CHICAGO (AP) — As soon as Roquan Smith saw the ball tipped at the line, he knew what he had to do.
The star linebacker raced in front of the intended target, and four plays later, the Chicago Bears celebrated one wild victory.
Smith set up Cairo Santos’ game-ending field goal when he intercepted Davis Mills deep in Houston territory, and the Bears beat former coach Lovie Smith and the Texans 23-20 on Sunday.
Khalil Herbert ran for a career-high 157 yards and two touchdowns. And Chicago rushed for 281 yards even though top running back David Montgomery exited in the early going with knee and ankle injuries.
The Texans had third-and-1 at their 26 when defensive tackle Angelo Blackson reached up with his right hand and tipped a pass intended for Rex Burkhead. Smith, who missed practice all week because of a hip injury, intercepted it at the 30 and returned it to the 12.
Chicago had Herbert run, then downed the ball twice before Santos nailed a 30-yarder as time expired.
“It was big time just being available, but I was focused all week because I knew I was going to give myself a shot to play in the game,” Smith said. “I still wasn’t all the way there but, hey, halfway is better than no way. I’m happy.”
Smith was largely a nonfactor through the first two games after missing the preseason. He opted to “hold in” with contract extension talks at a standstill and wound up returning to practice in late August with no new deal.
His status for this game got thrown into question when he showed up on the injury report during the week after being hurt in last week's loss at Green Bay. But he came through with the big play, putting the Bears in position to pull out a tight win.
“I couldn’t believe it,” Smith said. “It fell right to me.
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