Bears vs. Texans: 3 bold predictions for Caleb Williams and the Bears offense in his Sunday Night Football debut

There's always the worry that winning can make a team complacent, setting it up for future defeat. That's why so often when you see an undefeated team in any sport lose, it's often immediately followed by pundits or its players saying things like, "This loss is a good thing, it'll help the team focus for when it really matters." The Chicago Bears won in Week 1, but they don't have that problem.

The Bears' victory over the Titans was the definition of an ugly win, and while Bears fans will certainly take being 1-0 over the alternative, Sunday's game wasn't exactly what any of them envisioned when the team traded for Keenan Allen, signed D'Andre Swift and drafted Caleb Williams and Rome Odunze this offseason.

Caleb and the Bears offense should be plenty motivated after laying a collective egg in the first game of the season, but they'll need more than just motivation to get a victory over the Houston Texans on Sunday night. DeMeco Ryans' team has playmakers on defense that will make life at least as difficult for Caleb and crew as the Titans did on Sunday, but the Houston offense, with CJ Stroud, Joe Mixon, Nico Collins and Stefon Diggs, is much more capable of putting points on the board than Tennessee.

The Bears are going to need to score to win, and they won't be able to count on two touchdowns from the defense and special teams every week. What will Bears fans see from Caleb and the new-look offense in its first primetime appearance? Here are three bold predictions for what to expect Sunday night.

Bold prediction No. 1: Caleb Williams throws for at least 250 yards

Caleb wasn't as bad as his stat line suggested in Week 1, which is good, because throwing for under 100 yards is a rough look for a presumptive franchise savior. Keenan Allen dropped what should have been a touchdown pass, and there were other throws that Bears receivers could have come up with but didn't.

The offensive line and running game also didn't do Caleb any favors, as he was under duress for most of the day. He's said that he doesn't get nervous, but playing your first pro game with the weight of a city on your shoulders can rattle anyone, so it would be understandable if first-game jitters played at least a small part in Sunday's showing.

Caleb looked like someone that was facing a real NFL pass rush for the first time, but he's sure to feel a little more at ease now that he has a game under his belt. Counteracting that, though, is the fact that he won't be playing in front of a friendly crowd that falls to a hush before every one of his snaps. Texans fans will have the place rocking, and Will Anderson are Danielle Hunter will be flying around the edge on the NRG Stadium turf.

The Bears are seven-point underdogs in this game, which means that Vegas expects them to be behind. Only the Patriots allowed fewer yards per rush than the Texans last year, and they held Colts star Jonathan Taylor to 48 yards on 16 carries last week. D'Andre Swift also averaged three yards a carry against the Titans, so there's no reason to expect that he'll suddenly be able to break out for a big game here.

One area in which Indianapolis did succeed was connecting on deep pass plays, which just so happen to have been Caleb's specialty when he was in college. Indy quarterback Anthony Richardson connected on three passes of at least 54 yards in Week 1 — two to Alec Pierce and one to Ashton Dulin. The Bears have players that can get behind a defense in DJ Moore, Tyler Scott, and Velus Jones Jr. Caleb will throw for more yards for the simple fact that the Bears will need him to. The Texans will be scoring themselves, and to keep up, Shane Waldron is going to have to let his rookie quarterback take the training wheels off and let it fly. Look for him to take his shots and connect on a few.

Bold prediction No. 2: DJ Moore reestablishes himself as the Bears' top receiver

DJ Moore led the Bears in receptions and yards in Week 1. It was newcomer Keenan Allen, though, who got the most attention from Caleb Williams. Allen out-targeted Moore 11-8, but at only 2.64 yards per target and with a critical touchdown drop, he was extremely inefficient in his Bears debut.

Allen will no doubt settle in as a dependable option in the passing game, but at this point in their respective careers, Moore is the superior receiver. We'll see that borne out on Sunday night, as Caleb peppers Moore with targets to great effect.

Allen is dealing with a heel injury, and Rome Odunze is unlikely to play after suffering an MCL sprain in Week 1. That leaves Moore to absorb extra looks in a game that will demand the Bears pass more.

Derek Stingley Jr. is one of the better young cornerbacks in the NFL, and he'll provide a real test opposite Moore. Moore's route-running ability will win out, though. The 36 yards he compiled against the Titans were the third-lowest of his Bears career, but even though the Bears didn't unleash the full might of their passing game, Moore proved his worth to Caleb by snagging a third-down rollout bullet that was at the limit of his reach.

Moore is the only fully healthy Bears receiver with any track record of NFL success. This is the week that Caleb looks his way at least a dozen times, and Moore will respond with over 100 yards.

Bold prediction No. 3: After failing to find the end zone in Week 1, the Bears offense will score three touchdowns

The Bears defense was incredible against the Titans in the second half. This game has all the makings of a shootout though, even with an excess of defensive star power on both teams. The Texans just got off a 29-27 win that featured 720 yards of offense and numerous big plays. That's the kind of game they'll be playing a lot of this year.

The Bears come into this game knowing that they need to show a lot more on offense after such a poor display in Week 1. Shane Waldron is going to reach into his bag of tricks to make it happen, so fans should expect multiple shot plays and even some gadget trickery like a flea flicker or halfback pass.

There's no way to judge the Bears, or any team for that matter (OK, maybe the Panthers and Giants) after one week. This is a playoff-quality roster that can and should be able to hang with anyone in the NFL. The Texans have an offense that isn't going to be shut down no matter who they face, so if we believe in the Bears, it stands to reason that they'll put up some points too.

Where will those points come from? I don't see the running game being a whole lot better than it was in Week 1, but Chicago will be slinging it. DJ will come down with one touchdown on his way to nine catches and 120 yards, and Caleb will connect on a bomb as well, let's say to Tyler Scott. That leaves one more score unaccounted for in this prediction. Caleb has the ability to scramble, and he'll get loose from the Houston pass rush in the red zone and run one in himself.

Will the Bears win or lose the game? You'll have to tune in later this week to see our final score prediction, but no matter the outcome, we're expecting a big step forward for the offense and its star rookie QB.