Former W&M star clinches Bears’ past two victories
When he played for William & Mary, DeAndre Houston-Carson made a major name for himself in the defensive backfield and on special teams.
Now, in his fifth season with the Chicago Bears, Houston- Carson has found a knack for timely plays to finish games.
On Oct. 8 against Tampa Bay at Soldier Field, he broke up a Tom Brady pass on fourth-and-6 from the Buccaneers’ 41-yard-line with 33 seconds remaining, preserving a 20-19 Chicago victory.
On Sunday, with the Bears leading Carolina 2316, Houston- Carson wrapped up the victory by making a diving interception of a Teddy Bridgewater pass with 1:28 left. It was the first pickoff of the fifth-year pro’s NFL career.
The Bears are 5-1, their best start since they were 5-1 eight years ago, and have climbed over Green Bay for first place in the NFC North. Chicago has won its first three road games of a season for the first time in 14 years.
It has been quite an odyssey for Houston-Carson, 6 feet and 205 pounds, who starred for Massaponax High in the Fredericksburg area before joining the Tribe.
He developed into a consensus Football Championship Subdivision firstteam All-American in 2015, when he was named the state’s Defensive Player of the Year by the Virginia Sports Information Directors and was a finalist for the Dudley Award, the state Heisman.
In four years with W&M, he intercepted 10 passes, blocked nine kicks and made 293 tackles. That helped him acquire spots in the Senior Bowl and the NFL scouting combine, and the Bears chose him in the sixth round of the 2016 draft.
He played relatively sparingly in his first three seasons with Chicago, though he forced two opponents to fumble in 2017. But last season, he appeared in all 16 games and led the Bears with six special-teams tackles.
Though he only has 33 tackles in 54 NFL games, Houston-Carson is showing why that sixth-round pick could’ve been wise.
Here’s this week’s update of players with Virginia connections, with jersey number, name, connections and statistics:
NFC
Atlanta Falcons
59 LB LaRoy Reynolds (Maury High, UVA): Reserve; 1 tackle (on a kickoff).
8 QB Matt Schaub (UVA): Did not play
17 WR Olamide Zaccheaus (UVA): Reserve; targeted twice; 0 catches.
25 RB Trenton Cannon (Kecoughtan High, Virginia State): Reserve; 3 carries for 12 yards; targeted twice; 2 catches for 15 yards; 1 tackle (on a punt).
4 K Joey Slye (North Stafford High, Va. Tech): Made field goals of 21, 20 and 48 yards and a PAT; missed a 54-yarder wide right; kicked off 5 times, all for touchbacks.
69 OL Rashaad Coward (Old Dominion): Started at guard; no stats.
23 CB Kyle Fuller (Va. Tech): Started; 4 tackles; penalized 14 yards (half the distance to the goal line) for unnecessary roughness and 11 yards for pass
93 DT Jonathan Allen (Stone Bridge High, Alabama): Started; 2 tackles (1 for a loss); 1 QB hit; penalized 5 yards for encroachment.
23 CB Kendall .Fuller (Va. Tech): Started; intercepted a pass (also counts as a pass defended) for a touchback; penalized 4 yards for pass interference.
10 WR Antonio Gandy-Golden (Liberty): Started; targeted once; 0 catches.
86 WR Dontrelle Inman (UVA): Reserve; targeted 5 times; 5 catches for 45 yards.
32 CB Jimmy Moreland Madison): Reserve; 3 tackles.
76 OT Morgan Moses (Meadowbrook High, UVA): Started at RT; flagged for being ineligible downfield (declined on incompletion).
97 DT Tim Settle (**Manassas, Va. Tech): Reserve; 1 tackle; 1 QB hit; penalized 6 yards (half the distance to the goal line) for roughing the passer.
37 CB Greg Stroman (**Manassas,
Va. Tech): Placed on the injured reserve list.
82 TE Logan Thomas (Brookville High, Va. Tech): Started; targeted 4 times; 3 catches for 42 yards, including a 5-yard TD.
*Settle and Stroman graduated from Stonewall Jackson High, which was renamed this year to Unity Reed High).