NFL 2024 Week 2 Betting – Bears vs Texans Odds, Picks and Lines

On Sunday Night Football, the reigning Offensive Rookie of the Year faces this season's favorite when CJ Stroud and the Houston Texans host Caleb Williams (+165) and the Chicago Bears.

The Texans selected Stroud with the No. 2 pick in 2023 after a 3-13-1 season and rose from the bottom of the AFC South to become division champions last season. The Bears, who are coming off a 7-10 season that is tied with Minnesota for the worst record in the NFC North, are hoping for a similar turnaround under their first-year quarterback.

The Texans (-320 to make the playoffs) narrowly beat the Indianapolis Colts last week and are almost a touchdown favorite in Week 2 against the Bears (+115 to make the playoffs), a team that eked out a win over the Tennessee Titans last Sunday thanks to its defense and special teams.

Odds current at time of publication, courtesy of ESPN BET

Game lines

Spread: Texans -6.5
Money line: Bears (+225), Texans (-275)
Over/Under: 45.5

Distribution of the first half: Texans -3.5 (-115), Bears +3.5 (-105)
Bears total points: 19.5 (Over -110/Under -120)
Texans total points: 26.5 (Over -110/Under -120)

The props

Passing by

CJ Stroud, total passing yards: 274.5 (Over +110/Under -140)
Stroud's total passing touchdowns: 1.5 (Over -145/Under +115)
Caleb Williams’ total passing yards: 224.5 (Over -105/Under -125)
Williams total passing touchdowns: 1.5 (Over +150/Under -200)

Rush

Joe Mixon's total rushing yards: 69.5 (Over -115/Under -115)
D'Andre Swift: Total Rushing Yards: 44.5 (Over +105/Under -135)

Reception

Nico Collins' total receiving yards: 69.5 (Over -100/Under -130)
DJ Moore – Total Receiving Yards: 59.5 (Over -145/Under +115)
Stefon Diggs: Total Receiving Yards: 49.5 (Over -125/Under +105)
Tank Dell – Total receiving yards: 59.5 (Over +110/Under -140)
Dalton Schultz – Total Receiving Yards: 29.5 (Over -120/Under -110)

Favorite selection

Joe Mixon 70+ rushing yards (-110), Mixon 1+ TDs (-140), Caleb Williams under 224.5 passing yards (-125); all three combined (5-1)

With a balanced offense that included a top-notch running attack, the Texans went on the road in Week 1 and defeated a strong Indianapolis Colts team with playoff aspirations. The Bears won their season debut at home against a rebuilding Tennessee Titans team despite a weak passing attack and a run defense that was constantly pressured by the Titans. All of those trends are at play here.

While Stround and the Texans' passing attack were effective against the Colts, Houston relied heavily on Mixon to lead the offense on the ground, and he responded with a career-high 30 carries for 159 yards and a touchdown. Defenses must respect Stroud's elite passing, which gives Mixon easy fronts to exploit with his powerful running game. The Bears, on the other hand, gave the Titans' running backs 103 yards and a touchdown on 20 carries, highlighting the unit's potential weakness against a much less balanced and powerful offense than will be seen on Sunday.

On the other side of the ball, rookie quarterback Williams struggled through the air in his regular-season debut against the Titans, completing 14 of 29 passes for just 93 yards despite facing a defense that ranks 21st in the NFL with a defensive FPI score of -0.3. The Texans are stronger on that side of the ball, ranking 11th in the league in defensive FPI. In Week 1, they held Anthony Richardson to just 9 of 19 passing for 212 yards, with more than half of those yards coming on two long touchdown passes. Williams is still early in development and likely won't make such a big jump between Weeks 1 and 2 that he'll more than double his passing yards away against a better defense. — André Snellings

Betting trends

Courtesy of ESPN Stats & Information

• The unders on Sunday Night Football are 27-10 over the past three seasons. The unders in primetime are 71-44-1 during that span.

• The Texans have not finished as favorites by at least 6 points since Week 16 of 2020 (-7.5 against Cincinnati Bengals).

• The Texans are the favorites since 2019 with a 6-16-1 ATS record. Stroud is the favorite with a 3-5 ATS record.

• The Bears are an underdog under head coach Matt Eberflus at 11-17 ATS (14-27 ATS since 2021).

• Since 2020, the Bears are 5-10 ATS in primetime games.

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