Skip to main content
Advertising

What Went Right, What Went Wrong

What went right, wrong vs. Bears

COIN TOSS: Steelers win the toss and elect to defer. The Bears get the football first.

8:25 p.m. – What Went Right: The game got off to a perfect start for the Steelers. The Bears received the opening kickoff and went three-and-out, with Justin Fields' completing a pass on third-and-5 but only for 2 yards. After a 43-yard punt and a 14-yard return by Ray-Ray McCloud, the Steelers began at their 41-yard line. Ben Roethlisberger converted a third-and-7 with a 26-yard hookup with Chase Claypool, and then the Steelers went to their running game. Najee Harris gained 3, James Washington gained 12 to set up a first-and-goal at the 10-yard line. On the next play, with a nice block from Derek Watt, Harris ran it into the end zone from 10 yards out for a touchdown. The Steelers led, 7-0, with 9:42 left in the first quarter.

9:02 p.m. – What Went Right: The Steelers got their first touchdown off a turnover when Ben Roethlisberger found Pat Freiermuth in the end zone to convert a third-and-goal from the 4-yard line with 13:22 remaining in the first half to double the Steelers lead to 14-0. The takeaway came when Justin Fields attempted to get a pass over Cam Hayward and instead threw the ball into his upraised arms. Heyward made a special athletic play to control the ball and complete the catch for the interception.

9:12 p.m. – What Went Wrong: It was an ugly offensive series followed by an equally ugly punt that provided the Bears offense with prime field position with 9:12 remaining in the first half. Starting at their 17-yard line, the Steelers opened with a pass to Chase Claypool for no gain. Then came a nice run by Najee Harris that was nullified by a holding penalty on Kevin Dotson. On second-and-18, Harris gained 4, and on third-and-14, a 7-yard pass to Pat Freiermuth preceded a 32-yard punt by Pressley Harvin that gave the Bears the ball at the 48-yard line.

9:38 p.m. – What Went Wrong: Another ineffective offensive possession gave the Bears another opportunity, and this one ended with a 30-yard field goal by Cairo Santos the sliced the Steelers lead to 14-3 with 15 seconds left in the first half. Starting at their 9-yard line, the Steelers failed to get a first down when a pass to Kevin Rader gained 1 yard on a third-and-2 from the 17-yard line. After Pressley Harvin's punt, the Bears took over at their 36-yard line. A few plays into the possession, Justin Fields completed back-to-back passes to tight end Cole Kmet for 29 yards that gave the Bears a first-and-goal at the 10-yard line. The Bears were unable to get any closer to the end zone, and Santos came on to kick the field goal.

Game action photos from the Steelers' Week 9 game against the Chicago Bears at Heinz Field

9:58 p.m. – What Went Wrong: The Steelers received the second half kickoff, and the only thing they accomplished with the possession was to get Ben Roethlisberger roughed on the first play. Following that 15-yard penalty on Mario Edwards, the Steelers gained 7 yards on three plays and punted. The Bears started at their 7-yard line.

10:11 p.m. – What Went Wrong: The Bears took another bite out of the Steelers lead with a 10-play, 89-yard drive that was capped by a 22-yard field goal by Cairo Santos that made it 14-6 with 7:43 remaining in the third quarter. Justin Field converted a third-and-8 by getting out of the pocket and completing a 17-yard pass to Allen Robinson, and then two plays later Fields hooked up with Marquise Goodwin for a 50-yard play for a first down at the Steelers 14-yard line. The Bears got as far as the 1-yard line before a penalty for a low block on James Daniels sabotaged their efforts to get into the end zone.

10:23 p.m. – What Went Right: The Steelers answered the Bears field goal with a nine-play, 75-yard drive that was capped by an 8-yard touchdown pass to Pat Freiermuth, who made the catch in the end zone despite being blanketed by Kindle Vildor. The drive started with Ben Roethlisberger completing a 42-yard pass to James Washington. Chase Claypool ran two jet sweeps for 11 yards apiece.

10:32 p.m. – What Went Wrong: It took the Bears less than three minutes of game time to answer with a touchdown of their own to cut their deficit to 20-13 with 14:17 remaining in the fourth quarter. On the drive, Justin Fields completed a 20-yard pass to Darnell Mooney, and then a 28-yard pass down the middle to tight end Jimmy Graham. The Bears scored on an 11-yard run by Mooney on a version of the Wildcat in which he took a handoff from David Montgomery who took a direct snap.

10:42 p.m. – What Went Right: The Steelers came right back. Their possession began with a 30-yard pass interference penalty that was drawn by Diontae Johnson and gave the Steelers a first down at the Bears 45-yard line. With the Steelers unable to get much closer, Chris Boswell came on to kick a 54-yard field goal that upped the Steelers lead to 23-13 with 11:54 left in the fourth quarter.

10:48 p.m. – What Went Wrong: An opportunity lost. On the kickoff following the field goal, James Pierre stripped the ball from returner Jakeem Grant, and Chris Boswell recovered at the Bears 42-yard line. But after putting together one first down, the Steelers gave up a sack by Roquan Smith on the next first down, and they ended up punting into the end zone for a touchback.

10:55 p.m. – What Went Wrong: The Steelers defense put together a three-and-out of its own, but on the punt, Ray-Ray McCloud was ruled to have fumbled, even though replay indicated he was down by contact, and Houston Carson returned it 25 yards for the touchdown that made it, 23-20, with 6:31 left in the fourth quarter.

11:09 p.m. – What Went Right: Chris Boswell's second field goal of 50-plus yards was a 52-yarder that extended the Steelers lead to 26-20 with 2:52 remaining in the fourth quarter. Ben Roethlisberger converted a third-and-7 with a 10-yard pass to Diontae Johnson. Cassius Marsh sacked Roethlisberger on a third-and-8, but he then committed a taunting penalty that cost the Bears 15 yards and gave the Steelers a first down. Two plays later, Bilal Nichols sacked Roethlisberger for a 9-yard loss, and an 11-yard completion to Johnson on the next play got the Steelers close enough for Boswell to make the 52-yard field goal.

11:20 p.m. – What Went Wrong: The Bears drove 75 yards in seven plays to take their first lead of the game, 27-26, with 1:46 remaining in the fourth quarter. The big play was a 39-yard pass down the sideline to Allen Robinson on a third-and-2, and then Darnell Mooney scored the touchdown on an 11-yard catch on a perfect pass from Justin Fields. The Bears led, 27-26.

11:35 p.m. – What Went Right: The Steelers came right back following the ensuing kickoff to move 52 yards in seven plays to get into position for the game-deciding field goal. The big play on the possession was a 22-yard catch-and-run by Diontae Johnson on a first-and-5 from the 46-yard line. After a false start on Dan Moore, Pat Freiermuth made a diving catch for a 13-yard gain to the 24-yard line. Two plays later, Chris Boswell kicked the 40-yard field goal that gave the Steelers a 29-27 lead with 26 seconds remaining.

FINAL SCORE: Steelers 29, Bears 27

Advertising
;