The trenches have been a hot-button topic for the Chicago Bears after their Week 1 win over the Tennessee Titans. On the offensive side, it’s been a discussion of how Chicago can fix their issues. On the defensive side, however, it’s been quite the opposite.
The Bears’ defensive line was all over the field In the 24-17 win over Tennessee, especially in the second half. Andrew Billings was a MONSTER in the middle, Darrell Taylor had a pair of sacks and eight tackles, Gervon Dexter Sr. flashed, and Montez Sweat is just the model of consistency.
How will they stack up against the Texans’ offensive line this week?
Truthfully, I think this matchup could play the biggest part in deciding Sunday’s game.
Texans Starting Offensive Line
Bears Starting Defensive Line/Rotation
Starters
Rotational Players
Texans Offensive Line Expectations
Week 1 was a solid outing for the Texans offensive line. They did allow four sacks in pass protection (and C.J. Stroud avoided a few more) but overall they were solid. In the run game, Joe Mixon went for 159 yards and the team rushed for 213. According to , Houston had the 5th best pass block performance and 7th best run-b𝕴lock 📖performance on Sunday.
Pro Football Focus had Houston’s offensive line ranked 22nd in the NFL coming into this season. But after their opening week performance, it looks like it could fare better than that. Laremy Tunsil anchors the left side and is one of the game’s premier tackles, and the Texans’ other four starters are solid. You won’t find any of Houston’s starting five in the top 10 for individual run block or pass block win rates after Week 1, but they played very well together as a unit — which is more important.
Expect the Texans to have a pretty balanced game plan against the Bears on Sunday night, but early on I wouldn’t be surprised to see them try to establish the run again because…
Bears Defensive Line Expectations
Chicago has the NFL’s top pass rush! Well, at least after one week. This is another reason why I would expect Houston to try and establish the ground game early. The Bears got after the quarterback in a big way on Sunday against the Titans. Luis went further in-depth, but the Bears statistically had the best pass rush performance of any team in 🀅the NFL in Week 1.
The defense had a whopping 71 percent win rate against the Titans OL on Sunday, which was good enough to be the NFL’s best. That means we have two top-five units (going off Week 1 grade) going at it on Sunday night when C.J. Stroud drops back to pass.
In the run game, the Bears front wasn’t quite as good but they got better as the game went on. They finished Week 1 with just the 19th-best run-stop win rate. But as mentioned, it was a slow start for Chicago’s front four against the run that only improved as the game progressed.
All in all, I do think Houston will come out and try to soften up the Bears’ front four by pounding the rock early and often. If they can do that successfully, it could open things up for C.J. Stroud and that dangerous passing attack. The Bears getting after the run early and often will be a huge key in this matchup.
X-Factor
For me, it’s Andrew Billings – though if you argued it was anyone up front outside of Montez Sweat I wouldn’t disagree. We know what we’ll get from Sweat in the same way Houston knows what they’ll get from Laremy Tunsil. Andrew Billings flashed in a big way on Sunday. He was good against the run (as he always is), but he was fantastic getting after the passer as well. He, Gervon Dexter Sr., and DeMarcus Walker all landed in the top 10 in individual pass-rush win rates.
If Billings can be a beast in the middle and draw double teams and clog up the middle/, it will open things up for the rest of the defensive line. Getting the rest of them one-on-one matchups will be key. If Billings can eat double teams and draw attention in the middle, I like the Bears’ other defensive linemen in their one-on-one matchups.
