The Chicago Bears are looking to snap a six-game losing streak, and they’ll have to do it against a team they’ve never beaten: the Houston Texans.
While the focus on Chicago has shifted to 2021 — including questions about the futures of head coach Matt Nagy, general manager Ryan Pace and president Ted Phillips — there are still four games to be played.
And now Pace will get an up-close look at one of the quarterbacks he passed on in the 2017 NFL Draft as Deshaun Watson faces off against the Bears for the first time in his career.
Before the game, we caught up with managing editor Mark Lane of Texans Wire to get the scoop on the Bears’ Week 14 opponent.
Here are five questions with Texans Wire:
1 Coming off an impressive 10-6 record and playoff appearance, expectations were high for Houston. What’s gone wrong for the Texans this season?
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They didn’t address their defensive interior adequately in the offseason, instead letting defensive tackle D.J. Reader go in free agency. Consequently, they have younger players or role players at best trying to fill that void. J.J. Watt still commands attention, but guys aren’t winning their one-on-ones as they used to. The secondary similarly has been porous and makes opposing quarterbacks look like Pro Bowlers on a weekly basis. They also have zero running game to speak of, which means it’s all on Deshaun Watson’s arm to lead Houston to victory. Trading DeAndre Hopkins and surrounding Watson with other weapons in the passing game was a gamble that has paid off, but it took time for the cohesion to develop and has hampered their record.
2 Bears fans will never live down the fact that the team passed on QB Deshaun Watson, who gets his chance for revenge on Sunday. Just how good has Watson been this season?
Reinhold Matay-USA TODAY Sports
Watson has had another Pro Bowl season that unfortunately is going to be buried by the amount of losing the Texans have done, and also the laughingstock they became when they traded Watson. That is just the perception; it certainly isn’t the reality. If not for referee Scott Novak’s crew ruling that S Kenny Moore intercepted WR Brandin Cooks while on the ground — go figure that one — Watson would be riding an interception-less streak going all the way back to Week 5. Nonetheless, his six interceptions on the season are on pace for the fewest he has thrown in a 16-game season (nine in 2018). If Watson were on a more complete team, one that just needed better quarterback play, that team would be top-three in their conference (maybe Miami or San Francisco, definitely New England).
3 What’s been your evaluation of this Houston defense this season?
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They can’t stop the run. They can barely stop the pass. They don’t generate takeaways (eight, the fewest in the NFL). They look like a unit that has not played together or had the same coaches for the past five seasons. Take for example “new” defensive coordinator Anthony Weaver. He has been the defensive line coach since 2016. Interim coach Romeo Crennel has been on the staff since he was the defensive coordinator in 2014. It isn’t like they decided to go to the Tampa-2 or something exotic. Even though Weaver has been influenced by Rex Ryan when he was with the Baltimore Ravens, a lot of these concepts are the same to the team. Like many teams, the lack of a real offseason to work on these concepts has shown up throughout the year.
4 What matchup intrigues you most in this game?
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That the Bears are horrendous running the football, and the Texans are bad at stopping it. Will David Montgomery go off? Will the Texans stop Chicago’s run game? With how variable quarterback Mitch Trubisky is at times, maybe he has a few giveaways that finally helps the Texans record double-digit turnovers — you know, since it’s only Week 14. Also the Bears have never beaten the Texans. If they can manage that, then you only have the Texans not beating the Vikings (0-4), the Texans not beating the Eagles (0-5), and the Jets not beating the Eagles (0-11) as the only instances of active teams being winless against active franchises.
5 What's your prediction for the game?
Troy Taormina-USA TODAY Sports
The weather doesn’t look horrendous, and the wind is only about seven miles per hour in the forecast. I think Houston gets the passing game going and Chicago has some success running the football, even though Matt Nagy loves to abandon it. I think fantasy owners should get what they’re needing out of it with Watson having a productive day, Cooks getting some points, Allen Robinson having success. Overall, I think the Texans prevail. Texans 27, Bears 23
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December 12, 2020 at 09:42PM
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Behind Enemy Lines: 5 questions with Texans Wire - Chicago Bears Wire
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