Chicago Bears: 3 Things to know about the Houston Texans before Week 14

No. 1: The Texans’ intermediate passing defense could pose a threat

It should tell one everything they need to know about this Chicago Bears team, being 1.5-point underdogs at home, against a team four games under .500. If the last few weeks have been any indication, the Texans are a team capable of consistently outperforming their win-loss record.

In last week’s game against the Colts, Deshaun Watson had the Texans on the two-yard line, in prime position to continue their ascension towards AFC Wild Card seeding. Though a fumbled snap played into their demise, they did put some things on film that could prove problematic for the Bears this week.

Houston enters Week 14 with a difficult situation at wide receiver with No. 1 receiver Will Fuller V suspended for six games. That thrust, seldom-used receivers, Keke Coutee and Chad Hansen into action. Here’s what the two of them did against the once-vaunted Colts defense: an eight-catch, 141-yard outing for Coutee and a five-catch, 101-yard game from Hansen.

It’s less about what the Texans did, and more about how they did it. Hanson was a noteworthy safety valve for Watson against the Colts when the pocket collapsed, often finding little seams in the Colts’ defense.

Of his five catches, four of them came in the middle on those scramble-drill-type plays. Coutee made a killing on crossing routes as well.

Knowing the Bears’ tendencies — and how prevalent Cover 2 is in their defensive scheme, and their dynamics with two deep high safeties — one can expect the Texans to be working the middle-to-intermediate range, as we’ve seen Matthew Stafford and Aaron Rodgers showcase this season.

Watson has made a living on those in those ranges, with a 115.8 in the middle of the field. We’ve seen teams have success when they stretch the Bears’ defense out and attack Buster Skrine and Danny Trevathan. Expect offensive coordinator Tim Kelly to work his mix of in-breaking routes and out-breaking ones to get guys open.

It serves as a great irony too, that Watson has become a better, more fundamental quarterback without an “X receiver” like DeAndre Hopkins. He’s actually gotten better when tasked with hanging in the pocket and improvising. The Bears’ pass rush — disappointing as of late — could capture him a few times. But at the end of the day, this won’t be your average 4-win team.