A pair of teams looking to advance their record to 2 and 0 meet tonight in Houston when the Texans host the Chicago Bears. Opening wins for the Texans and Bears did not come easy, but they both notched opening day victories. The Texans were on the road and battled the Indianapolis Colts in an all AFC South Division contest to a narrow victory, 29-27. The Bears victory at Soldier Field over the Tennessee Titans was even more of a nailbiter for the hometown fans.
Chicago fell behind 17-0 in the second quarter, got on the scoreboard with a field goal before halftime, and then scored 21 points in the second half without benefiting from an offensive score. Special teams provided both a touchdown, another field goal and a two-point conversion in the second half while the defense intercepted a pass for a pick six that provided the winning margin, 24-17.
The game in Chicago introduced first pick in the draft quarterback Caleb Williams to the rigors of professional football. Chicago named him their starting quarterback as soon as they made him the first pick in the 2024 allotment of college talent. To clear the path for Williams, Chicago shipped another one-time first round draft choice, Justin Fields, to the Pittsburgh Steelers at a bargain basement price.
To say Williams was less than spectacular in his debut would be the understatement of the season. He completed less than half his passes, 14 connections on 29 attempts, for a paltry 93 yards. When his two times being sacked for 29 yards are added into the equation, Willimas started his pro career with 64 net passing yards.
Okay, he is a rookie, development is the name of the game for young signal callers.
Yet, on the other side of the line tonight is C.J. Stroud. He lost his first two professional starts last season and then caught fire and guided the Texans from a last place finish in 2022 to the playoffs last season. Some will argue that Stroud had the best rookie season ever for a starting quarterback.
That kind of sudden success has me doubting that his second act will be as good as his first. It becomes a case of expectations versus actual experience at winning. But, last week in Indianapolis, Stroud got the Texans a win in a very difficult spot. They were favored on the road against a division opponent that they beat on the final day of the season last year to earn a playoff spot.
With apparent obstacles blocking his second season success, Stroud went out and led a road win while tallying nearly 30 points.
This is pretty heady stuff and offers me a lot of confidence that his effort tonight against the Bears rookie will not only be enough to win the game, but to also cover the bloated point spread.
Qoxhi Picks: Houston Texans (-6) over Chicago Bears