The Bears opened the 2016 season on the road against the Houston Texans, who defeated the Bears in all three of their previous meetings, most recently a 13-6 win in 2012. The game was the second Bears-Texans game at NRG Stadium, the first being a Houston 31-24 win in 2008. On offense, the Bears faced a Texans defense that was ranked third in the NFL in 2015, which WBBM-TV writer Jeff Joniak wrote should be handled by controlling the ball and blocking defenders J. J. Watt, Whitney Mercilus and Jadeveon Clowney. Meanwhile, the Texans were led by quarterback Brock Osweiler, who guided the Broncos to victory against the Bears in his debut as an NFL starter last year. Osweiler was bolstered by a fast-paced receiving corps featuring DeAndre Hopkins and rookies Will Fuller and Braxton Miller. With an unproven roster, including six new starters on offense, Joniak believed the Bears should utilize this as an "element of surprise" against the Texans. On their opening drive, the Texans reached the Bears' 34-yard line, but had their drive end when Tracy Porter pulled the ball away from Hopkins for the interception; Chicago capitalized on the takeaway with Jeremy Langford's one-yard touchdown run. After the Texans punted, the Bears elected to attempt a fourth down conversion at Houston's 31-yard line, but turned the ball over on downs when Jay Cutler fumbled the snap. Nick Novak kicked a 28-yard field goal in the second quarter. The Texans took the lead when Osweiler threw a 23-yard touchdown pass to Hopkins, and had a chance to increase the margin when Osweiler threw a potential 83-yard touchdown pass to Fuller, but he dropped the pass; they punted three plays later. With 31 seconds left in the half, the Bears offense traveled 75 yards on three plays, including a 54-yard pass by Cutler to Alshon Jeffery, ending the drive with Cutler's 19-yard touchdown pass to Eddie Royal. On the second play of the third quarter, Cutler was intercepted by Andre Hal after Kevin White appeared to stop running his route midplay. Novak kicked a 28-yard field goal on the resulting drive. The next five drives of the game ended in punts, ending early in the fourth quarter when Fuller converted a screen pass into an 18-yard touchdown. The Texans increased the score to 23-14 via Novak's 38-yard kick. The Bears were unable to enter Houston territory on their final two drives. In comparison to the first half, the Bears offense struggled in the second; despite recording five first downs on their opening drive and a 75-yard series in the second quarter, the unit had just 71 yards and four first downs in the final two quarters. Cutler was sacked five times, including thrice after the Texans took the 20-14 lead.

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