The Chicago Bears’ Week 14 game against the Houston Texans felt like it was never in doubt. From the opening play on, the Bears were in command thanks in large part to a balanced attack on offense and a relentless defense, one that sacked Texans quarterback Deshaun Watson seven times.
“It was awesome, especially against a very mobile quarterback in Watson,” Bears inside linebacker Roquan Smith said after the game. “Not many people get to sack him often. But I just felt like it was relentless pursuit from everyone — D-line, linebackers. Good things happen when we hustle to the ball.”
Smith led the Bears in tackles with 12 and was responsible for two of those seven sacks on Watson. It’s been a banner season for Smith, who’s quickly become one of Chicago’s most important leaders.
He spoke like one too when he talked about why Sunday’s performance meant so much to him and his teammates.
“It definitely provided a lot of motivation, the last two weeks prior to this week, about not playing to our standards,” Smith said. “We all knew that deep down inside, and that was a reality check. We had to look ourselves in the mirror, and I felt like this week we came out and played to our standards. And we just have to continue that for the rest of the year.”