Victory Monday: Game Balls for Bears’ 23-20 win over Texans

There’s a saying: it’s better to win ugly than lose ugly. The Bears won ugly on Sunday.

Let’s get the brutally honest updates out of the way. Justin Fields played like trash. Those are his words, not mine, though I do agree. It was the worst game of his career by far. Personally, I’m not sure what to make of this because he’s so immensely talented and has shown the ability to read the field, go through progressions, and make tight-window throws in his young pro career. His performance Sunday was bizarre.

Thankfully, other guys stepped up to get Chicago an early season must-win. At 2-1, the Bears are already ahead of where many experts had them before the season started and tied for first in the division.

There are four players from Week 3’s win who deserve credit for that. Here are my four game balls from Sunday.

Roquan Smith

Roquan Smith deserves a lot of credit. In the first two games, it looked like his decision to “hold-in” during contract negotiations was going to cost him millions. He still has a lot to prove when it comes to stopping the run, but he reminded us all that he’s still one of the best in the business on Sunday.

Against Houston, he racked up 16 tackles (2 for a loss, including a critical 3rd down stop in the backfield that saved a touchdown) and a last-minute interception that set the Bears up for the game-winning field goal. This is the Roquan Smith we need to see more often, the guy that can make these game-changing plays, and if he keeps this up, he may get that market-setting contract he demanded.

Cairo Santos

Speaking of that game-winning field goal, how about Cairo Santos? He’s been perfect since his rough day in the mud back in Week 1, and on Sunday, he not only hit the clutch 35-yard field goal for the win, but he also nailed two long field goals in windy conditions, including a 50-yarder.

His performance was critical to getting this win, and he’s already well on his way to another long streak of field goals.

Eddie Jackson

Let’s make it official: The 2018 Eddie Jackson is back!

In three games this season, he has two forced fumbles and two interceptions, both of which came at a critical time or spot on the field. On Sunday, his interception came in the endzone and kept points off the board for Houston that may have changed the game’s outcome.

Jackson’s forced fumble was a beautiful “Peanut Punch” that unfortunately was recovered by Houston, but it speaks volumes about Matt Eberflus’ coaching and how he has his defense swarming after ball carriers and punching at the ball. After a long absence, one of the best free safeties in the league is once again open for business, and we have Eberflus to thank for that.

Khalil Herbert

We finally have an offensive player receive a game ball.

David Montgomery went down early in the game with what appeared to be a brutal injury. Eberflus and Fields both said he looked good after the game when they saw him, but he’s almost certain to miss some time. The Bears will miss his playmaking abilities, but Khalil Herbert seems determined to take advantage of his opportunity. He exploded for 157 yards and 2 touchdowns on just 20 carries, proving over and over again that the Texans had no answer for him.

Herbert’s pass-catching and pass-protection skills could use refinement, and those are two areas where Montgomery excels, but it’s clear by now that the ground game shouldn’t suffer so long as Khalil Herbert is able to go in Montgomery’s absence.

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