The Houston Texans have the Chicago Bears on Sunday Night Football this week. With the eyes of the world watching, or at least most a lot of people from the United States, the Texans have the opportunity to make a statement against a Bears team that looks rather hapless. At least offensively.
A win isn't the only necessary thing the Texans need to achieve. They need to make a major statement in victory. They need to hand Bears rookie quarterback Caleb Williams an even worse outing than in Week 1. They need to show that on defense, the Texans can shut down any team in the league. To try and convince people of that, they have to start showing it against the less impressive teams in the league.
After all, the Indianapolis Colts shredded the Texans with deep passes in Week 1. It was actually kind of embarrassing when you realized just how bad Anthony Richardson and the Colts' offense was for 90% of the game. Yet a handful of plays not only kept them in the game but nearly won them the game.
The Texans can ill afford to let that happen twice in a row. So this is what the Texans have to do against the Bears to win on Sunday.
1. Feed Joe Mixon
The offense may be more balanced than we gave the Texans credit for. They put up over 200 yards through the air and over 150 yards on the ground. It was a game plan that kept the Colts' defense reeling. The Chicago Bears' defense is supposed to be good, and if they are, then feeding Joe Mixon a heaping plateful of carries may keep the Bears from cheating too much against the pass. It becomes a lot easier to succeed when you're forced to play the run honestly.
2. Blitz and stunt on defensive more
Will Anderson and Danielle Hunter were non-factors against the Colts. They do have one of the better offensive lines, so it's not the most shameful thing in the world, but the Texans' defense can ill-afford another outing like last week. Stunting the defensive line more often is a good idea, as it was used effectively against the Texans. So why not follow suit? Also, blitzing more may not be the worst idea, especially with Henry To'oto'o. Let's see what he can do in a different role.
3. Play Safeties further back
If they're not going to react fast enough, then they need to be played deeper. We're not asking for Greg Williams deep, where he'd put one safety so far back you'd think Williams was expecting the potential of returning a field goal. No, but after watching Sunday's game against the Colts, Jimmie Ward and Jalen Pitre have a lot to work on. It didn't help that their corners weren't great either, but getting beat over the top is usually an issue with the safeties.