The Houston Texans take on the Chicago Bears at 12:00 p.m. Central Time from Soldier Field.
The Texans are looking for their first full win of the 2022 campaign. The Bears are looking for a win to put them over .500 and continue their validation and positivity surrounding the hiring of former Indianapolis Colts defensive coordinator Matt Eberflus as coach.
The Texans’ passing game will be a key factor as offensive coordinator Pep Hamilton told reporters on Sept. 22.
“That’s the job of the quarterback, to make the appropriate throw in all situations,” said Hamilton. “We’ll do that. We’ll help our receivers and put them in the positions to make plays. When the layups present themselves, we’re going to make the layups, and we have to do a better job at that.”
First quarter
15:00 — Bears get the ball first. QB Justin Fields actually fumbled the first snap from scrimmage, but quickly fell on it.
13:08 — On third-and-9 from the Chicago 36-yard line, DE Jonathan Greenard can’t bring down Fields, who scrambles 29 yards for a first down at the Houston 35.
12:10 — The Bears have RB David Montgomery run for five yards on a third-and-10 from the Houston 35.
11:26 — K Cairo Santos hits a 47-yard field goal. 3-0, Bears
10:42 — Texans C Scott Quessenberry is down on a knee being tended to by trainers. According to Texans Radio Network sideline reporter John Harris, Quessenberry appeared to be poked in the eye. Second-year C Jimmy Morrissey is practicing snaps on the sideline ahead of the third-and-4 at the Houston 31.
10:15 — QB Davis Mills throws incomplete looking for TE Jordan Akins, who was called up from the practice squad this week.
8:40 — RB David Montgomery is down and being tended to by trainers.
6:53 — RB Khalil Herbert rushes for an 11-yard touchdown. Extra point is good. 10-0, Bears
6:45 — Quessenberry has returned to the game.
6:11 — Mills hits WR Chris Moore on a deep crosser for 52 yards.
5:31 — RB Dameon Pierce fumbles, but G A.J. Cann recovers. RT Tytus Howard was injured and walked to the sidelines.
3:45 — Mills hits Akins for a 4-yard touchdown. Extra point is good. The Texans go 75 yards in seven plays. 10-7, Bears
3:40 — The Bears’ Montgomery (ankle/knee) and WR Byron Pringle (calf) are doubtful.
2:54 — S Jalen Pitre gets his first interception of his career at the Chicago 41-yard line.
0:51 — On a second-and-goal from the 7-yard line, Mills throws an interception that’s tipped into the air as he looks for WR Brandin Cooks.
Second quarter
15:00 — DE Jerry Hughes sacks Fields for a 7-yard loss on second-and-10 from the Chicago 20.
13:39 — Houston gets the ball at their own 31-yard line following a Bears punt.
12:55 — Mills throws a tepid checkdown to RB Rex Burkhead for five yards on third-and-6 from the Houston 35, but defensive holding bails Houston out and the drive stays alive.
11:54 — Mills overthrows TE Pharaoh Brown on a third-and-6 from the Texans’ 44.
10:30 — RB Trestan Ebner gains two yards on third-and-6 from the Chicago 14-yard line.
9:53 — CB Desmond King has a 30-yard punt return and sets up Houston at the Bears’ 41-yard line.
9:39 — Pierce rushes for 24 yards to the Bears’ 17-yard line.
8:23 — Pierce rushes for a 1-yard touchdown. Extra point is good. 14-10, Texans
1:53 — Santos hits a 50-yard field goal. 14-13, Texans
1:17 — Howard, who returned to the game for Houston’s offensive line, gets dinged with an ineligible man downfield penalty.
0:19 — DEs Jonathan Greenard and Rasheem Green converge on Fields for a sack to end the first half.
Halftime
Stats
TEXANS
Mills: 6/13, 101 yards, TD, INT, 66.5 passer rating
Pierce: 12 carries, 66 yards, TD
Moore: 2 catches, 59 yards
Hughes: 2 tackles, 2.0 sacks, 2 TFLs, 2 QB hits
Pitre: 2 tackles, INT, PD, fumble recovery
BEARS
Fields: 4/11, 45 yards, INT; 5 carries, 47 yards
Herbert: 8 carries, 64 yards, TD; 1 catch, 5 yards
Kmet: 1 catch, 24 yards
Third quarter
14:32 — Mills hits Akins for a 25-yard reception down to the Chicago 38.
11:29 — K Ka’imi Fairbairn hits a 39-yard field goal. 17-13, Texans
11:25 — Herbert takes a pitch 52 yards to the Texans’ 23-yard line.
8:28 — Herbert rushes for a 1-yard touchdown. Extra point is good. 20-17, Bears
5:40 — On a third-and-1 from the Texans’ 46-yard line, Mills looks to throw a quick out to Cooks, but DB Kyler Gordon bats it away.
5:37 — Houston direct snaps the punt to S M.J. Stewart, who rushes for three yards and a first down.
3:25 — Mills hits WR Phillip Dorsett for 15 yards to the Bears’ 11 on a third-and-7.
1:32 — Pierce runs right tackle on a third-and-1 that loses three yards. G Kenyon Green is injured on the play and being tended to by trainers.
0:58 — Fairbairn hits a 23-yard field goal. 20-20
Fourth quarter
15:00 — Pitre picks off Fields again. At this point, Fields has completed more passes to Pitre than any other Bears receiving target.
13:33 — Mills completes a screen to Brown that loses five yards on third-and-14 from Chicago’s 43.
9:55 — Fields hits Kmet for 16 yards on third-and-6 from the Chicago 26-yard line.
7:26 — On a third-and-13 from the Houston 48, the Texans have three players struggle to get of the field, causing an illegal substitution, creating a third-and-8 from Houston’s 43.
7:26 — Fields is pressured in the pocket, rushes to the right, and is pushed out of bounds for no gain to the Houston 43.
6:39 — Following the punt, Houston gets the ball first-and-10 at their own 9-yard line.
5:18 — On a third-and-10 from Houston’s 9-yard line, Mills connects with Brown for a 30-yard pass up to the Texans’ 39-yard line.
5:18 — Fields is being tended to in the medical tent. QB Trevor Siemian is warming up.
4:32 — Quessenberry gets dinged with a holding call that backs up Houston first-and-20 from their own 29.
3:50 — Mills dumps off to Burkhead for eight yards on third-and-18 from the Houston 39-yard line.
3:05 — Fields is back in the game.
2:17 — Pitre sacks Fields for a 5-yard loss.
2:00 — On third-and-16 from the Chicago 25-yard line, Fields dumps off to Herbert for a 7-yard gain.
1:52 — S Jonathan Owens held one of the Bears’ gunners, which backed up Houston to first-and-10 at their own 17-yard line.
1:13 — Mills looks for Burkhead on the dump off by the ball is tipped at the line of scrimmage by former Texans DE Angelo Blackson. LB Roquan Smith intercepts Mills and returns it to the 11-yard line.
0:00 — Santos hits the game-winning 30-yard field goal. 23-20, Bears. Coverage all night at Texans Wire.