HOUSTON – In a second half in which CJ Stroud and the Houston offense struggled to move the ball, the Texans defense stepped up to secure the win over the Chicago Bears on Sunday night.
Houston intercepted rookie Caleb Williams twice after halftime and the Texans earned a narrow 19-13 victory.
“It’s just about winning week in and week out,” coach DeMeco Ryans said. “It’s not always going to be pretty, but you just have to find a way to win. That’s what I’m most proud of about our guys. No matter what happened at the end, we found a way to win.”
Stroud threw for 260 yards and a touchdown and Ka′imi Fairbairn kicked four field goals to help Houston win.
Fairbairn scored from 56, 47, 59 and 53 yards and Houston’s defense put Williams under a lot of pressure for much of the game.
“It’s always fun to attack a quarterback,” said Houston defensive end Will Anderson Jr., who had 1 1/2 sacks. “This week we just wanted to keep putting pressure on him.”
Stroud’s 28-yard touchdown pass to Nico Collins gave Houston a 10-3 lead early in the second quarter, and the Texans led 16-10 at halftime.
Houston (2-0) only managed one field goal after halftime, but the defense held firm.
Williams, who was selected No. 1 in the NFL Draft, completed 23 of 37 passes for 174 yards. He was sacked seven times.
“He was able to avoid the rush a couple of times and get to the perimeter, but then he has to be careful with the football when he gets out there,” Chicago coach Matt Eberflus said. “So there were some great learning moments for him.”
Houston’s Cam Akers fumbled at Chicago’s 4-yard line with about 6 1/2 minutes left, but the Bears (1-1) recovered the ball. Cairo Santos scored a 54-yard field goal with 2:51 minutes left to make it 19-13.
The Texans couldn’t get anything going on their next drive and punted with about 90 seconds left. However, Williams was sacked by Danielle Hunter on second down and his pass on fourth down was incomplete, allowing Houston to run out the clock.
“We didn’t play the way we should have,” Williams said. “We’re going to continue to improve. I’m a young guy and it’s a long season.”
Collins rushed for 135 yards, his second straight 100-yard gain, and was the top offensive player in a game that saw Joe Mixon miss a brief period with an ankle injury. He managed just 25 yards in the running game after leading the NFL with 159 yards in his debut in Houston last weekend.
Neither team scored in the second half until Houston extended the lead to 19-10 with a 53-yard field goal early in the fourth quarter. The goal was made possible when Williams was hit on the throw and Derek Stingley intercepted the ball.
On Chicago’s second play of the next drive, Williams escaped a sack but threw another interception, this time caught by rookie Kamari Lassiter, a second-round pick out of Georgia.
The Texans took the lead for good on Collins’ touchdown reception on the first play of the second quarter. That play came after he was flagged for unsportsmanlike conduct on the previous play for putting his hand in Tyrique Stevenson’s face after the cornerback put his hands in Collins’ face.
The Texans increased their lead to 13-3 on their next possession with a 47-yard field goal. Stroud made a standout throw on the drive, finding Collins for an 18-yard gain despite taking a hit on the throw.
“That’s something special,” Collins said. “Not many people can do that, extend the game like that. He’s something special. You can’t coach that.”
A 2-yard touchdown run by Khalil Herbert just before halftime cut Houston’s lead to 13-10. It was the Bears’ first offensive touchdown of the season after failing to score a single one last week. The touchdown was made possible by a pass interference call against rookie Calen Bullock, which gave the Bears a first down at the 6-yard line.
A 59-yard field goal by Fairbairn made it 16-10 at halftime.
Bears: DL Zacch Pickens left the field in the second half with a groin injury. … WR Keenan Allen was unavailable for play with a heel injury.
Fairbairn, who made three field goals of 50 yards or more last week, became the first player in NFL history with five or more field goals of at least 50 yards in two games.
“Nobody talks about him enough,” Ryans said. “(Fairbairn) is the reason we won those two games. He was the man of the game.”
Bears: Visit Indianapolis next Sunday.
Texans: Visit the Vikings next Sunday.
——
AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/NFL
