Where: Soldier Field, Chicago (grass, outdoors)
When: Sunday, 8:20 p.m. ET (NBC)
Spread: Bears by 1
Forecast: Temperatures in the 40s with rain likely.
Records: Texans (Overall: 7-1, AFC South: 2-0); Bears (Overall: 7-1, NFC North: 1-1)
Past results: Two most recent meetings -- Dec. 28, 2008: Texans 31, Bears 24. Dec. 19, 2004: Texans 24, Bears 5. Series record: Texans lead 2-0.
What matters: The Texans begin their toughest stretch of the season with a trip to take on the Bears in the premier game of Week 10. Both teams are 7-1 and enter the second half of the season with Super Bowl expectations. Houston will have to take care of the ball if it expects to come away with a win Sunday night. The Bears defense leads the league with 28 takeaways, but the Texans have six turnovers all season, the fewest in the NFL.
Who matters: DE J.J. Watt leads the NFL with 10.5 sacks and will be a handful for a Chicago offense that has given up 28 sacks this season. QB Matt Schaub is 10-1 in his last eleven starts and has been efficient this year, throwing 12 touchdowns with just four interceptions while completing 63.9 percent of his passes. RB Arian Foster averages 24 carries per game and has 10 rushing touchdowns, both tops in the league.
Key matchups: The Texans secondary -- specifically CB Johnathan Joseph -- will have to keep Bears WR Brandon Marshall in check. Marshall is second in the NFL with 797 receiving yards, and he has at least five receptions in seven of Chicago’s eight games. The only time Marshall did not reach five receptions was when he had two catches for 24 yards in Chicago’s only loss of the season, 23-10 at Green Bay.
Texans WR Andre Johnson had 10 catches for 148 yards and two touchdowns in 2008 against Chicago. His matchup with Bears CB Charles Tillman will be key for Houston offensively. The Texans have to secure the ball around Tillman, who forced four fumbles against Tennessee last week.
Injuries of note: Houston TE Owen Daniels (back) has not practiced but could still play Sunday if he can handle the pain in his back. NT Shaun Cody is dealing with a rib injury that could keep him out. RB Ben Tate is still trying to get over his hamstring injury and has not practiced this week.
Inside stuff: The Texans have struggled on special teams covering both kickoff and punt returns. They are one of two teams to have given up both a kickoff and punt return for a touchdown this season. Now, Houston has to deal with Bears return specialist Devin Hester, who has yet to score on special teams this season but has 18 combined special teams return touchdowns in his career.
Connections: Texans FS Danieal Manning spent his first five seasons (2006-10) with the Bears. In the preseason, Houston traded CB Sherrick McManis to Chicago for FB Tyler Clutts. Watt and Bears T Gabe Carimi played in college together at Wisconsin, and both were first round picks in the 2011 NFL Draft.
Stat you should know: This is just the third time in the last 20 years that two teams with one or fewer losses have met after Week 8. The other two times both occurred in 2007 when Indianapolis hosted New England in Week 7 and in Week 11 when Green Bay played at Dallas.
Bulletin board quote: Defensive coordinator Wade Phillips, on his plan for covering Marshall: “We double cover him every play. That’s our plan. We’re going to double cover him every play, so see what happens.”
Looking ahead: Houston returns home next week to take on the 1-8 Jaguars. After that, the Texans hit the road for three straight games, a stretch that includes a trip to Detroit on Thanksgiving and to New England on Monday, Dec. 10.
Prediction: Texans 20, Bears 17
Follow Texans blogger Sean Bielawski on Twitter @CBSTexans.
