Expecting Rodgers back: The Steelers went into Chicago looking to stay on top of the AFC North with a win over the Bears, but they left with a 31-28 loss, despite a late attempt to come back.
"I thought it was a hard-fought game," said Coach Mike Tomlin. "Certainly, got to compliment Coach (Ben) Johnson and the Bears on a winning performance. Like I told the team, it's tight when it's good-on-good, particularly when you're in a hostile environment.
"Any number of plays could change the outcome of the game, and that's why we just have to live every down singularly in all three phases. I think (Sunday) was a very good illustration of that. I thought we could have better field position with our kickoff team, for example. More timely punting with our punt team.
"I thought we started the second half slow. I think we had two three and outs on offense. I thought our defense could have smiled in the face of adversity better.
"In the first half in particular, I think we got stopped on fourth down. They scored a touchdown. We turned the ball over, they scored a touchdown, and I think if we're going to be good, you've got to make people settle for field goals or less under those circumstances.
"And so, we're all responsible. We know that. That game is an illustration of that. It's just tight when it's good-on-good and we didn't make enough plays and enough sequences as I mentioned to be successful."
Quarterback Mason Rudolph started the game in place of Aaron Rodgers, who is dealing with a broken bone in his left wrist. Tomlin said he made the decision on Saturday to start Rudolph.
"I anticipate him being ready for next week," said Tomlin of Rodgers, who could start against the Buffalo Bills at Acrisure Stadium. "It was a prudent decision to make.
"Certainly, it wasn't a fluid week for him. It was a fluid week for Mason in terms of reps and so forth.
"And so, I think it'll be in our rear view as we move forward. I'm hopeful of that."
Rudolph completed 24 of 31 passes for 171 yards and a touchdown. He also threw an interception that eventually led to a Bears touchdown, and lost a fumble on a strip sack, which also led to another Bears score.
"I thought he was game. He always is," said Tomlin. "He made plays for us, particularly in the fourth quarter.
"But as a collective, him included, we didn't do enough to win."
Cornerback James Pierre started for the second straight week, even though there was an indication that Darius Slay would return to the starting lineup if healthy. Slay, who is coming off a concussion, was however limited in practice on Friday.
"He got a quality week's work," said Tomlin of Pierre. "When you're going into tough competitive circumstances, sometimes you base decisions on preparation and who gets the looks, and certainly as we mentioned and talked about over the last several weeks, James Pierre has been playing well.
"We'll see what holds for next week."
Time to steady the ship: Quarterback Mason Rudolph learned on Saturday he would be starting against the Chicago Bears in place of Aaron Rodgers, and he said it didn't matter when it was he found out, he was prepared.
"I've got plenty of experience in this role at finding out at the beginning of the week, at the end of the week, in the middle of the week," said Rudolph. "That's the role of the backup quarterback. You've got to be ready whenever your number is called, and I felt ready today."
Rudolph said Rodgers provided support for him, but also gave him his space.
"I think he knows this isn't my first time doing it, so he wasn't talking my ear off," said Rudolph. "But he provided some support and some extra setup. Veteran, awesome eyes, on the sidelines.
"Supportive of me and supportive of the offense."
Rudolph completed 24 of 31 passes for 171 yards and a touchdown. He also threw an interception that eventually led to a Bears touchdown, and lost a fumble on a strip sack, which also led to another Bears score.
"I was just trying to give DK (Metcalf) a 50-50 shot there to start the game," said Rudolph of the interception. "I will do that every time I get the opportunity because he's such a great player and comes down with a lot of those.
"And then I think on the play-action at the boundary, on the sack fumble, they did a good job of peeling off the left tackle to go rob that check-down, which I was about to throw. I saw that and kind of re-cocked it, and that's when I got hit. They covered the play well.
"I just have to do a better job of protecting the ball."
While the loss is disappointing for Rudolph and company, he still has plenty of faith that they will rebound.
"I think there's never been panic here," said Rudolph. "I've been with (the) Pittsburgh Steelers long enough to know we've been behind, down, in the division, up, it's a natural ebb and flow of the season, and I'm very confident in our guys to keep fighting and end up on top.
"I think we've got a lot of great leaders in the locker room on both sides, and I know we've got the right stuff to steady the ship and bounce back next week."
No margin for error: Linebacker T.J. Watt had one of the best plays of the day for the defense, with a strip sack of Bears quarterback Caleb Williams that was recovered in the end zone by Nick Herbig for a touchdown.
The sack gave him 115 for his career, passing his brother J.J. Watt's 114.5 career sacks.
But he wasn't interested in talking about either of those topics following the Steelers loss to the Bears.
"Just trying to make a play," said Watt. "We knew that he was going try to escape to the B gaps. Really tough quarterback to get down. Just trying to make a play."
Overall Watt knows there were a lot more plays the defense needed to make, especially allowing 14 points off turnovers by quarterback Mason Rudolph.
"That's definitely a point of emphasis to be able to help our offense," said Watt. "Limit them to three points or no points, or create turnovers. Anytime you're not able to do that, you're not able to support your offense, it's not a good recipe."
The Steelers were up 21-14 with 1:19 to play in the half, and the Bears were able to drive 35 yards on nine plays for a field goal to cut the lead to 21-17 with no time left in the half.
It wasn't something that sits well with Watt.
"It's not acceptable," said Watt.
The loss has the Steelers at 6-5, and tightening things up in the AFC North where the Baltimore Ravens improved their record to 6-5.
Watt was asked about the margin of error moving forward.
"Margin for error is slim every week," said Watt. "It's the National Football League.
"We have a lot of things that need to be fixed and fixed quickly. We need to be playing our best football at this stretch of the season, and we need to get better and get better quick."
Bringing you the action: For fans who don't want to miss any of the action, NFL+ is here, which means you can now watch the Steelers live and on the go! Watch live local and primetime regular season games on mobile, plus NFL RedZone, NFL Network, live audio and more - all in one place.
