Here’s how we graded the Bears’ afternoon win over the visiting Pittsburgh Steelers.
Bears Offense
It was a reclamation project of sorts for the Bears today.
The offense allowed a touchdown and was just disconnected for most of the first half. They rallied for two touchdown drives, but a strip-sack touchdown allowed the Steelers to take a 21-14 lead. D’Andre Swift
The Bears pieced together some offensive rhythm at the end of the first half, and that carried into the second half.
The Bears scored 14 unanswered points to take a 31-21 lead on the Steelers. The second touchdown drive featured running plays right down the Steelers’ throats, with a short touchdown run by Kyle Monangai. It was impressive how the offensive line owned the line of scrimmage.
The grade would have been a B, but a three-and-out with five minutes left in the game and a chance to take multiple minutes of time off the clock drops the grade.
The offense had a chance to be aggressive and win. That resulted in a miss to Rome Odunze and a delay of game penalty.
Grade: C
Bears Defense
The Bears’ defense forced two turnovers. They allowed 21 points, with seven coming thanks to the Steelers’ defense coming up with a score.
In a game where Mason Rudolph played instead of Aaron Rodgers, the Bears recorded an interception on the first throw of the game but struggled to adjust to the Steelers’ screen game. Pittsburgh’s running game was stout, too.
The two turnovers saved the day, especially with the Bears down their top three linebackers. D’Marco Jackson and Amen Ogbongbemiga played quality games.
Grade: C
Caleb Williams
Facing more pressure, Williams folded in the first half.
After leading a touchdown drive following a Nahshon Wright interception, Williams gave up a score of his own. He tried to evade TJ Watt and the NFL Defensive Player of the Year hopeful stripped the ball from Williams. Nick Herbig recovered. Touchdown Steelers. Disaster for the Bears.
That put the Bears down 14-7 in the second quarter. Williams redeemed himself with a drive to tie the game with a touchdown strike to Colston Loveland.
To start the second half, he engineered a scoring drive that included a free-play shot to
There are plenty of times when it felt like Williams was playing with fire before. Today, he got burned strafing back into the end zone. He made up for it, however.
Grade: C
Nahshon Wright
Wright wasted zero time making an impact. He intercepted the first throw of the game by Mason Rudolph, mossing DK Metcalf.
Wright didn’t stop there. He was physical in the run game. He didn’t let up in the coverage game, either. He forced an incompletion to force a punt to start the second half.
The Bears’ backup corner has become one of the key parts of this defense.
Grade: B
Montez Sweat
The Bears’ top-dollar pass rusher played like it on Sunday.
He had two sacks and three tackles for loss. He also forced a fumble in the third quarter. That was a massive shift and led the charge for a defense that was clearly playing for some pride after allowing some big plays in the first half.
That’s what the Bears needed.
Grade: A
Bears rookie offensive linemen
The Bears were already without Theo Benedet for the game. Then, they lost Jonah Jackson for an extended period of time in the second quarter. Welcome to the party, Luke Newman and Ozzy Trapilo.
That’s a tall task for two inexperienced linemen against the Steelers’ pass rush.
The duo was not a liability on Sunday. They played well and got better as the game went on, especially at the end of the third quarter where the Bears ran the ball down the Steelers’ throats with Kyle Monangai.
Jackson eventually returned, but Newman blocked for a key drive that ended in a field goal right before half.
Grade: B