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CHICAGO (AP) – Justin Fields played the second half after Andy Dalton left with a knee injury against his former team, and the rookie quarterback used Chicago’s stellar defensive performance to lead the Bears to a victory 20-17 over Joe Burrow and the Cincinnati Bengals on Sunday.
Roquan Smith returned a 53-yard interception for his first career touchdown, one of three straight picks thrown by Burrow on Chicago’s decisive streak for first victory of the season.
Fields took over in Chicago’s last practice in the second quarter after appearing in a handful of games before that. But the biggest key for the Bears was the defense that rebounded after being taken down by Matthew Stafford in a season opener loss to the Los Angeles Rams.
The Bears led 20-3 before Burrow threw a 42-yard touchdown at Ja’Marr Chase. Fields was then intercepted at Chicago 25 by Logan Wilson, who made it to 7. Burrow hit Tee Higgins with a 7-yard TD in the next play, reducing him to 20-17 with 3:39 remaining. But the Bears held on for their third straight victory over Cincinnati (1-1).
Fields, the No. 11 draft pick overall, completed just 6 of 13 passes for 60 yards. He also ran for 31 yards.
Dalton, facing his former team for the second time in as many seasons, threw a touchdown pass to Allen Robinson. The triple Pro Bowler, who led Dallas to a victory at Cincinnati last year, completed 9 of 11 passes for 56 yards.
Dalton was injured at the end of the second quarter. He made a few warm-up shots at halftime, but did not return to the game.
Robinson caught his 40th career touchdown when he landed an 11-yard shot in the game’s first possession.
Burrow was 19 of 30 for 207 yards. The 2019 Heisman Trophy winner threw two touchdowns and was selected three times, having reached career highs in passer rating (128.8) and yards per attempt (9.67) in a overtime victory over Minnesota.
The Bears (1-1) led 10-3 after Cairo Santos kicked a 28-yard field goal in the opening seconds of the fourth quarter that was set up by the fumble Tashaun Gipson.
Smith made it a 14-point game when he jumped to retrieve a short pass intended for Tyler Boyd at 47 and came back to the left sideline.
Jaylon Johnson got his first career interception on Cincinnati’s next possession. After Chicago kicked, Angelo Blackson got his first as a pro deep in the Bengals’ territory on a ball that teammate Alec Ogletree deflected. This led to another field goal for Santos, bringing the score to 20-3.
INJURY REPORT
Bengals: No injuries reported.
Bear: NT Eddie Goldman (knee) was inactive after missing the first game and being listed as questionable for that game. He stepped down last season due to concerns over COVID-19.
FOLLOWING
Bengals: Visit Pittsburgh on September 26.
Bear: Visit Cleveland on September 26.
Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver Ja’Marr Chase, left, is unable to catch the pass from quarterback Joe Burrow as Chicago Bears defensive back DeAndre Houston-Carson (36) and Kindle Vildor (22) ) defend during the first half of an NFL Sunday football game in Chicago.
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