Bears vs. Texans Prediction
Can the Houston Texans make a statement in their season opener against the Chicago Bears on Sunday at 1PM ET?
According to the oddsmakers at BetDSI, Houston is favored at home in this opener, as the Texans are getting odds of -6.5 points against the Bears. The over/under total for the contest is listed at 44 points. These two teams haven’t met since the 2012 season when Houston picked up a 13-6 road win. The Texans have won and covered in all three meetings with the Bears.
Houston won the AFC South last season with a 9-7 record but was eliminated in the first round of the playoffs by the Chiefs, 30-0. The playoff loss saw QB Brian Hoyer really struggle and the Texans elected to look elsewhere for their offensive leader, signing Brock Osweiler from the Broncos. He started eight games for the Broncos last season, throwing for 1,967 yards with 10 touchdowns and six interceptions. Osweiler has some weapons to work with as the team signed Lamar Miller to be the team’s running back and DeAndre Hopkins returns after a 1,521-yard season in 2015. The Houston defense ranked third in the NFL last season, allowing just 310.2 yards and 19.6 points per contest. J.J. Watt returns after a 17.5-sack season in 2015 to lead this unit.
The Bears went 6-10 last season in John Fox’s first year as head coach. Fox is back, but the team lost OC Adam Gase to the Dolphins, so there are concerns over how the offense will look. Jay Cutler returns for another year at QB. He threw for 3,659 yards and 21 touchdowns in 2015. He has Alshon Jeffery back as his top target and adds in Kevin White, the team’s 2015 first-round pick that missed all of last season with an injury. Longtime back Matt Forte is no longer around, so that puts Jeremy Langford in the starting role. He rushed for 537 yards and six scores in limited action last season. On defense, Chicago was an average unit that could improve this season. However, the team comes into the opener with some key injuries. Pernell McPhee is out until Week 7 and CB Kyle Fuller is out indefinitely.
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Chicago might be able to bounce back from last season, but the opener doesn’t look good on paper. The Bears have a lot of injuries on defense and the offense isn’t likely to click right away as White and Langford fill in starting roles. Osweiler and Miller could also start slow, but the Texans have a defense that should help make up for that. Houston can win this game by multiple scores.
NFL WEEK 1 PREDICTION: HOUSTON TEXANS -6.5