Leading 19-10 with 6:38 remaining in the game, the Texans entered the red zone for the first time since their touchdown drive in the second quarter. Houston had reached the Chicago 4-yard line after a 13-yard run by Cam Akers and C.J. Stroud's 16-yard completion to tight end Dalton Schultz.

The Bears defense, which had not allowed Houston to cross beyond the Chicago 34 in the second half and limited the Texans to just three points after the halftime break, needed a splash play.

On first-and-goal, the defense refused to allow Houston back into the end zone. Akers rushed up the middle, where he was met by defensive tackle Andrew Billings. The 8-year pro laid his helmet right on the football, jarring it loose from the running back's hands.

A flood of orange jerseys swarmed to the ball on the ground. After about 30 seconds of the officials peeling back the pile of players, safety Kevin Byard III emerged with the football.

"'Bill made a really good hit, forced the ball [out]," Byard said. "The ball changed hands a few times down there at the bottom of the pile. [I was] just able to come up with it last."

While the Bears ultimately fell to the Texans 19-13 Sunday night in Houston, the defense stifled their opponent in the second half for the second consecutive week.

After allowing 206 yards, 10 first downs and 16 points in the first half, the Bears limited Houston's high-powered offense to 104 yards, five first downs and three points in the final 30 minutes. They have allowed three second-half points in their first two contests, the fewest in the NFL through Sunday's Week 2 games.

Stroud went from recording 173 passing yards and a 73% completion rate in the first half to 87 yards and a 52% completion percentage in the final two quarters. The defense also kept Houston's running game at bay, allowing just 75 yards on 22 carries.

"We understood coming into this game, we wanted to stop the run first and foremost, and I feel like we did that," Byard said. "They had some explosive plays in the first half, but I feel like in the second half we did a pretty good job of [limiting] that other than some broken plays that C.J. Stroud made — obviously he's a great quarterback."

Along with Byard and Billings, a variety of players such as nickel back Kyler Gordon, defensive tackle Gervon Dexter Sr., cornerback Tyrique Stevenson and linebacker Jack Sanborn stepped up to contribute to the defense's strong second-half performance.

During the Texans' first third-quarter drive, Byard wrapped up receiver Tank Dell for a three-yard loss on first-and-10. Two possessions later, Gordon broke up a pass intended for receiver Nico Collins, nearly recording an interception as he laid out to try to maintain control of the ball. On the ensuing third-down play, Dexter looped inside to sack Stroud for a 10-yard loss.

At the start of the fourth quarter, as Houston was driving into Bears territory, Stevenson broke up a pass intended for receiver Xavier Hutchinson on third down, which forced Houston to settle for Ka'imi Fairbairn's 53-yard field goal with 13:43 remaining in the game.

Sanborn wrecked the next Texans drive with an 8-yard sack on second down, which set up third-and-17 and quickly led to another three-and-out. Billings then forced the fumble on Houston's ensuing possession.

"The fumble at the very end [gave] us a chance to win it," coach Matt Eberflus said. "Those third-down stops, the way [the defense] played in the second half, I think was really good as well. But again, I told them, 'we win as a team, we lose as a team.' I know that's a coaching cliché, but that is so true. The only way to win in this business is to do it together."

Byard reiterated his support of the offense, adding: "we honestly believed [in them] until the fourth-and-17 where it was incomplete." The veteran noted that the entire sideline was standing up to watch and cheer on their offensive teammates.

While the defense kept the Bears within reach throughout the second half, Byard believes the unit "didn't force enough turnovers." Still, the safety remained proud of the group's adjustments and effort in the second half.

"We're just resilient," Byard said. "I think we understood we needed to clean some things up [from] the first half. Like I said, a lot of broken plays. They had one really good run — two sweeps really. Other than that we were pretty clean.

"But like I said, as a defense, we gotta continue to assist our offense. They're working through things right now. That's the reality of this league, but nobody is going to feel sorry for [us]. We gotta find a way to try to win, just like we did last week."