In the second half, when C.J. Stroud and the Houston offense had trouble advancing the ball, the Texans’ defense came through on Sunday night to secure a win against the Chicago Bears.
After halftime, Houston intercepted rookie Caleb Williams twice, and the Texans held on to win 19-13.
“It’s just about winning one week at a time,” coach DeMeco Ryans said. “They’re not always going to be pretty, but you just have to find a way to win. That’s what I’m most proud of with our guys. No matter what happened there at the end, we found a way to win.”
Stroud passed for 260 yards and a touchdown, and Ka′imi Fairbairn made four field goals to help Houston win.
Fairbairn made field goals from 56, 47, 59, and 53 yards, and Houston’s defense put a lot of pressure on Williams for most of the game.
“It’s always fun getting after any quarterback,” said Houston defensive end Will Anderson Jr., who had 1 1/2 sacks. “This week we just wanted to keep putting pressure on him.”
Stroud’s 28-yard touchdown pass to Nico Collins put Houston ahead 10-3 early in the second quarter, and the Texans led 16-10 at halftime.
Houston (2-0) only managed one field goal after halftime, but the defense ensured it was enough. Williams, the No. 1 overall pick in the NFL draft, completed 23 of 37 passes for 174 yards and was sacked seven times.
“He was able to avoid the rush and move to the outside a few times, but he needs to be careful with the football when he’s out there,” Chicago coach Matt Eberflus said. “So, there were some great learning moments for him.”
Cam Akers of Houston fumbled on the Chicago 4-yard line with about 6 1/2 minutes remaining, and the Bears (1-1) recovered the ball. Cairo Santos then made a 54-yard field goal to make the score 19-13 with 2:51 left in the game.
The Texans couldn’t make progress on their next drive and had to punt with about 90 seconds left. However, Danielle Hunter sacked Williams on second down, and Williams’ pass on fourth down was incomplete, allowing Houston to run out the clock.
“We didn’t execute the way we needed to,” Williams said. “We’re going to keep getting better. I’m a young guy and it’s a long season.”
Collins had 135 yards receiving for the second game in a row, helping lead the offense. Joe Mixon left briefly with an ankle injury and ended up with just 25 rushing yards after leading the NFL with 159 rushing yards in his Houston debut last week.
Neither team scored in the second half until Houston added a 53-yard field goal early in the fourth quarter to make it 19-10. This score came after Williams was hit while throwing, leading to an interception by Derek Stingley.
On Chicago’s second play of the next drive, Williams avoided a sack but threw another interception, this time picked off by rookie Kamari Lassiter, a second-round pick from Georgia.
The Texans took the lead for good with Collins’ touchdown catch on the first play of the second quarter. This play followed a penalty on Collins for unsportsmanlike conduct after he pushed his hand into Tyrique Stevenson’s face.
The Texans extended their lead to 13-3 with a 47-yard field goal on their next drive. Stroud made a great pass on this drive, finding Collins for an 18-yard gain while taking a hit as he threw.
