In a high-scoring game, the Chicago Bears recorded an impressive 31-28 win over a Pittsburgh Steelers team that was playing without Aaron Rodgers.
Chicago's victory was largely the byproduct of Caleb Williams' three touchdown passes and a defense that forced two turnovers that led to 14 points. Williams out-dueled Pittsburgh quarterback Mason Rudolph, who played in place of Rodgers, who is dealing with a fractured left wrist.
The visiting Steelers led 21-17 at halftime on the strength of 10 straight completions by Rudolph, a 55-yard run by on fourth down by Kenneth Gainwell that set up Jaylen Warren's short touchdown run, and T.J. Watt's strip sack of Williams that was recovered in the Bears' end zone by teammate Nick Herbig.
But after going just 10 of 21 in the first half, Williams was much sharper in in the second half, going 9 of 14 for 119 yards that included a go-ahead, 25-yard touchdown pass to DJ Moore midway through the third quarter. Chicago then extended its lead after Montez Sweat's strip sack of Rudolph set up Kyle Monangai's short touchdown run early in the fourth quarter.
Pittsburgh battled back, as Rudolph hit Pat Freiermuth on a short touchdown pass that gave the Steelers some hope late in the fourth quarter. But the Bears' defense sealed the win when defensive back Jaquan Brisker broke up Rudolph's fourth down pass attempt as Pittsburgh was trying to get into field goal range in the final seconds.
Here's a closer look at how the Bears improved to 9-3 while dropping the Steelers to 6-5.
Sweat's second sack of Rudolph set up Kyle Monangai's short touchdown run that proved to be the game-winning score.
Sweat's strip sack was the Bears' 24th forced turnover of the year, an NFL high. It was Chicago's second forced turnover of the day, as Nashon Wright started the game by recording his league-high fifth pick of the year that set up Williams' first touchdown pass to Moore that gave the home team an early 7-0 lead.
Chicago's defense -- which played without each of its starting ilnenobackers on Sunday -- also set up a touchdown after stuffing the Steelers' fourth down attempt midway through the second quarter. Pittsburgh, ahead 14-7 at the time, decided to go for it instead of attempting a 47-yard field goal that -- if successful -- would have given them a 10-point lead.
We'd be remiss not to give a shout here to Williams, who completed a slew of big passes throughout the game. Sunday was his third game this season with at least three touchdown passes. It was also his fourth straight game without an interception.
Statistically, Sunday was a good day for the Steelers' offense. The unit had more first downs and total yards than the Bears and were 8 of 14 on third down. Rudolph's efficient passing (he was 24 of 31 through the air) was complemented by a ground game that churned out 186 yards on 36 carries
While all that was good, Pittsburgh couldn't overcome its two turnovers, the turnover on downs and an offense that couldn't get anything going downfield. The Steelers also couldn't overcome a penalty on Troy Fautanu on their second-to-last drive of the game that wiped out a 22-yard run by Rudolph.
The Steelers' lack of a vertical passing attack also loomed large in the loss. It was clear -- following the Steelers' first scoring drive that saw Rudolph complete each of his six pass attempts -- that the Bears made the necessary adjustments to clamp down on Pittsburgh's pass-catches while minimizing their yards after the catch.
Making matters worse was DK Metcalf playing with a nagging ankle injury that was initially sustained during the first half. With Metcalf physically compromised, the Steelers' had little threat of a deep passing attack, and the Bears took full advantage.
With their passing game neutralized, Chicago's defense bore down on the Steelers' running game. Pittsburgh had just 61 yards on 20 carries in the second half after rumbling for 125 yards on 16 carries in the first half.
Pittsburgh's best offensive play was Gainwell's 55-yard run that set up Warren's touchdown late in the first half.
With the win, the Bears remain in first place in the NFC North. Conversely, the Steelers are now trailing the Ravens in the AFC North standings after having a three-game lead over Baltimore a month into the season.
After starting 4-1, though, the Steelers have lose four of their last six games. Pittsburgh is now 1-13 lifetime in Chicago, with its only win in the Windy City taking place 30 years ago.
Steelers coach Mike Tomlin does anticipate having Rodgers back for next week's home game against the Buffalo Bills.
Jaquan Brisker breaks up Mason Rudolph's fourth down pass, sealing the Bears' 31-28 win.
Bears improve to 8-3 and have won four straight games. The Steelers fall to 6-5 and into a tie with the Ravens for first place in the AFC North.
Pressure by T.J. Watt forces Caleb Williams into a forced pass that falls incomplete.
The Steelers did lose their final timeout after James Pierre was injured on that third down play. The odd thing, though, was that the clock was already stopped after that incomplete pass.
Pittsburgh nonetheless will have it at their own 20 with 1:29 left. But losing that timeout hurts.
A penalty on Troy Fautanu wiped out a long run by Mason Rudolph that would have put them just outside of Chris Boswell's range. The Steelers have all three timeouts with 1:53 left, but will need to force a quick punt.
Colston Loveland makes an 11-yard catch on third down, but because of a delay of game penalty seconds earlier, the Bears are two yards short of the first down. So the Steelers' defense comes through and gives their offense the ball back with 4:37 left.
Despite the penalty, the Steelers are able to get back in the end zone after Rudolph hits Pat Freiermuth for a three-yard strike with 6:27 left.
Pittsburgh has all of its timeouts left, but its defense hasn't been able to stop Chicago's defense this half. The Steelers' defense is going to have to get the Bears off the field rather quickly given the lack of explosiveness the Steelers' offense has had today sans Gainwell's 55-yard run.
A Gainwell TD was called back after Metcalf was flagged for holding. The Steelers still have the ball but are now face a second-and-goal at their own nine.
The Bears' defense continues to deal with injuries, though. Amen Ogbongbemiga, who has 14 tackles today, just left with an injury.
Steelers LT Broderick Jones appeared to get hurt right at the end of Pittsburgh's last play. He's still down and being tended to by members of Pittsburgh's medical staff.
RB Kyle Monangai's short TD run gives the Bears a 10-point lead early in the fourth quarter. Bears now have 14 points off of turnovers today.
Chicago's offense is dominating Pittsburgh's defense. The key has been Williams' quick and efficient passing against a defense that lost Joey Porter Jr. earlier in the game.
Chicago dominated the third quarter and are in position to add to its lead at the start of the fourth quarter. The Bears will start the fourth and with a second-and-goal on the Steelers' 5-yard-line after Sweat's strip-sack of Rudolph.
Bears out-gained the Steelers 99-48 that quarter.
Montez Sweat gets his second sack of the day, this one a strip-sack that he recovers near midfield.
Bears now have a league-high 24 turnovers this season. Steelers have just 11 yards of offense this quarter.
The Bears were ready for the Steelers' West Coast attack. The Steelers gave Gainwell the ball on each play on that drive, and after an eight-yard run on first down, he didn't gain anything on his next two touches as the Bears crowded the line of scrimmage.
Rudolph is 1 of 3 for -1 yards in the second half.
Williams is now 5 of 5 this half after hitting a wide open D.J. Moore on a 25-yard strike. That's Williams' third TD pass of the game and Moore's second.
D.J. Moore flagged 15 yards for tossing the ball at James Pierre after both players had a brief back-and-fourth on the sideline. The Bears quick get most of those yards back with a 15-yard screen pass from Williams to D'Andre Swift.
Williams is 4 of 4 on this drive after being just 10 of 21 passing in the first half.
After deferring to start the game, the Steelers get the initial first down of the second half, but have to punt after Rudolph is unable to hit Roman Wilson downfield on third-and-long. A first-down sack by Montez Sweat led to the punt.
Score: Steelers 21, Bears 17
Total yards: Steelers, 211-175
First downs: Bears, 12-11
Third down: Steelers 2-4, Bears 4-7
Fourth down: Steelers 1-2, Bears 1-1
Red zone: Both teams 2-2
TOP: Bears, 15:40
Rudolph: 10-11, 86 yards, INT, 0 sacks
Williams: 10-21, 120 yards, 2 TD, 1 sack; 22 yards on 3 carries (Bears leading rusher)
Gainwell: 5 carries, 73 yards
Warren: 8 carries, 40 yards, TD
Steelers: 125 yards on 16 carries; Bears: 65 yards on 15 carries
Burden: 46 yards on 3 receptions
The Steelers go for it again on fourth down, but this time, they get a 55-yard run by Kenneth Gainwell out of the tush push formation. Gainwell's long run set up Jaylen Warren's short TD run with 1:19 left until halftime.
Rudolph and Williams have played to a stalemate so far, but the Steelers have also had a lot of success on the ground with 125 yards and two touchdowns on 16 carries.
After back-to-back turnovers, the Bears responded with a game-tying scoring drive that is capped off by Williams' second TD of the game, a play-action completion to TE Colston Loveland with 3:56 to go before halftime.
Bears TD drive was set up by their defense's fourth-and-1 stop.
Williams gets a first down on a fourth-down run, but gets hit as he was going out of bounds by Jalen Ramsey. Several Bears didn't appreciate the hit, though, and let Ramsey know about it when he was on their sideline.
Bears stuff the Steelers tush push attempt on fourth-and-1 after the refs had initially given Pittsburgh a first down on the previous play. The Steelers were in field goal range but they decided to go for it. The Bears' defensive line didn't allow Connor Heyward to make any process on his fourth and short attempt.
Making matters worse is DK Metcalf is questionable to return with an ankle injury. Metcalf hobbled off the field during that last drive.
Pittsburgh forces its second turnover in as many possessions after rookie Yahya Black comes up with the ball after the Steelers gang tackled D'Andre Swift. The Steelers' offense will take over around midfield with just under 12 minutes left until halftime.
The Steelers' defense has been very good this year against some of the NFL's best teams in terms of forcing turnovers. They forced five in their Week 3 win over the Patriots and six during their Week 9 win over the Colts.
T.J. Watt's strip-sack of Caleb Williams is scooped up by Nick Herbig, giving the Steelers a 14-7 lead early in the second quarter. Watt has now passed big brother JJ Watt on the all-time sack list with 115 career sacks.
Rudolph flips the ball to Metcalf for the touchdown, capping off a 95-yard drive (Pittsburgh's longest since Week 1 of the 2023 season).It was a really nice play design; Metcalf going in motion and following the blocking of Pat Freiermuth for the TD.
Rudolph went 7 off 7 on the drive after his opening drive pick.
Rudolph has calmly moved the Steelers into Bears territory. He's found the rhythm that he had throughout the second half of last week's game over the Bengals.
Rudolph has been spreading the ball out and giving his wideouts chances to make plays with yards after the catch.
Wright's pick sets up the game's first TD, a five-yard strike from Williams to D.J. Moore, giving the Bears a 7-0 lead with 8:28 left in the opening quarter.
The drive got started with a nine-yard run by Williams on a second-and-10 play. They they got two solid runs by Kyle Monangai before Williams hit Luther Burden III on a 17-yard strike.
After a nine-yard run on first down, Rudolph decided to test Nashon Wright with a deep sideline pass to DK Metcalf. Rudolph had a man open short, but he decided to give Metcalf a shot and Wright made him pay with an impressive catch while staying in bounds. That's Wright's fifth pick of the year, most in the league.
Rudolph's pass was under thrown, but still, an impressive play by Wright, who recorded the Bears' 23rd turnover of the year, an NFL best.
After two runs netting just four yards, Kyle Dugger breaks up Caleb Williams' third-down pass that was then nearly picked off by Brandin Echols.
Steelers' first drive will start at their own 21-yard-line.
Pittsburgh won the toss and deferred to the second half. Bears to start the game with the ball on a very sunny Chicago afternoon.
Cam Heyward on the field for the Steelers despite being seen in a walking boot following Friday's practice.
T.J. Watt is a sack away from passing big brother J.J. Watt on the career sack list. T.J. 31, has 114 career sacks. He has six sacks through 10 games this season.
With each of the Bears' starting linebackers hurt, backups D'Marco Jackson, rookie Ruben Hyppolite II and five-year veteran Amen Ogbongbemiga will receive elevated roles today.
Expect the Steelers to attack the middle of the Bears' defense with runs and quick passes. Rudolph specifically had success last week on quick, short completions across the field to DK Metcalf.
