The Chicago Bears are getting set for a Sunday Night Football matchup against the Houston Texans and the team's offense will be looking to get on track against the Texans defense led by head coach DeMeco Ryans.
During his first season as the Texans head coach, Ryans helped lead the Texans back into the playoffs thanks to strong play from his young defense and the stellar rookie debut of quarterback C.J. Stroud.
The Texans defense has turned into a fiery group on the field under Ryans' guidance and they will be looking to get after rookie quarterback Caleb Williams in Week 2.
"I expect them to be aggressive," Williams explained. "I expect them to be excited to get out there and be in front of their home crowd. I'll be aggressive running around, playing well together. We get to go against a great defense again this week. So, we're excited. I know they're going to be out there excited."
On offense, the Bears are still looking to figure out what their identity is and this weekend's game could be a great opportunity to establish what that could be. If the Texans are going to be aggressive, the Bears need to match that level of aggression.
"I think we want to put our offensive identity on tape... Going out there and just playing fast and coming off the ball, the best thing that we can do," DJ Moore said on Wednesday. "They are a good team. Their defense is actually really good. They fly around. So, we get to see how we stack up and see where this offense is headed."
Moore and the rest of the Bears offense actually stack up really well against what the Texans struggled with during the season opener last weekend. In that game, the Texans defense had one glaring issue the Bears will be looking to capitalize on, just like the Colts and quarterback Anthony Richardson were able to in Week 1.
While the Texans managed to come away with the win late in the game, the big plays allowed on defense almost cost the team in a major way. On Sunday, Richardson had three 50-plus-yard completions, including two that went for touchdowns.
For the Bears, the deep ball is something that was desperately needed during the team's Week 1 win against the Tennessee Titans. Williams did not complete single pass on five attempts of 15 yards or more. The matchup is there this weekend for Williams to let his arm loose and his top weapon will help take the top off the defense.
During his first season in Chicago in 2023, wide receiver DJ Moore was fourth in the NFL in receiving yards on 20+ yard throws, and tied for third in touchdowns among wide receivers, according to Pro Football Focus. Williams showed this summer he certainly has the arm to bring that back out of Moore's game this season.
However, last week, Williams hit Moore for 10+ yards on two different crossing routes but did not attempt a pass to Moore on vertical routes. It's time for offensive coordinator Shane Waldron to let Moore get vertical against this Texans secondary.
