WATCH: Roquan Smith takes back Chicago Bears pick-six

In need of some insurance points to add to their 10-3 fourth-quarter lead over the Cincinnati Bengals, the Chicago Bears found just that from one of the most unlikely sources: Roquan Smith and the Bears defense.

The Bengals had just crossed midfield, lining up for a third-and-4 on the Chicago Bears’ 48-yard line. Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow dropped back in the pocket and looked for wide receiver Tyler Boyd, who was well past the first-down mark, but he didn’t catch Smith, a linebacker, lurking between his target. Smith jumped into Boyd’s path and the ball went right to him; he intercepted the pass near midfield, shook one Bengals tackler, and was off to the races.

Granted, he needed a few more blockers, but Smith was still able to convert on one of the more impressive pick-sixes of the season, as he took it back over 50 yards for a touchdown.

Smith, a 2018 first-round selection out of Georgia, has been a stalworth of the Bears linebacking core since his rookie season. In his first three NFL seasons, Smith had 361 total tackles (253 solo stops), 11 sacks, 14 passes defended and four interceptions. He was named a second-team All-Pro in 2020, after leading the Chicago Bears with career-highs in total tackles (139 tackles), solo tackles (98), sacks (four) and passes defended (seven).

Smith, a 6-foot, 230-pound linebacker was selected eighth overall in 2018 after a highly-successful three-year playing career at the University of Georgia. In 2017, his best and final season, Smith had 137 total tackles (85 solo stops), 14 tackles for a loss, 6.5 sacks, two passes defended and a forced fumble. His performance saw him named to a myriad of end-of-year teams, including the 2017 AP All-America first team, 2017 Butkus Award and many more. Smith was the SEC Defensive Player of the Year that season, and he helped the Georgia Bulldogs win the SEC Championship — and he did so in style, winning the SEC Championship Game MVP award.