causes for concern heading into the Week 3 matchup. But there’s a lot less doom and gloom heading into this game against Houston, a team that’s more on their level.
As the Bears prepare for the Texans, there are reasons to be encouraged about Chicago heading into Sunday’s game.
The Texans have one of the worst run defenses in the NFL
Daniel Bartel-USA TODAY Sports
The Bears offense has struggled in the first two weeks of the season, but the run game has been their strength. David Montgomery is coming off a 122-yard performance, where he averaged 8.1 yards per carry. Which is encouraging considering he’ll face the 30th-ranked run defense this week. The Texans are allowing 163 rushing yards per game, which means we can expect to see Chicago pound the ball with Montgomery and Khalil Herbert.
Conversely, Houston's run game has struggled
Troy Taormina-USA TODAY Sports
The Bears run defense is the worst in the NFL allowing 189.5 rushing yards per game through the first two weeks. Houston will no doubt look to exploit that on Sunday, especially considering they’ve had trouble getting the ground game going. Luckily for Chicago, they’ll face a Texans rushing attack managing just 78.5 yards on the ground per game, which ranks 27th in the league.
The Texans pass defense ranked among worst in the league
Mike Dinovo-USA TODAY Sports
It’s no secret that Chicago’s passing game is a mess right now. Justin Fields has only attempted 28 passes this season and is averaging just 76.5 passing yards per game, which is far and away the worst in the NFL. The good news is there should be opportunities to open things up downfield against a Texans pass defense allowing 270.5 passing yards per game (27th in NFL). While the Bears will no doubt look to pound the ball against their run defense, this is a good opportunity for Fields to stretch things vertically in the passing game.
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