Yesterday, we examined the matchup between the Bears’ defensive line and the Texans’ offensive line. According to the metrics, both units had pretty successful Week 1 performances. Today, we’ll examine the Bears’ offensive line against the Texans’ defensive line, which, if we’re talking Week 1 showings, is the opposite of what we talked about yesterday.
Both units struggled a bit on Sunday. The Bears offensive line, as we know, had several issues. Caleb Williams 🔯had rushers in his lap early and often all day. On top of that, Chicago had very little success running the ball. The Texans got to Anthony Richardson just twice on the day, and the Colts were able to rush for over 100 yards while averaging nearly five yards per carry.
The two position 🌟groups have some legitimate dudes on the outside. Will Anderson Jr and Danielle Hunter are both very good defensive ends, and Braxton Jones and Darnell Wright are both solid tackles who were fine in Week 1. The interior results will probably define this matchup.
Which unit can get back on the right track?
Bears Projected Starting Offensive Line
Texans Projected Starting Defensive Line
Texans Defensive Line Expectations
While Week 1 might not have been the best performance for their group up front, the Texans defensive line boasts two very dangerous pass rushers. Luckily for the Bears, both pass rushers play on the outside. Will Anderson Jr is very dangerous, and Danielle Hunter, as we know from his days in Minnesota, is a player you always have to keep track of. The matchups with Braxton Jones and Darnell Wright will be pivotal in this game, and given the Bears’ struggles on the interior, they’ll need to come out on top most of the time.
Will Anderson , tied for 17th best in the NFL on Sunday. He was also double-teamed 20% of the time the Colts dropped back. I imagine Housto😼n will try to move him around a bit Sunday night to create their ideal matchup. Given how the Bears struggled with movement up from as well, I would e൩xpect to see them deploy some stunts up front to try and create matchups for Will Anderson with either Coleman Shelton, Nate Davis, or Ryan Bates.
On Sunday against the Colts, the Texans as a team won just 33% of their pass rush attempts (24th in the NFL) and 21% of their run stop attempts (32nd in the NFL). While the Texans do have some dangerous edge rushers,, if the Bears can get solid outings from their tackles, I think they can have a bounce-back game from their interior three, and I think they’d have an easier time running the football this week.
Bears Offensive Line Expectations
I’m very intrigued to see how the Bears’ offensive line responds after their poor showing in Week 1 against Tennesee. The interior offensive line was tasked with a tough matchup in Jeffrey Simmons and T’Vondre Sweat last Sunday. This week, it shouldn’t be as tall of a task.
Given how much Houston struggled to stop the run last week, I think Shane Waldron will try to establish the run early. The best way to boost an offensive line’s confidence and performance is to get them going downhill and pound the rock. They should be able to have some success there against the Texans.
Darnell Wright and Braxton Jones will probably be left out on an island quite a bit in one-on-one matchups with Will Anderson and Danielle Hunter, and they’ll have to win those. Teven Jenkins, I think, will be much better on Sunday night. He’s so much better than what we saw against the Titans, and I think against a lesser interior DL, he could feast. Look for a lot of D’Andre Swift carries behind the left guard.
As for the center and right guard, I debated whether Nate Davis or Ryan Bates should start on Sunday night. In an ideal world, I think it’s Bates, but since Bates ended up on the injury report, I wouldn’t be stunned to see Nate Davis get the nod in Houston.
X-Factor
Establishing the run. If the Bears offensive line can pave the way for D’Andre Swift early on Sunday night, that will go a long way in getting them back on track. If you can get the Texans defensive line on their toes a bit, that softens up the pass rush a bit too. I don’t think the Bears’ offensive line is as bad as we saw against Tennessee. I think we saw them go up against a very unfavorable matchup, and thanks to Nate Davis not playing a whole lot in camp or the preseason, they still have some chemistry to develop, which is VERY important for an offensive line.
If the Bears can establish the run, it makes everything easier. The pass rush softens, Caleb Williams has more time, the defense gets more time to rest, and the offensive line gets more confident. That﷽, for me, is by far the biggest aspect of this matchup Sunday night.
