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Who plays on Sunday Night Football? Breaking down Week 2 matchup

jacob camenker, usa today
·4-min read

The first "Sunday Night Football" game of the 2024 NFL season was one of Week 1's best, as the Detroit Lions beat the Los Angeles Rams in overtime on a David Montgomery touchdown run.

NBC is turning its attention to two rising stars at quarterback in the hopes of getting another high-end matchup in Week 2.

The Houston Texans play host to the Chicago Bears on Sunday in a battle of two recent top quarterback picks: 2024 No. 1 overall pick Caleb Williams and 2023 No. 2 overall pick C.J. Stroud.

Williams accomplished a rare feat in Week 1, as he became the first No. 1 overall quarterback selection to win his first start since David Carr debuted with the Texans in 2002. Williams didn't have a great showing – he completed just 14 of 29 passes for 93 yards – but Chicago's defense and special teams scored twice to power the Bears to a 24-17 victory over the Titans.

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Stroud's Texans also won their first matchup of the 2024 NFL season. They beat the Colts 29-27 in a tight division battle that saw Stefon Diggs catch two touchdown passes from Stroud while new acquisition Joe Mixon ran for 159 yards and a score on 30 carries.

Houston will hope to continue its dominance against Chicago, but the Bears defense will provide Stroud and Co. with a tough test at this early stage in the season.

Here's everything to know about the "Sunday Night Football" matchup for Week 2.

Who plays on Sunday Night Football tonight?

The Bears (1-0) are traveling to Houston to play the Texans (1-0) in NBC's second official "Sunday Night Football" game of the season. The contest should be a strength-on-strength matchup, as Houston's well-rounded offense will face a tough test in Chicago's playmaking defense.

The Texans racked up 417 yards of total offense in their season debut against the Colts. That ranks second-best in the NFL behind only the Ravens and furthered the notion that Houston's receiving corps of Diggs, Nico Collins and Tank Dell would be one of the NFL's best.

That said, the Bears allowed just 244 yards to the Titans in Week 1, good for the eighth-fewest in the NFL, and scored two touchdowns with their offense on the sideline. Montez Sweat and Darrell Taylor's pash rushing ability coupled with the opportunistic ball-hawking skills of Jaylon Johnson and Tyrqiue Stevenson, who had a pick-six against the Titans, will make them a threat to force Stroud and Co. into some turnovers.

Still, for Chicago to mount a legitimate threat against Houston, the Bears have to be significantly better than they were on offense in Week 1. They racked up just 148 yards – 45 yards fewer than the next-worse team, the lowly Carolina Panthers – and averaged a meager 2.8 yards per play.

How can Williams and Co. do that? DJ Moore and Keenan Allen will have to carry the passing offense with rookie Rome Odunze (knee) banged up while D'Andre Swift will need to improve greatly upon his 10-carry, 30-yard performance against the Titans.

That may prove to be a tall order for the Bears, especially as Williams continues to acclimate himself to the pace of play at the NFL level.

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What time is the NFL game tonight?

  • Date: Sunday, Sept. 15

  • Time: 8:20 p.m. ET

The Texans vs. Bears game is set to kick off at 8:20 p.m. ET. NBC's coverage of the event will begin at 7 p.m. ET with its "Football Night In America" pregame show, hosted by Maria Taylor.

What channel is Sunday Night Football on tonight?

NBC is the home of "Sunday Night Football" in 2024, just as it has been since the network bought the rights to the program in 2006.

Cord-cutters will still be able to catch the game using NBC's streaming service, Peacock, or with Fubo, which comes with a free trial.

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This article originally appeared on USATNetwork: Who plays on Sunday Night Football? Game, start time for Week 2