Stingley intercepted Chicago Bears quarterback Caleb Williams at the Houston Texans’ 34 with just under a minute left in the third quarter. Ka’imi Fairbairn drilled a 53-yard field goal to extend Houston’s lead to nine.
Last season, Stingley was a turnover machine for the AFC South champions. He totaled five interceptions and 12 pass breakups while helping Houston clinch his first division title in four years.
Joe Mixon is currently dealing with an ankle injury suffered during the third quarter against the Chicago Bears.
While the Houston Texans lead, they might have lost a key offensive weapon.
Running back Joe Mixon is questionable to return with an ankle injury against the Chicago Bears. The Texans likely rest him for the rest of the evening knowing his value for the remainder of the season.
Acquired from the Cincinnati Bengals in the offseason, Mixon caught a pass from C.J. Stroud and headed toward the sideline. Following the tackle, he was slow to get up but was able to limp his way back to the sidelines.
It looked like a hip drop tackle from the defensive back, but nothing was called by the officials. Mixon was first evaluated in the blue tent and then later walked back to the locker room.
Last week in a 29-27 win over the Indianapolis Colts, Mixon led the NFL with 159 rushing yards and a touchdown on 30 carries. Through two-plus quarters, Mixon has 20 yards off seven carries.
If Mixon doesn’t return, the Texans will turn to Cam Akers and Dare Ogunbowale for the rest of the evening.
UPDATE: Mixon has returned to the game after further evalution from the medical staff.
Take a look at how the Houston Texans welcomed Sunday Night Football to NRG Stadium.
The Houston Texans were back in primetime for the first time in ages and the welcome party came with a bang.
With the roof open at NRG Stadium for the first time since 2021, fans were greeted by fireworks, a flyover and a game-defining welcome as the Texans take on the Chicago Bears on Sunday Night Football.
Here’s a video of the flyover presented by the Texans’ social media team.
Country singer Parker McCollum led the team out in their new “H’s Up” tradition. Fellow country singer Clay Walker preformed the national anthem.
The Texans (1-0) will look to start off 2-0 for the first time since 2016. The roof’s opening is a first on Sunday Night Football since Nov. 3, 2013 against the Indianpolis Colts.
Houston will start on offense after Chicago won the toss.
According to Fox Sports’ Jay Glazer, Keenan Allen is doubtful for Sunday night’s game at NRG Stadium due to a heel injury. Rookie receiver Rome Odunze, who suffered an MCL injury in last week’s win against the Titans, is expected to be a game-time decision.
Allen, who joined Chicago this offseason following an 11-year career with the Los Angeles Chargers, hasn’t practiced all week. It was reported he wasn’t expected to practice on Wednesday due to a veteran rest day but did not return for the remainder of the week.
Odunze didn’t partake in drills during Wedensday and Thursday, but was a limited participant in Friday’s practice. Last week against the Titans, he caught one pass for a 14-yard gain.
With Chicago potentially without its top two receivers, Collin Johnson was promoted from the practice squad and will be active Sunday night.
The Texans will be healthy in the pass-catching department as Dalton Schultz is expected to play after practicing Friday.
DeMeco Ryans and C.J. Stroud both were impressed with the second-half performance Chicago put on against the Tennessee Titans in Week 1.
If the Houston Texans can’t jump out to an early lead on Sunday night against the Chicago Bears, they could be in for a dogfight late.
That was the case for fellow AFC South roster Tennessee in a Week 1 24-17 loss at Soldier Field. Don’t let the scoreboard fool you, the Titans were up 17-3 at halftime before chaos ensued in the third quarter.
A blocked punt from former Texans standout Jonathan Owens led to a 21-yard touchdown. Second-year quarterback Will Levis threw a distasteful pass that was inter Tyrique Stevenson for a 43-yard pick.
Cario Santos drilled two fields to tack on six points while Levis heaved a late pass to Tyler Boyd that was picked off by Jaylon Johnson with 1:15 remaining.
So while Caleb Williams’ numbers looked pedestrian, it’s clear the defense and special teams can carry the load until the No. 1 overall pick becomes comfortable.
“They take the ball away,” Texans coach DeMeco Ryans said Wedensday of Chicago’s pass coverage. “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 ball hawks and we have to protect the football so that’s what they present.”
The Bears allowed one touchdown in coverage but also held Tennessee to just 127 yards passing. It’s a credit to the pass rush forcing Levis to play uncomfortably.
On the pick-six, Levis tried to reset the play by chucking the ball out of bounds with DeMarcus Walker about to finish the sack. Instead, Stevenson grabbed it and ran it back for an easy score.
The Texans must prepare to defend C.J. Stroud against a violent front seven headlined by former Pro Bowl defensive end Montez Sweat. In Sunday’s 29-27 win over the Indianapolis Colts, Houston’s offensive line allowed four sacks and 10 quarterback hits.
Stroud, who finished 24-of-32 passing for 234 yards and two touchdowns, also threw two interceptions under pressure to Kenny Moore and JuJu Brents, though both were overturned. Moore was flagged with a holding call while Brents failed to keep his feet inbounds on the opening drive of the third quarter.
“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,” Stroud said. “So, definitely a great defense. A lot of respect for those guys and can’t wait to compete against them.”
Kickoff is scheduled for 7:20 p.m. at NRG Stadium. The game will be nationally televised on NBC.
C.J. Stroud offered a piece of advice to Caleb Williams entering Week 2’s showdown at NRG Stadium.
C.J. Stroud didn’t get to spend much time watching how Caleb Williams’ debut went for the Chicago Bears, but he knows that come Sunday Night, one team will remain undefeated while the other sits at .500.
Williams, the No. 1 overall pick in the 2024 NFL Draft, was far from perfect in his debut against the Tennessee Titans. He failed to total 100 passing yards and completed less than 55 percent of his pass attempts.
But it’s the first game. Things will improve. They have given Williams’ hyper athleticism, poise and jaw-dropping skills under center following a two-year domination as USC’s starter under Lincoln Riley.
That’s the version the Bears need Williams to be if they plan on competing for a spot in the NFC postseason each year.
That’s the version Stroud believes Williams must be if he plans on lasting in the league.
“Be yourself,” Stroud said following Wednesday’s practice. “Understand whatever got you here is good enough.”
Rookies will have their struggles while developing into standouts. Every position has its growing pains over 18 weeks.
Well, minus Stroud. He set a new standard for rookie passers after guiding the Houston Texans to their first playoff appearance in four years while becoming the fifth passer in league history to throw for 4,000 yards in Year 1.
On top of being named Offensive Rookie of the Year, Stroud joined Tom Brady and Joe Montana as the only other quarterback to lead the league in passing yards per game and touchdown-to-interception ratio in the same season. Neither Hall of Fame passer did that as a rookie.
But Stroud, fresh off a two-touchdown performance in a 29-27 win over the Indianapolis Colts, said he doesn’t miss being a rookie quarterback. There’s pressure to be the face of a franchise months after leaving the college life behind.
It’s the same pressure Williams faces now in Chicago. The Bears are the only franchise without a passer to throw for over 4,000 yards since their founding in 1920. Chicago’s also hit the reset button at quarterback three times in eight years via the draft with a first-round pick.
Williams is expected to solve the century-long problem in Chicago, though Bears fans have heard that narrative since before ground broke in Houston in 2002. Stroud said Williams is a playmaker who excels at extending plays and “making all the cool throws.”
Those types of plays make the highlight reel Sunday evening on the news. They don’t always lead to wins.
“You don’t gotta be a superhero, you don’t gotta try to make all the plays,” Stroud said. “Sometimes the boring plays are good.”
Here’s who is on the call when the Houston Texans take on the Chicago Bears.
The Houston Texans (1-0) will face the Chicago Bears(1-0) on Sunday Night Football in Week 2, where Houston is looking to build an early win streak and pull off another prominent win over one of the league’s most improved rosters.
The Texans’ Week 2 game will air on NBC at 7:20 p.m. CT. The television commentators for the game are Mike Tirico (play-by-play), Cris Collinsworth (analyst) and Melissa Stark (sideline reporter).
Houston is coming off a 29-27 win over the Indianapolis Colts (0-1), where newcomers Stefon Diggs and Joe Mixon set the tone in a new era of Texans football. Mixon, a 2021 Pro Bowler with the Cincinnati Bengals, rushed for 159 yards and a score. Diggs hauled in six passes from C.J. Stroud for 33 yards and two touchdowns.
Meanwhile, Chicago is coming off a 24-17 comeback win over the Tennessee Titans (0-1), where defense and special teams rose to the occasion as rookie Caleb Williams and the offense struggled. After trailing 17-0, the Bears scored 24 unanswered points, notching three takeaways and scoring defensive and special teams touchdowns en route to the miraculous win.
Williams, the No. 1 overall pick of April’s draft, struggled to produce on offense completing 14 passes for 93 yards. As a unit, Chicago’s offense failed to total 150 yards on the afternoon.
From Justin Fields’ regression to Roquan’s big bounce back, here are our takeaways from the Bears’ victory over the Texans.
Contrary to popular belief given the panic amongst fans, the Chicago Bears found themselves with a victory on Sunday, defeating the Houston Texans 23-20 on a last-second field goal by Cairo Santos to improve to 2-1 on the season. Thanks to a devastating ground attack led by Khalil Herbert, Chicago did just enough to squeak by the winless Texans and defeat former head coach Lovie Smith for the third time since he was let go 10 years ago.
The victory felt hollow, however, as the Bears passing offense continued to sputter with just 82 net yards and questions surrounding Justin Fields’ ability to succeed grew louder and louder. The same could be said for a number of Bears defensive players as well, though they clamped down on the Texans offense and made clutch plays to give the offense a fighting chance late in the game.
It was a weird game, with many writing off Fields and ignoring the victory while others continue to preach patience for his development during their celebration of the win. Want to know where we stand? Here are our takeaway’s from Sunday’s win over the Texans.
The Bears offense continues to run through Khalil Herbert as he notches his 2nd score of the day.
The Chicago Bears have found their formula for scoring touchdowns against the Houston Texans. Mix in a heavy dose of Khalil Herbert with a dash of Equanimeous St. Brown and the result will be six points in the endzone.
On the first play of the second half for the Bears, Herbert took the handoff for 52 yards and set the Bears up deep in Texans territory. St. Brown then caught a pass that went for 20 yards to put the offense in the redzone, where Herbert did the rest for his second score of the day.
Herbert has filled in admirably for David Montgomery, who left earlier in the game with an injury. He has 12 carries for 119 yards and two scores, providing most of the offensive production for the Bears. Near the end of the third quarter, the Bears lead Houston 20-17.
Khalil Herbert weaved his way through the Houston defense to give the Bears a touchdown.
The Chicago Bears are getting it done against the Houston Texans on the ground and it’s resulted in 10 points. After scoring a field goal on their opening possession, the Bears dialed up another scoring drive a few minutes later.
Thanks to a heavy dose of the ground game, the Bears orchestrated a scoring drive that went 81 yards on six plays. It was set up by a 41-yard jet sweep from Equanimeous St. Brown and culminated with Khalil Herbert’s 11-yard run into the endzone to give the Bears the touchdown. Herbert worked his way through the Houston defense and showed smooth cuts to get the score.
Herbert spelled David Montgomery, who left the game with a lower body injury in the first quarter. The Bears lead the Texans 10-7 after Houston responded with their own scoring drive.
