How DeMeco Ryans dialed up blitzes to relentlessly pressure Bears rookie Caleb Williams into miscues, ‘panic’ mode

HOUSTON – Surrounded by bodies, relentlessly chased and collided with, Chicago Bears rookie quarterback Caleb Williams was constantly engulfed by a swarming Texans defense.

Texans coach DeMeco Ryans dialed up the heat with a well-timed, aggressive blitz package, generating a ton of stress on the top overall pick of the draft in his second NFL game.

During one painful sequence for Williams, Pro Bowl bookend pass rushers Will Anderson Jr. and Danielle Hunter pulled off a patented ‘Meet me there, beat me there,’ move as they both bashed into the former Heisman Trophy winner in the backfield simultaneously.

Seven sacks, including 1 1/2 apiece for Anderson and Hunter. Eleven quarterback hits. Thirty-six pressures, including nine from nine from Anderson and eight from Hunter and four from middle linebacker Azeez Al-Shaair during a 19-13 win earned primarily through the defense and a special teams unit headlined by long-distance kicker Ka’imi Fairbairn as the offense sputtered at times other than quarterback C.J. Stroud and wide receiver Nico Collins’ connection.

All because of their talent and hard work, and a thoughtful strategy from Ryans who blitzed Williams on 41.7 percent of his drop-backs for the highest blitz rate in a game. On those blitzes, they generated 12 pressures and five sacks with nine defenders racking up multiple pressures as Williams completed just 3 of 12 passes for 15 yards while being blitzed, according to Next Gen Stats.

All of the hits took a toll on Williams.

“Definitely, once I started seeing some guys put some hits on him, he was slow getting back to the huddle,” said defensive tackle Mario Edwards Jr., who recorded one sack. “We covered him up and he couldn’t see, so he started panicking. Once we saw him panic, I knew that’s what we had to do.”

The Texans are off to a 2-0 start for the first time since the 2016 campaign. And the rest of the AFC South division they won last season by a narrow margin are off to an 0-2 start with the Tennessee Titans, Jacksonville Jaguars and Indianapolis Colts all winless after two weeks of the season.

Named the NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year last season, Anderson and Hunter, a Morton Ranch graduate signed to a two-year, $51 million free agent deal, are a formidable pass rushing tandem.

And pressure and coverage combined as Williams was intercepted once apiece by Derek Stingley Jr. and Kamari Lassiter.

“It starts up front with our defensive line. Will, Danielle, Mario,, all the guys,” Ryans said. “The way they were rushing together, the way we were covering in the back end, that really set things apart for us. Credit to Sting and Kamari for the way they cover, allowing those guys to get the pressure. You don’t get pressure unless the coverage is tight. Those guys cover well and allowed the rush to get there.”

Six different Texans had at least one sack, including Anderson, Hunter, Edwards, Al-Shaair, Derek Barnett and Henry To’oTo’o, who played arguably his best game as a pro with a team-high 13 tackles followed by 10 tackles from Al-Shaair, who delivered a huge sideline hit on Williams that enraged the Bears and led to an altercation.

“We talked about just being the engine of the team, and we just got the right group of guys in the room to do that, man,” Anderson said. “And Caleb, man, he was slippery, but we came back to the foul line or somebody misses, keep it up and we’re going to keep coming. Nine times out of ten, they end up getting the sack.

“That’s what it’s all about. Man, it’s always fun going at any quarterback, man. I think this week we just wanted to just keep putting pressure on his face. Man, we just are trying to get better at rushing together. That was our first time last week and I think we did a hell of a job this week. Rushing together, having fun, man, that’s what it’s all about.”

It’s not like Williams is an old-school statue in the pocket.

He’s fast and elusive, but the Texans operate at a different speed than most defenses.

“I’m a little bruised up,” Williams said. “I took a couple hits today. I’m going to get in ice tubs and do all the things I need to do to make sure my body is ready.”

The way the Texans set the edge and clogged up the middle left Williams and the Bears passing game without a complementary running presence.

The Bears rushed for just 71 yards on 22 carries, an average of 3.2 yards per run.

“Our guys did a great job of setting the edge,” Ryans said. “They tried to run the ball outside a lot. Our guys set the edge. Guys just swarmed inside-out to the ball. We had a little movement up front. The way our guys tackled was really nice.”

Williams threw 37 passes, completing 32 of them for just 174 yards and a 51.0 passer rating.

D.J. Moore was his leading wide receiver with six catches for 53 yards on 10 targets. Playing without Keenan Allen due to a heel injury and holding first-round pick Rome Odunze to two catches for 33 yards, the Texans’ secondary provided tight coverage while the defensive line applied the pressure.

“I feel like we did good and we were still not quite ready to go,” Edwards said. “We felt like we left some meat on the table. I feel like we did a pretty good job of trying to contain them and keep him in the pocket. He’s slippery. He’s elusive, so you got to break down and tackle. He’s really good with his legs.”

Anderson, Al-Shaair, Hunter and Edwards all had two quarterback hits apiece.

“My hat’s off to Houston and the way they operated there,” Bears coach Matt Eberflus said. “Obviously, we have seven sacks. The offensive line, everybody is going to talk about those types of things. I believe protection is everybody. Protection is the tight ends, runners, offensive line, it’s the quarterback; it’s everybody involved. So we got to do a really good job with that. And taking a look at that. You know, in terms of running the ball we obviously want to run the ball better than we did. It was okay but not good enough. Not good enough.”

Aaron Wilson is a Texans and NFL reporter for KPRC 2 and click2houston.com