Chicago Bears vs. Houston Texans Same Game Parlay Picks, Odds & Predictions

The second installment of Sunday Night Football is set to go down at NRG Stadium in week 2 NFL betting action when Caleb Williams and the Chicago Bears run up against C.J. Stroud and the reigning AFC South champion Houston Texans. Matt Eberflus’s squad got in the win column last week—no thanks to the offense—by storming back from a 17-3 halftime deficit to log the 24-17 win and cover against the Tennessee Titans. DeMeco Ryan’s troops had a scare in Indianapolis with Anthony Richardson and the Colts taking them to the brink, but the Texans found a way to get out of Lucas Oil with the 29-27 non-covering win in their back pocket. Houston will be looking to snap a two-game losing streak in the recent rivalry against a new-look Bears team it played a role in forming after winning a meaningless week 18 game at the gun a few years back. Stroud and Williams likely wouldn’t be where they are now without that endgame touchdown occurring. Be that as it may, let’s break the first of hopefully many showdowns between the young QB phenoms down and see if we can’t pinpoint some winning parlay legs.

The NFL odds for this non-conference bout hit the board with the Texans lined 3.5-point favorites and the Over/Under (O/U) set at 46.5. Each market has undergone corrections with the biggest jump occurring with the NFL spread. By way of taking in 80+ percent of the bets and over 90% of the money per current action reports, Houston has shot up to 6.5-point home favorites at BetMGM Sportsbook to remain undefeated. As for the total, it’s been trimmed a full point and now sits 45.5 with 60+ percent of the money expecting points to be tough to come by.

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Chicago Bears vs. Houston Texans NFL Same Game Parlay:

Caleb Williams’ NFL debut is one he would likely prefer to forget after a rough performance. The former Heisman Trophy winner completed 14 of 29 passes for 93 yards, averaging only 3.2 yards per attempt without a touchdown or interception thrown. This performance falls short of what Ryan Poles and Chicago’s management anticipated when they made him the No. 1 pick in the NFL Draft. However, Tennessee’s defense is underrated, capable of pressuring quarterbacks and locking down perimeter receivers, especially with L’Jarius Sneed anchoring their secondary. On the other hand, Houston recently allowed Anthony Richardson to complete just nine of 19 pass attempts for 212 yards and two 50+ yard touchdowns. A year after allowing 234.1 passing yards per game (#23), the Texans’ secondary looks like it can still be taken advantage of, evidenced by their league-worst 10.5 yards allowed per pass attempt served up in the season opener. 

Despite injuries to Rome Odunze and Keenan Allen which have them listed as questionable to go Sunday night, Chicago’s offense still has plenty of firepower in its arsenal with D.J. Moore and tight ends Cole Kmet and Gerald Everett. For the Bears to win outright or cover the near-touchdown NFL spread, their offense needs to perform, repeatedly. While Chicago’s defense and special teams were disruptive last week coming up with huge plays that led directly to points going on the board, consistently relying upon that isn’t sustainable. Meanwhile, C.J. Stroud is a proven game manager with only five interceptions thrown over 585 career pass attempts, making Houston’s offense a tough unit to contain. The Bears’ secondary will have its hands full with the trio of Nico Collins, Stefon Diggs, and Tank Dell in an attempt to prevent them from popping off.

I get why the Texans and under are taking all the money heading into this primetime bout. Houston is the reigning division champ and tonight is its home opener. Chicago’s offense looked listless last week, and the home team has a pair of disruptive pass rushers in Will Anderson and Danielle Hunter to make life a living hell for the rookie. That being said, what has Houston actually done to prove its worth laying a near touchdown against a capable opponent? It went 5-4 SU and 4-5 ATS at home last year with only one of those wins coming against an opponent that qualified for the playoffs—it failed to cover the 2.5-point spread against the Bucs in that one. The Bears have fully bought into their coaching staff and management’s vision, forming a tight-knit group. Expect that unity to be on display tonight, with Williams and the offense stepping up to support the defense under the primetime lights.

• CHICAGO BEARS (+6.5)
• OVER 45.5
• CALEB WILLIAMS OVER 215.5 PASSING YARDS

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