HOUSTON – One of the Texans’ biggest challenges Sunday night against the Chicago Bears has been a bit overlooked in conversations surrounding this primetime game.
The Bears have an opportunistic, talented defense headlined by star cornerback Jaylon Johnson, linebacker Tremaine Edmunds and defensive end Montez Sweat.
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They held Tennessee Titans quarterback Will Levis to 127 passing yards during a win last week and intercepted him twice with cornerback Tyrique Stevenson returning one 43 yards for a touchdown.
Between Johnson, Stevenson, safeties Kevin Byard and Jacquan Brisker, they have a loaded, experienced secondary. The Bears scored 17 points off of Titans turnovers last week.
The top priority beyond scoring points: protect the football.
“They play really sound,” said Texans Pro Bowl quarterback C.J. Stroud, who had no interceptions and two touchdown passses in a win over the Indianapolis Colts. “They have all the talent in the world. Tyrique and Jaylon Johnson are two great corners. They play the ball really well. Kevin Byard has been playing at a high level for a long time. And Brisker, I played in college. He’s a dawg.
“l think they had one of the most interception rates last year and they got two last week. So, we’ve got to be cognizant of that and know that you’ve got to be careful with the ball because they won the game, pretty much, on defense last week. So, definitely a great defense. A lot of respect for those guys and can’t wait to compete against them.”
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The Titans went 3 for 14 on third down. They had a bit more success running the football, finishing with 140 yards on 26 carries for a 5.4 average per carry, which could mean a heavy workload for Pro Bowl running back Joe Mixon after his 159-yard performance on 30 carries with one touchdown against the Colts.
Against the Titans, linebacker T.J. Edwards led the defense with 10 tackles as Darrell Taylor had two sacks.
“The Bears defense backfield, they take the ball away,” Texans coach DeMeco Ryans said. “It’s really impressive the way they attack the football, both of their corners last week ended up with picks, to game changing plays to give them the lead there and to end the game. So, we have to understand that those guys are ballhawks and we have to protect the football so that’s what they present.
“Their linebackers as well. Opportunistic, Edmunds and Edwards, two guys who are long athletic guys and if you’re around the ball if, it’s close to them they can find a way to get the football as well. So that’s where their defense have thrived and that’s what we have to make sure we’re protecting it on our side with everything that we have.”
The Bears’ defense is the primary reason why they defeated the Titans, not rookie quarterback Caleb Williams and a sputtering offense.
“I really think they’re good at every level,” Texans offensive coordinator Bobby Slowik said. “Their secondary is very good. Very good secondary, the backers fly around. They hit you, they’re physical. Up front, they’ve got some rushers without a doubt. Especially on the edges, they can put pressure on you. And that shows in how they played last year.
“We all think it’s a very good defense and all we’ve talked about ad nauseum is making sure we protect the ball and we protect the team. That’s really our big emphasis as far as going into this game, making sure that we want to rack up yards, touchdowns, all that, but the starting point this week is making sure that we hold onto the ball.”
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Aaron Wilson is a Texans and NFL reporter for KPRC 2 and click2houston.com
