The Chicago Bears survived a thrilling game against the Houston Texans at home on Sunday with a 23-20 win. The Bears shut down the Texans' offense in the last quarter and scored a walk-off 30-yard field courtesy of Cairo Santos to seal the deal.

Chicago is now 2-1 in the 2022 season and the results give fans some hope for a better year. Last season, the Bears finished 6-11, missing the postseason by a wide margin. While they're above .500 right now, if they play the way they did in Week 3, that likely won't last long. Still, a win is a win, and there is much to unpack from it, both on the offense and the defense.

With that being said, here are three Chicago Bears takeaways from their win against the Houston Texans on Sunday.

Bears takeaways from Week 3 win vs. Texans

3. Khalil Herbert is the future of the franchise

One of the most pleasant surprises for Bears fans in 2022 has been Khalil Herbert. Selected in the sixth round of the 2021 NFL Draft, the running back seems to be in the midst of a breakout year.

In three games in 2022, Herbert has 33 carries for 240 yards and three touchdowns. For comparison, as a rookie, he had 103 attempts for 433 yards and just two touchdowns.

On Sunday, Herbert had a career game. The former Virginia Tech Hokie had 20 carries for a career-high 157 yards and scored both of Chicago's touchdowns on the day. Of course, his workload was significantly increased due to the injury to David Montgomery, but don't be surprised if Herbert gets more snaps going forward.

Since the Bears are still having problems with the passing game, the emergence of Herbert could be essential. He seems to be getting comfortable, and it's showing in that he's finding open spaces and avoiding tackles to make big plays for an offensive unit that really needs it.

2. Chicago needs to re-sign Roquan Smith at all costs

The offseason was reportedly a stressful time between Roquan Smith and the Bears organization. The inside linebacker tried, and failed, to negotiate a contract extension, and later requested a trade from the organization, though that was not granted.

At least for now, fans should be happy Smith is still with the team. In Week 3, he was the brightest spot from the defensive unit. He finished the game with a game-high 16 tackles with six of them being solo. Smith also added two tackles for loss and a pass deflection.

Most importantly, Smith made the defensive play of the game with just over a minute left in the clock. He intercepted David Mills' pass for 18 yards, putting the Bears in good field position to setup the game-winning field goal.

Without Smith's elite display on defense, it's not likely the Bears would have escaped with a win over the Texans. The interception at the end of the game showed his high-level awareness that made him a Second-Team All-Pro for the past two seasons.

His big day on Sunday proved that the Bears need to open up their wallet and pay the man. Losing Smith would be a big mistake and would be crippling for their defense.

1. The Bears cannot live just from the running game

Despite the win, once again Justin Fields' performance as a passer was uninspiring. He completed just 8 of his 17 pass attempts for 106 yards. He had no touchdowns and threw two picks on Sunday. Fields also fumbled the ball twice. All those factors culminated in a 27.7 passer rating, the worst of his young career.

In a postgame press conference, Fields said he “played terrible” and will watch a lot of film to see what he can do to improve.

“Straight up, I just played — I don't want to say the A-word, but I played like trash,” Fields said. “Really just got to be better.”

Head coach Matt Eberflus said in a postgame press conference that it is important to support Fields as the quarterback is still growing and in his developmental stages. Eberflus also said that, especially due to the circumstances, the people around the quarterback need to be solid as well. That includes the protection to allow better passes from Fields.

Unless the passing game takes a huge leap, the team's runners will be required to handle too much of the workload offensively. Consequently, they might get injured or tired. Chicago needs a more balanced offense, and if that happens, Fields might look more like a quarterback for the future. For now, things don't feel very optimistic regarding Fields' future in Chicago, but Bears fans' patience is likely running thing regarding the second-year pro.