John McClain, a member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame and the Texas Sports Hall of Fame, is in his 48th year of covering the NFL in Houston, including 45 seasons at the Houston Chronicle.
Going into the Texans' nationally televised Sunday night game against the Bears at NRG Stadium, quarterbacks C.J. Stroud and Caleb Williams have something interesting in common. In the first game of their NFL careers, neither was able to help their offense score a touchdown.
Stroud, the second overall pick in the 2023 draft, began his career with a 25-9 loss at Baltimore. Ka'imi Fairbairn scored the only points on three field goals.
Williams, the first overall pick in this year's draft, began his career with a 24-17 victory over the Titans, but the Bears failed to score an offensive touchdown. They overcame a 17-0 deficit when former Texans safety Jonathan Owens returned a blocked punt for a touchdown, cornerback Tyrique Stevenson returned a Will Levis interception for a touchdown and Cairo Santos kicked three field goals.
That was the first time a quarterback drafted with the first overall pick won his debut since David Carr helped the Texans upset the Cowboys in 2002.
The Bears realize they were fortunate to defeat the Titans, but Levis' lost a fumble and threw two interceptions in the fourth quarter to help secure the victory for Chicago. Coach Matt Eberflus would love to have a similar performance by his defense and special teams, but he knows Williams and the offense have to show substantial improvement for a realistic opportunity to upset the Texans.
The Bears produced only 148 yards, including 84 rushing. D'Andre Swift was their leading rusher with 30 yards on 10 carries. Williams completed 14-of-29 (48.3 percent) for 93 yards. He didn't have a touchdown, but he also didn't throw an interception. He averaged only 4 yards per attempt and finished with a 3.2-yard average per attempt.
"What I see offensively (starts) with the quarterback," Head Coach DeMeco Ryans said this week. "Caleb (is) an exciting player to watch. Strong arm, moves around the pocket (and can) scramble in a throw. You have to stay on your coverage because he's going to find someone downfield. We have to be on the details when it comes to him moving around in the pocket.
"Then (there's) their running game. I think that's where everything starts. They do a good job of their zone scheme, getting Swift going on the outside. They have playmakers on the outside, Keenan Allen (and) D.J. Moore, two big-time playmakers who've done it for a while in this league. (They're) guys we have to be aware of where they are in all situations. We have to make sure we're sticky as possible in coverage."
Williams is the second consecutive talented young quarterback the Texans will compete against. In Sunday's 29-27 victory at Indianapolis, the Texans were fortunate to leave Lucas Oil Stadium as the winner. Playing in his first full season, Anthony Richardson completed only nine passes, but three covered 171 yards and two touchdowns.
Don't be surprised if Ryans utilizes rookie safety Calen Bullock more against the Bears. The fourth-round pick has 4.4 speed, great range and splendid ball skills. His diving interception against the Colts prevented a touchdown or field goal that could have affected the outcome of the game.
"It's exciting when rookies step up and make a play," Ryans said. "Not many rookie safeties have done that, get an interception in their debut, and Calen can add his name to the list. It wasn't surprising to me, and that's why we want to get him on the field because he has such a great knack for finding the football, coming down with it and making game-changing plays. We want our playmakers on the field, and Calen deserved to be out (there)."
Richardson also hurt the defense by running nine times for 56 yards and another touchdown. Against the Titans, Williams ran five times for 15 yards.
"Made plays when we had to but not good enough," Ryans said about his defensive performance against Indianapolis. "We've got to eliminate the big plays. That's when you give up points."
The Texans did a great job of containing their nemesis, running back Jonathan Taylor, limiting him to 48 yards on 16 carries and a touchdown set up by a blocked punt. The previous time they saw Taylore – the playoff-clinching victory in the last game of 2023 -- he ran for 188 yards.
"I'm really proud of our defensive line for the way they just eliminated the space upfront," Ryans said. "We set the edges, and we created penetration that allowed us to play well versus Taylor. I know he's been a problem for us for a while. They're a tough unit to stop. We tackled much better than we did in the last game of (last season) season."
Something that helped the Texans' defense tremendously against the Colts was how long the offense controlled the ball with 40 carries for 213 yards rushing, including 159 by Joe Mixon. In the second half, the defense was on the field for 2:03 in the third quarter and 3:57 in the fourth because the linemen dominated with a ball-control performance.
"When it comes to the time of possession, I was really pleased with how we were able to control the game," Ryans said. "Holding the ball for 40 minutes is really indicative of running the football and playing physically upfront. Controlling the game is how you want to play."
Ryans' defensive game plan Sunday night should resemble what he prepared for the Indianapolis game – stop the run and force the pass. The coverage, especially from the safeties, has to be better on long passes.
Don't be surprised if Williams goes deep early to test the secondary to see if he can duplicate what Richardson achieved when three of his completions averaged 57 yards against a defense that played nickel on 88 percent of its snaps.
"As a defense, we can be better (at) eliminating the explosive plays," Ryans said. "We have to communicate better (and) be where we're supposed to be."
If the Texans are going to start 2-0 for the first time since 2016, the best formula for the defense is to have another strong performance against the run and prevent Williams from connecting with his receivers down the field.
