An argument will be made that probably the most spectacular throw by a Chicago Bears participant Sunday got here with 1 minute, 5 seconds remaining, a 40-yard bomb launched close to Soldier Field’s south finish zone.
The throw got here from a linebacker — why not? — throughout a stoppage of play instantly after the sport’s greatest second.
With his adrenaline pumping after a clutch interception, Roquan Smith wound up and heaved the soccer deep into the seats, conscious that his Bears have been moments away from defeating the Houston Texans 23-20 on a walk-off, chip-shot discipline purpose.
“I tried to stop him,” security Eddie Jackson stated. “That’s a game-winning pick. You’ve got to keep that!”
Smith, although, didn’t want the soccer as a lot as he wanted an emotional launch. So he let it fly.
“To all my supporters,” he stated with a giant smile. “I threw that to all of them. And (I was) saying ‘F you’ to all that don’t.”
Yes, Chicago, your majorly flawed however nonetheless feisty Bears are 2-1, outlasting the winless Texans in such a Bears-like method, with Smith and the protection nudging the struggling offense to the facet and providing a “We’ve got this” reprieve within the fourth quarter.
The Bears’ game-winning “drive”: 4 performs, zero yards.
It was mainly a three-snap sideways shuffle to arrange Cairo Santos’ game-winning 30-yard kick as time expired. That got here due to Smith’s interception of Davis Mills and an 18-yard return.
And Smith’s third-down decide got here partially as a result of defensive sort out Angelo Blackson did his job up entrance, getting his proper hand on Mills’ move to Rex Burkhead and permitting Smith to grab the fluttering ball on the Texans 30.
“If you can’t get to the quarterback, get your hands up,” Blackson stated. “It was an opportune time. Just perfect, man.”
Added Smith: “If I had had a little more juice in me, I could have cribbed it. But I was just thankful to be able to get it and then let the fans enjoy the ball.”
We may discuss till we’re blue within the face about how little which means Sunday’s victory carries for the Bears’ big-picture aspirations. This was an peculiar dwelling win over a bottom-tier opponent and loaded with troubling sloppiness, notably because it pertains to the feeble passing assault and ongoing struggles of second-year quarterback Justin Fields.
Fields threw two extra interceptions and, for the third consecutive sport, failed to succeed in 10 completions or 125 passing yards.
“I played like trash,” Fields stated. “I played terrible.”
But on protection the Bears are satisfied they’re making helpful strides and establishing an identification as a unit able to seizing huge moments and successful video games.
Smith’s decide was the Bears’ second takeaway, the opposite coming within the first half when Jackson snagged a Mills move to Brandin Cooks in the long run zone. That throw was deflected by cornerback Kindle Vildor and corralled by Jackson close to the tip line.
“It’s just flying around,” Jackson stated. “That’s what happens. When you hustle and play with intensity, good things start to happen.”
Just as Smith’s interception arrange the Bears at no cost factors, Jackson’s thwarted a major Texans scoring alternative on a drive that began inside Bears territory after Fields’ first interception.
Equally vital, after Fields threw his second decide on the primary play of the fourth quarter to arrange the Texans contained in the Bears 40 in a tie sport, the protection shortly extinguished that risk.
Defensive sort out Justin Jones got here up with an 8-yard sack of Mills on second down. Linebacker Nick Morrow adopted by burying Pharaoh Brown for a lack of 5 on a decent finish display screen on the following snap.
The Texans punted.
“That was a huge moment,” Smith stated. “We preach about that, about being able to bow our necks and earn our checks.”
Added Jones: “We’re jelling together right now, becoming one close-knit unit. We’re well on our way to playing in midseason form.”
Smith’s play was nothing in need of energizing. After lacking apply the whole week with a hip damage, he recorded a game-high 16 tackles, together with two for a loss.
“I was focused all week on giving myself a shot to play in this game,” he stated. “I still wasn’t all the way there. But, hey, halfway (there) is better than no way.”
Hard to argue.
After Smith’s play in a 27-10 Week 2 loss to the Green Bay Packers was justifiably scrutinized — even he acknowledged it was subpar — the veteran linebacker arose Sunday and spearheaded a robust defensive effort.
Late within the third quarter, on third-and-1 from the Bears 2, Smith shot into the Texans backfield to bury working again Dameon Pierce for a 3-yard loss. That was a pivotal cease. The Texans settled for a tying discipline purpose as an alternative of surging forward.
Naturally, as Smith works towards incomes his subsequent contract and regroups after his tension-filled coaching camp “hold-in,” all of his contributions this season might be assessed partially with an eye fixed on how they could have an effect on his future and his bid to be paid as one of many league’s greatest defenders.
Sunday’s game-winning interception was the form of game-changing contribution many wish to see extra persistently as Smith tries to determine himself as an elite linebacker.
“I just try to play the best ball that I can play,” Smith stated. “That’s my goal each and every week. And if I make big plays, I make them. But I’m not going out there wishing for things. I play my game and if good things happen, they happen.”
More importantly, because the Bears proceed working by way of a patience-testing troubleshooting course of to awaken their passing offense, they’re discovering different methods to succeed and leaning on areas of energy. On Sunday, that meant a reliance on a bruising working assault led by Khalil Herbert, who stepped up in a giant method after David Montgomery left the sport with a proper knee/ankle damage.
Herbert turned 20 carries into 157 yards and two touchdowns. Overall, the Bears churned out 281 speeding yards, their highest single-game complete since 1984.
Then late within the sport, the Bears once more turned to their protection, counting on the unit’s greatest participant to return by way of in a serious method. Smith responded with that decide and his celebratory bomb into the seats.
“That was pretty sweet,” he stated. “I wish I could have thrown it out of the stadium.”
It was a powerful toss nonetheless — and a becoming punctuation on the afternoon.
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Source: www.bostonherald.com