They ran the ball and stopped the run, at least to the degree that was better than the day's opponent. They ran more offensive plays, had more first downs, more total net yards, were better on third downs, perfect in the red zone, and held a 6-minute edge in time of possession. The Steelers did a lot of things right in areas in which they hadn't been doing them so right lately, but they still lost.
To pinpoint the reasons why the Steelers were on the short end of a 31-28 outcome vs. the Bears in Soldier Field is to focus on two of the areas that usually negate most statistical advantages.
Turnovers and penalties.
And the thing with turnovers and penalties is that they don't even have to be plentiful. They just have to come at the worst possible times. And there is no question that's what happened to the Steelers in what was their 15th loss in 16 shots at the Bears in Chicago in a series that started in 1934. And what was even more maddening was that the guys responsible for those untimely errors otherwise played pretty well.
Both of these teams have created a takeaway culture on defense, with the Bears coming into the game with an NFL-best 22 takeaways and ranking No. 1 in the league in interception percentage. On their second offensive play of the game, the Steelers found out why the Bears defense was so high in those categories.
After a 9-yard run by Kenneth Gainwell, Mason Rudolph took a deep shot down the left sideline with a 50-50 ball that would've had to be thrown perfectly even to qualify as that. It wasn't, and even then Bears DB Nahshon Wright had to make a great play to come down with the ball in-bounds.
It took the Chicago offense 8 plays, but it managed to complete the 56-yard drive with a 5-yard touchdown pass to DJ Moore. That turnover-to-touchdown sequence gave the Bears a 7-0 lead and just as importantly allowed second-year QB Caleb Williams to settle into a rhythm after an opening 3-and-out.
The Steelers counterpunched with a 13-play, 95-yard drive that consumed nearly 8 minutes. They ran it 7 times for 39 yards, and Rudolph bounced back from the interception by going 6-for-6 for 56 yards. Tie game, 7-7. Seemingly back on track.
Back-to-back holding penalties on the Bears that came on the ensuing kickoff and their first offensive snap of the possession put the ball at the Chicago 10-yard line. From there, T.J. Watt beat the offensive tackle and efforted his way to a strip-sack of Williams in the end zone while pinning his right arm to prevent a recovery. Nick Herbig swooped in to cover the ball for a second Steelers touchdown in a span of 46 seconds. 14-7.
The Steelers defense came up with a second takeaway on the Bears next possession, when on a third-and-2 from the Pittsburgh 49-yard line, Yahya Black was in on the tackle of D'Andre Swift and then stripped the ball and recovered it at the 48-yard line. The takeaway was wasted when it didn't result in any points, because the Steelers were turned away by a failed tush-push from the Chicago 30-yard line. While it's understandable to be aggressive there, to set a tone there, and there are analytics to support the decision, but in hindsight a makeable attempt from Chris Boswell at that time would've kept the momentum on the visitor's sideline. And those 3 points look pretty big today.
Buoyed by the turnover on downs, the Bears marched 70 yards in 11 plays, with their young QB converting a fourth-and-1 with an 8-yard run; a second-and-14 with a 17-yard strike to WR Rome Odunze, and a third-and-5 with a 12-yard touchdown pass to TE Colston Loveland. 14-14, and Caleb Williams was gaining confidence.
The Steelers counterpunched again. Again in tush-push formation on fourth-and-1 from the Pittsburgh 44-yard line, Connor Heyward handed the ball to Gainwell who raced around the right side for 55 yards to the 1-yard line. Jaylen Warren completed the job, and it was a 21-14 lead with 73 seconds left in the first half.
With his quarterback feeling it a little bit, Coach Ben Johnson was aggressive. Williams went deep down the right sideline for Moore, but Joey Porter Jr. made the interception for what appeared to be the defense's third takeaway in the Bears last four possessions. But Herbig, the guy who pounced on the fumble in the end zone, was a hair too early into the neutral zone, and the interception was nullified.
That the Bears worked themselves into position for a 47-yard field goal that sliced their deficit to 21-17 allowed them to go into the locker room at halftime on an uplifting note.
There was more of this in the second half, this tendency to nullify stretches of solid play with turnovers and penalties to keep the Bears in the fight and eventually pull away. And it started right off the bat.
After managing 1 first down on their opening possession, the Steelers were forced to punt from their 36-yard line, and Corliss Waitman turned that into a positive with a 54-yard kick that pinned the Bears at their 10-yard line. But a 10-yard holding penalty on Ben Skowronek led to a do-over, and this time Waitman's punt traveled just 34 yards and the Bears had gained 30 yards worth of field position.
By now, Williams was cooking, and he completed 5-for-5 to cover 75 yards (including a taunting penalty on Moore), and the Bears took control, 24-21, 6-and-a-half minutes into the second half. They added to that with another takeaway, this one a strip-sack of Rudolph by DE Montez Sweat, who recovered the ball himself at the Chicago 46-yard line. Nine plays and 54 yard later, it was 31-21, and the skies had darkened on yet another trip to the shores of Lake Michigan.
The Steelers responded to put themselves into position to pull a rabbit out of the hat, but alas, it turned out to be just another tease.
It began with a 17-play, 73-yard drive capped by a 3-yard touchdown pass to Pat Freiermuth on third-and-goal to make it 31-28. And the defense followed with a three-and-out after the ensuing kickoff. On a third-and-4 from the Pittsburgh 28-yard line just before the 2-minute warning, Rudolph took advantage of a gash in the Bears defense to ramble 22 yards to midfield and a fresh set of downs. The play was called back by an illegal formation penalty. Dagger.
So now the Steelers are 6-5 after a 4-1 start, and on their immediate horizon are a date with a desperate Bills team followed by a trip to Baltimore to face the resurgent Ravens, now 6-5 and atop the division via tiebreakers after a 1-5 start.
"The margin for error is slim. It's the National Football League," said Watt. "We have a lot of things to fix quickly. And we need to be playing our best football at this stretch of the season. We need to get better and get better quick."
