Texans vs. Bears Point Spread: NFL Week 3 Odds, Prediction
The Bears are 2.5-point favourites with a small total of 40.5 points.
NFL Week 3 Point Spread and Betting Analysis
It’s possible this is the only time this season Chicago is a favourite, and it might be the only time Houston is under a 3-point dog on the road. If these clubs combine for 12 wins in 2022, it’s a minor upset. The Bears are set at over-under 6.5 (which seems high) and the Texans 4.5.
These clubs last met in Week 14 of the 2020 season at Soldier Field and the Bears won 36-7. Mitchell Trubisky actually played well for the Bears with three touchdown passes and no picks. Of course, he’s now in Pittsburgh. David Montgomery rushed for 113 yards and a TD and remains Chicago’s No. 1 back. Deshaun Watson (remember him?) threw for 219 yards and a TD for Houston.
One big storyline here will be the return of former Bears head coach Lovie Smith. In a fairly big surprise, he was named to replace the fired David Culley this offseason as Houston’s head coach even though Smith served as the team’s defensive coordinator in 2021 and that defence was one of the league’s worst. Smith had an 81-63 record in nine years in Chicago and led the team to the Super Bowl following the 2006 season, a loss to the Colts.
Houston Texans
Houston’s defence has played well in the early going – safety Jonathan Owens leads the NFL with 25 tackles — in allowing only 36 combined points to Indianapolis and Denver, but the offence has been an issue and that was expected with very little skill position talent. Houston has surrendered a fourth-quarter lead in both games. Second-year quarterback Davis Mills hasn’t thrown a pick yet but isn’t taking many chances or been all that accurate. Rookie running back Dameon Pierce had a solid game in Week 2 at Denver with 15 carries for 69 yards. Of his 4.6 yards per carry, 3.7 came after contact. The Texans haven’t scored a touchdown in their past five quarters and one overtime period. Houston is 5-1 ATS in its past six games.
Chicago Bears
The coaching overhaul in Chicago hasn’t helped the offence yet as the Bears rank last in yards per game (216.0), last by a mile in passing yards per game (76.5) and near the bottom in scoring (14.5 ppg). The team is not letting Justin Fields throw it downfield much to protect against turnovers. He also has a terrible group of receivers. Darnell Mooney, Chicago’s top receiver, has two catches for 4 yards so far. Top tight end Cole Kmet has been targeted twice and didn’t catch either. The Bears rushed for 180 yards Sunday night in Green Bay but had 48 total passing yards when including sacks in a 27-10 loss. This isn’t college football from the 1980s when you can simply win with ball protection and defence. The Bears have 28 pass attempts this season. Every other NFL team has at least 28 completions. Chicago appeared to get out of Week 2 without any key injuries. The Bears are 2-5 ATS in their past seven at home.
HOU
CHI