Khalil Herbert stood at his Soldier Field locker a few half-hour after the Chicago Bears squeaked out a 23-20 win over the Houston Texans and gave a one-word reply for a way he felt.
“Sore,” he mentioned with a smile.
But sore in the easiest way.
The second-year operating again rushed for a career-high 157 yards and two touchdowns on 20 carries because the Bears piled up 281 yards on the bottom. It was their greatest dashing efficiency since 1984, in keeping with the staff, and a much-needed raise for the offense because the passing sport continues to wrestle underneath quarterback Justin Fields.
Herbert spent the primary two video games because the second choice to operating again David Montgomery and totaled 13 carries for 83 yards. But on the Bears’ second drive, Montgomery’s proper leg was caught awkwardly underneath a Texans defender, and he was out the rest of the sport with what the Bears introduced as knee and ankle accidents.
Herbert didn’t miss a beat.
On the following play, he rushed for 8 yards. Two performs later, he broke for 11. And one play after that, he scored a landing on an 11-yard run, breaking to the left sideline earlier than popping again in by a gap to hurry to the tip zone for a 10-0 lead within the first quarter.
“What he did is special,” Bears proper guard Lucas Patrick mentioned. “Any again to run for that’s particular, however then to step up when one in all our offensive leaders goes down, and to try this and say, ‘Don’t fear, I bought us,’ it invigorates all of us. It evokes all of us to maintain going, preserve pushing.
“Even at the end, for him to get that huge run at the end, it’s like, ‘We’re going to get this.’”
Bears coach Matt Eberflus mentioned the information is constructive on Montgomery, whom he known as “day to day.” Herbert and Fields mentioned they talked to or texted with Montgomery and the operating again was doing effectively.
Herbert, a 2021 sixth-round pick of Virginia Tech, crammed in for Montgomery over a four-game stretch final 12 months and had 78 carries for 344 yards. So he has expertise stepping up when wanted.
“It’s really just making the most of my opportunities,” Herbert mentioned. “I come in with that mindset every week, whether it’s one carry, 20 carries. Just try to make the most of that and make a play with what I get.”
His efficiency Sunday included a 52-yard run to open the Bears’ first drive of the third quarter. Herbert credited the offensive line and fullback Khari Blasingame for opening an enormous gap he darted by earlier than combating off cornerback Derek Stingley Jr. to get to the Texans 23-yard line.
“We were looking at the pictures on the sideline — we could have driven a bus through there,” Herbert mentioned. “It was a really big hole. It was my job to make the safety miss and I was able to do that.”
Four performs later, the Bears went forward 20-17 on Herbert’s 1-yard landing run, and the Bears went on to win on Cairo Santos’ 30-yard subject purpose as time expired.
Fields mentioned Herbert’s efficiency wasn’t a shock to his teammates, who know the work he places in and the kind of participant he will be.
Fields contributed to the Bears’ huge day on the bottom with eight carries for 47 yards. Equanimeous St. Brown had two carries for 43 yards and rookie Trestan Ebner added seven carries for 23 yards. Montgomery had three carries for 11 yards earlier than leaving.
The operating sport, two well timed interceptions from the Bears protection and Santos’ three subject targets helped the Bears preserve tempo regardless of Fields finishing simply 8 of 17 passes for 106 yards with no touchdowns and two interceptions. He was sacked 5 instances for a lack of 24 yards.
It was a poor follow-up to per week by which Bears coaches confronted many questions on the passing sport’s lack of manufacturing.
“Straight up I just played like — I want to say the A-word but I’m not going to do that,” Fields mentioned. “But I just played like trash. I played terrible and really just got to be better.”
The growth of Fields is extensively thought of Objective A on this season of reconstruction underneath common supervisor Ryan Poles. So the Week 3 efficiency was clearly disappointing, with Fields pointing to the 2 interceptions by Texans security Jalen Pitre because the issues that bothered him most.
But the effectiveness of Herbert and the operating sport — and the win — ought to assist soften the sting as Fields addresses his errors this week in observe.
“When you’re working with a young quarterback in a new offense, the people around him have to be solid and have to be good,” Eberflus mentioned. “The safety needs to be good, the run sport needs to be good, the protection needs to be actually good and particular groups we’ve bought to be superior.
“You 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 he has to improve on. But that’s the whole football team.”
Herbert was completely happy to do his half.
“I told 32 (Montgomery) that was for him today,” Herbert mentioned. “We held it down and did good today.”
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Source: www.bostonherald.com