During the third quarter, the Bears' special teams made a crucial slip-up that led to the Texans tying up the game at 20 points a piece.
The Bears' defense forced Houston into a fourth-down situation in their own territory. The result led the Texans to set up in punt formation. But, the Texans were only short by a yard, so they faked the punt with a direct snap and crossed the first down threshold with ease.
Eight plays later, the Texans tied up the game from a Kai'mi Fairbairn field goal from 23 yards out.
What happened in this play?
"We were in defense stay. We had too many gap players there. I think our reaction on defense needs to be better," head coach Matt Eberflus said after the game. "We were in safe punt there. They motioned a guy out to take our eyes off the action. We just got to react quicker."
Lovie Smith showed Eberflus and his former team he has a few tricks up his sleeve. Smith and offensive coordinator Pep Hamilton experimented with different looks on offense as well.
Unfortunately, the mistake caused the Bears to get entangled with a closer game than they likely anticipated. But, they got away with the win at home, 23-20.
