CHICAGO -- After a forgettable night against the Green Bay Packers in Week 2, Kyler Gordon went right back on the horse Sunday when the Bears eeked out a 23-20 win over the Houston Texans at Soldier Field.
With Jaylon Johnson out with a quad injury, Gordon and Kindle Vildor manned the outside corner spots in the Bears' base defense. Undrafted rookie Jaylon Jones manned an outside corner spot in the nickel when Gordon moved inside.
Gordon's struggles against Aaron Rodgers were not a surprise. The Bears rookie corner knew the legendary quarterback was going to go at him. Gordon said he learned a lot from his matchup with Rodgers, and the Bears believed the rookie's issues were easily fixable.
The Texans went at Gordon on Sunday. He gave a few big gains, including a 52-yard completion in the third quarter that he said was due to poor communication.
But Gordon is learning and improving daily.
"It's all about me going out there and making plays," Gordon told NBC Sports Chicago after the game. "I wouldn't say there are any issues.
"Just keep emphasizing the things I need to focus on. Keep working on it each day and keep growing on that."
NFL
While the completions surrendered will get most of the attention, Gordon has several good plays Sunday against the Texans. On a critical third-and-1 midway through the third quarter, Gordon came on a nickel blitz and read quarterback Davis Mills like a book. Mills quickly faked a handoff and tried to get the ball out quickly to a receiver on a screen. But Gordon read it and batted the ball down to force a fourth down.
Cornerback is the hardest position for rookies to transition to at the NFL level. There were always going to be growing pains with Gordon. But the rookie feels like he is making strides and digesting the lessons he learns each week.
It's way too early to give up on a guy as talented as Gordon.
Here’s the snap count from the Bears’ Week 3 win over the Texans:
Quarterback: Justin Fields 63
Running back: Khalil Herbert 38, Khari Blasingame 15, Trestan Ebner 15, David Montgomery 11
Wide receivers: Darnell Mooney 59, Equanimeous St. Brown 54, Dante Pettis 36, Ihmir Smith-Marsette 5, Byron Pringle 2
Tight end: Cole Kmet 58, Trevon Wesco 15, Jake Tonges 6
Offensive line: Braxton Jones 63, Cody Whitehair 63, Larry Borom 63, Sam Mustipher 63, Lucas Patrick 41, Teven Jenkins 22, Riley Reiff 1
Defensive line: Justin Jones 43, Robert Quinn 42, Angelo Blackson 36, Al-Quadin Muhammad 36, Trevis Gipson 24, Mike Pennel 18, Dominique Robinson 18, Armon Watts 17, Kingsley Jonathan 3
Linebackers: Nicholas Morrow 59, Roquan Smith 59, Joe Thomas 26, Jack Sanborn 1
Cornerbacks: Kyler Gordon 58, Kindle Vildor 58, Jaylon Jones 32
Safeties: Jaquan Brisker 59, Eddie Jackson 52, DeAndre Houston-Carson 8
Special teams: Houston-Carson 22, Thomas 22, Josh Blackwell 18, Sterling Weatherford 18, Sanborn 17, Elijah Hicks 14, Lamar Jackson 14, Ebner 14, Blasingame 12, Blackson 11, Ja. Jones 10, Cairo Santos 10, Kmet 9, Patrick Scales 9, Trenton Gill 9, Brisker 7, Gordon 6, Vildor 6, Morrow 6, Ju. Jones 6, Gipson 6, Pettis 6, Br. Jones 5, Borom 5, Whitehair 5, Mustipher 5, Jenkins 5, Herbert 5, Wesco 5, Robinson 5, Muhammad 5, Reiff 4, Tonges 4, Jackson 3, Jonathan 3, Quinn 2, Smith 2, Patrick 1