The Houston Texans and the Chicago Bears both made winning starts to the 2024 NFL regular season, which sets things up nicely for their Week 2 meeting on Sunday night.
The Texans have lofty ambitions after last season's run to the divisional round of the playoffs and confidence in Houston will be high after they opened with a 29-27 success in their AFC South clash against the Indianapolis Colts.
The Bears are hoping to emulate the Texans' 2023 campaign when DeMeco Ryans' team improved from last to first in their division.
Matt Eberflus got the result he wanted in their opener, beating the Tennessee Titans 24-17 at Soldier Field, but it was far from straightforward as the Bears had to rally after falling 17-0 behind in the first half.
While the Texans' rapid improvement from going 3-13-1 in 2022 to winning a home playoff game last season was unexpected, expectations for the team are much higher and early indications are that they will be able to deliver another strong season.
The Texans' important divisional road win over the Colts was never really as close as the final margin of just two points suggests and it was an impressive show overall from Houston, with two veteran recruits making a strong first impression.
Wide receiver Stefon Diggs and running back Joe Mixon combined to score all three of the team's touchdowns in that success after joining from the Bills and Bengals respectively in the off-season.
The established stars did not have to take a back seat, though, with quarterback CJ Stroud beginning his second NFL season by completing 24 of his 32 pass attempts for 234 yards, with exactly half of that yardage picked up by wide receiver Nico Collins.
The Colts are likely to prove to be a tougher team to beat than they were last season and if the Texans can maintain or improve their standards in their home opener they should be able to secure a second win.
The Bears have had a major infusion of talent since last season with two top-10 picks in quarterback Caleb Williams and wide receiver Rome Odunze, while running back D'Andre Swift, tight end Gerald Everett and wide receiver Keenan Allen are all capable veterans.
They made a slow start last week, though, as the visiting Titans went 17-0 ahead and the comeback was largely down to the strength of the Bears' defense and mistakes from Tennessee rather than anything the Chicago offense did.
The Texans are not likely to be anywhere near so vulnerable and their defense should give rookie Williams a tough time in his second start after he threw for only 93 yards in his NFL debut.
Mixon had a point to prove after being allowed to leave in free agency by the Bengals after seven years on the team, including four seasons of over 1,000 rushing yards.
He is hardly over the top at the age of 28 and his first appearance in a Texans jersey saw him post a fantastic 159 rushing yards on 30 carries against the Colts.
That kind of volume cannot be guaranteed every week, but the game script could work in his favor this time if Houston can get out into a lead and be in a position to run out the clock, which seems likely.
The Bears were not great against the run in the win over Tennessee, with Titans running backs Tony Pollard and Tyjae Spears combining for 103 rushing yards on 20 carries.
Pollard scampered for 82 of those on his first Titans appearance since leaving the Cowboys and Mixon can also win over the home fans at NRG Stadium by having another big day.
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CHI Bears | +240 ML |
HOU Texans | -300 ML |
Spread | Texans -6.5 |
Total Points | U/O 45.5 |
Joe Mixon (Houston Texans) | -138 |
D'Andre Swift (Chicago Bears) | +160 |
Nico Collins (Houston Texans) | +160 |
Stefon Diggs (Houston Texans) | +160 |
Tank Dell (Houston Texans) | +187 |
DJ Moore (Chicago Bears) | +200 |
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This article was written by a partner sports writer via Spotlight Sports Group. All odds displayed on this page were correct at the time of writing and are subject to withdrawal or change at any time.