HOUSTON – Surrounded by bodies, relentlessly chased and bumped into, Chicago Bears rookie quarterback Caleb Williams was constantly surrounded by a swarming Texans defense.

Texans coach DeMeco Ryans turned up the heat with a well-timed, aggressive blitz package, putting the draft’s top pick under significant pressure in just his second NFL game.

In an embarrassing scene for Williams, Pro Bowl pass rushers Will Anderson Jr. and Danielle Hunter performed a patented “Meet me there, beat me there” move as they both simultaneously pounded the former Heisman Trophy winner into the backfield.

Seven sacks, including 1 1/2 each by Anderson and Hunter. Eleven quarterback hits. Thirty-six pressures, including nine of nine by Anderson and eight by Hunter and four by middle linebacker Azeez Al-Shaair in a 19-13 victory that was driven largely by the defense and a special teams unit headlined by long-range kicker Ka’imi Fairbairn, while the offense sputtered at times except through the connection of quarterback C.J. Stroud and wide receiver Nico Collins.

It was all thanks to their talent and hard work, and a well-thought-out strategy from Ryans who blitzed Williams on 41.7 percent of his drop-backs for the highest blitz ratio in a game. On those blitzes, they generated 12 pressures and five sacks with nine defenders applying multiple pressures on each other while Williams completed just 3 of 12 passes for 15 yards while being blitzed, according to Next Gen Stats.

All these blows had an impact on Williams.

“Certainly, when I saw some guys hitting him, he slowly came back to the huddle,” said defensive tackle Mario Edwards Jr., who had one sack. “We covered him and he couldn’t see anything, so he panicked. When we saw him panicking, I knew we had to do it.”

The Texans have started 2-0 for the first time since the 2016 campaign. And the rest of the AFC South division they won by a narrow margin last season has started 0-2, with the Tennessee Titans, Jacksonville Jaguars and Indianapolis Colts all without a win through two weeks of the season.

Anderson and Hunter, who was named NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year last season, signed a two-year, $51 million contract as free agents with a team of two players. They form a formidable pass-rushing duo.

And the pressure and marking went hand in hand as Williams was intercepted once each by Derek Stingley Jr. and Kamari Lassiter.

“It starts up front with our defensive line. Will, Danielle, Mario, all the guys,” Ryans said. “The way they came together, the way we covered on the back end, that’s what made it really special for us. Kudos to Sting and Kamari for the way they covered, allowing those guys to press. You don’t get pressure unless you’re covering tight. Those guys covered well and let the rush come there.”

Six different Texans had at least one sack, including Anderson, Hunter, Edwards, Al-Shaair, Derek Barnett and Henry To’oTo’o, who had perhaps his best game as a pro with a team-high 13 tackles, followed by 10 tackles from Al-Shaair, who laid a huge hit on Williams from the sideline that infuriated the Bears and led to a skirmish.

“We talked about just being the engine of the team, and we just have the right group of guys in the room to do that, man,” Anderson said. “And Caleb, man, he was slick, but we got back to the free throw line or somebody misses, just keep it going and we keep coming. Nine times out of 10, they get the sack.

“That’s what it’s all about. Man, it’s always fun to get on a quarterback, man. I think this week we just wanted to keep putting pressure on his face. Man, we’re just trying to get better at rushing together. That was our first time last week and I think we did a great job this week. Rushing together, having fun, man, that’s what it’s all about.”

It’s not that Williams is an old-fashioned statue in the bag.

He’s quick and elusive, but the Texans operate at a different speed than most defenses.

“I’m a little bruised,” Williams said. “I had a couple hits today. I’m going to get in tubs of ice and do whatever I have to do to make sure my body is ready.”

The way the Texans limited Williams’ left center and disrupted the Bears’ passing game without an additional running presence.

The Bears rushed for just 71 yards on 22 attempts, an average of 3.2 yards per run.

“Our guys did a great job of setting the edge,” Ryans said. “They tried to run the ball outside a lot. Our guys set the edge. Guys were just swarming inside and outside to the ball. We had a little bit of movement up front. The way our guys tackled was really nice.”

Williams threw 37 passes, completing 32 of them for just 174 yards and a passer rating of 51.0.

DJ Moore was his leading wide receiver with six catches for 53 yards on 10 targets. Playing without Keenan Allen due to a heel injury and limiting first-round pick Rome Odunze to two catches for 33 yards, the Texans’ secondary provided tight coverage while the defensive line applied the pressure.

“I think we did a good job and we’re not quite ready to go yet,” Edwards said. “We felt like we left some meat on the table. I think we did a pretty good job of containing them and keeping him in the pocket. He’s slippery. He’s elusive, so you’ve got to pick him apart and tackle him. He’s really good with his legs.”

Anderson, Al-Shaair, Hunter and Edwards all had two quarterback hits.

“Hats off to Houston and the way they’ve operated there,” Bears coach Matt Eberflus said. “Obviously, we had seven sacks. The offensive line, everybody’s going to talk about that stuff. I believe protection is everybody. Protection is the tight ends, the runners, the offensive line, it’s the quarterback; it’s everybody involved. So we’ve got to do a really good job with that. And when we look at that. You know, as far as running the ball, we obviously want to run the ball better than we did. It was OK, but not good enough. Not good enough.”

Aaron Wilson is a Texans and NFL reporter for KPRC 2 and click2houston.com