HOUSTON – Surrounded by bodies, relentlessly pursued and collided with, Chicago Bears rookie quarterback Caleb Williams was constantly harassed by the advancing Texans defense.

Texans coach DeMeco Ryans increased the pressure with a well-timed, aggressive blitz package, putting a lot of pressure on the first overall pick in the draft in his second NFL game.

During a painful sequence for Williams, Pro Bowl pass rushers Will Anderson Jr. and Danielle Hunter executed a patented “hit me there, hit me there” move as they both simultaneously slammed into the former Heisman Trophy winner in the backfield.

Seven sacks, including 1 1/2 each for Anderson and Hunter. Eleven quarterback hits. 36 pressures, including nine of nine by Anderson, eight by Hunter and four by middle linebacker Azeez Al-Shaair during a 19-13 victory that was won mostly by the defense and a special unit led by long-range kicker Ka’imi Fairbairn as the offense faltered at times, aside from the connection of quarterback CJ Stroud and wide receiver Nico Collins.

All thanks to their talent and hard work, as well as a well-thought-out strategy from Ryans, who blitzed Williams on 41.7 percent of his dropbacks, setting the highest blitz rate in a game. On those blitzes, they generated 12 pressures and five sacks, with nine defenders applying multiple pressures, while Williams completed just 3 of 12 passes over 15 yards while being blitzed, according to Next Gen Stats.

All the blows took their toll on Williams.

“When I saw a couple of guys hit him, he was slow to get back into the huddle,” said defensive tackle Mario Edwards Jr., who recorded a sack. “We covered him and he couldn’t see anything, so he panicked. When we saw him panicking, I knew we had to do that.”

The Texans are off to a 2-0 start for the first time since the 2016 season. And the rest of the AFC South division, which they narrowly won last season, is off to an 0-2 start, while the Tennessee Titans, Jacksonville Jaguars and Indianapolis Colts are all winless after two weeks of the season.

Anderson and Hunter, a Morton Ranch graduate who was named NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year last season and signed a two-year, $51 million contract as a free agent, form an impressive pass rushing duo.

And pressure and coverage combined as Williams was intercepted once each by Derek Stingley Jr. and Kamari Lassiter.

“It starts up front with our back line. Will, Danielle, Mario, all the guys,” Ryans said. “The way they rushed together, the way we covered at the back, that really challenged us from the pack. Kudos to Sting and Kamari for the way they covered, which allowed those guys to apply pressure. You don’t get pressure unless your coverage is tight. Those guys cover well and allowed the rush to happen.”

Six different Texans had at least one sack, including Anderson, Hunter, Edwards, Al-Shaair, Derek Barnett and Henry To’oTo’o, who played arguably his best game as a pro with 13 tackles (the most on his team), followed by 10 tackles by Al-Shaair, who gave Williams a violent sideline hit that infuriated the Bears and led to an altercation.

“We talked about 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 slippery, but we got back to the free throw line or somebody missed, keep going like that and we’re going to keep going. Nine times out of 10, they end up getting sacked.”

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

It’s not like Williams has an old-school statue in his pocket.

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

“I’m a little hurt,” Williams said. “I took a few hits today. I’m going to lay in ice tubs and do whatever I need to do to make sure my body is ready.”

The way the Texans set the edge and clogged the middle left Williams and the Bears passing game lacking a complementary running presence.

The Bears ran 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 play the ball out wide a lot. Our guys set the edge. Guys just ran inside to outside on the ball. We had a little movement up front. The way our guys tackled was really good.”

Williams threw 37 passes, 32 of which were completed for a distance of only 174 yards and a passer rating of 51.0.

DJ Moore was their best wide receiver with six catches for 53 yards on 10 attempts. With Keenan Allen out due to a heel injury and first-round pick Rome Odunze limited 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, but we weren’t quite ready,” 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 hard to get a hold of, so you have to break through him and attack him. He’s really good with his legs.”

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

“I take my hat off to Houston and the way they ran there,” Bears coach Matt Eberflus said. “Obviously we had seven sacks. The offensive line, everybody’s going to talk about that stuff. I think everybody has to be protected. Protecting the tight ends, protecting the runners, protecting the offensive line, protecting the quarterback; everybody involved. So we have to do a really good job. And that’s something to look at. You know, running the ball, obviously we want to run 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