USA Today
Perfect Timing by Roquan Smith
Roquan Smith stepped in front of Rex Burkhead to pick off a Davis Mills pass deflected by teammate Angelo Blackson at the line of scrimmage Sunday, and the Bears had the field position after his return to beat the Houston Texans on a Cairo Santos' game-winning 30-yard field goal.
Smith then got up off the ground after his 18-yard return and heaved the ball.
He said he didn't know where it went, but that just made it like about every other pass thrown by a Chicago Bears player on this day.
Bears quarterback Justin Fields suffered through one miserable afternoon but his defense and the running game bailed him out in a 23-20 Bears win as they improved to 2-1 on the year.
"I've just got to get better, plain and simple," Fields said.
Fields went 8 of 17 for 106 yards with two interceptions and a passer rating of 27.7.
"I just played like trash," he said. "I played terrible and really I've just got to do better."
The Bears got away with it because Khalil Herbert ran for 157 yards and two touchdowns in relief of injured David Montgomery, who went out early with ankle and knee injuries.
"I just try to make the most out of opportunities," said Herbert, who had a 52-yard run to set up a touchdown in the third quarter for a 20-17 lead. "I feel like when I take that mindset into the game, it helps me make the most of it."
The 281 yards rushing the Bears managed was their most in a game since Sept. 30, 1984, against Dallas, but balance is what they really need on offense going forward.
In addition to the running game, they got away with it because Eddie Jackson picked off a Mills pass in the end zone in the first half and then Smith made the biggest play of all on third-and-1 with the Texans at their own 26 with 1 1/2 minutes remaining.
Smith picked it off at the 30 and raced to the 18 following Blackson's pick.
"It was big time," Smith said. "Really, it was D-linemen rushing. I think someone got a hand on the ball. I think it was tipped if I'm not mistaken.
"And then I just said, 'Oh,' I couldn't believe it. It fell right to me. They say catch the ones that come right to you and I did it and the rest is history."
The Bears killed clock down to three seconds and Santos won it with his third field goal after making them from 47 and 50 yards earlier in the game.
"Definitely feels good," Herbert said. "A win is a win. We definitely gritted it out so it feels good coming out with a dub."
Herbert had scored on an 11-yard run in the second quarter and a 1-yarder in the third quarter following hi s 52-yard run.
As impressive as winning with defense against their former coach, Lovie Smith, and rushing for so many yards were, the real takeaway from the game had to be a third straight poor passing game from Fields, and second straight terrible effort as they head to New York next week to face the resurgent Giants.
"I just think when you're working with a young quarterback in a new offense the people around him have to be solid, have to be good," Bears coach Matt Eberflus said. "So that's important to us meaning that the protection has to be good, the run game has to be good, the defense has to be really good and special teams have got to be awesome.
"And what you do is you have to support that quarterback while he's growing and while he's going through this.
There's going to be good and there's going to be things that he has to improve on but that's with the whole football team. The whole football team is like that."
Fields said he was heading back to look at film Sunday evening to try and figure out his problems.
The two interceptions he threw were to rookie safety Jalen Pitre, one an overthrow of wide-open Cole Kmet coming deep over the middle and the other a pass he never should have thrown to well-covered Darnell Mooney.
Mooney finished with two catches for 23 yards and Kmet his first two receptions of the year for 40 yards, but again those two chief targets remained elusive for Fields.
"I didn't play as well as I wanted to," Fields said. "Of course, you know me. I always have higher expectations than everybody else.
"So yeah, I've just got to play better for my teammates. I'm just proud of the defense the way they played. I'm proud of everybody on the team really. Just everybody in the locker room just fighting for each other."
Twitter: BearDigest@BearsOnMaven
