This is a weird game to look back on. The Steelers did a lot of things right on offense after two weeks of doing NOTHING right whatsoever. The defense is still without a turnover, and while they made some
plays, they didn't make enough plays or have enough of an impact. There's not a lot to feel good about when your defense gives up 27 points and the offense gives up another 13. As is his custom, Jay Cutler looked great against the Steelers. He made perfect throws for most of the night and it shows in the final score.
The Steelers did things they can build on, especially on offense. Antonio Brown had a monstrous night, pulling in nine catches for 196 yards and 2 TDs. Unfortunately, having a few nice plays on film doesn't change the fact that the Steelers are 0-3, a hole that they likely won't climb out of in the AFC North. Facing a trip to London next week, the Steelers have a lot of tough questions to answer. In the meantime, let's take a look at what exactly transpired Sunday night in Heinz Field.
FIRST QUARTER
The Steelers defer the coin toss and the Bears start on offense. Jarvis Jones finally starts on defense for the Steelers. So does Kion Wilson, but that's less exciting. Jay Cutler start slinging quick screens around the field. Dustin Jeffrey catches a bunch of them and moves the chains a few times.
Finally, some playing time!
Matt Slauson commits maybe the most obvious hold of all time. Pete Morelli decides it ain't no thing.
You're on my list.
Troy Polamalu reads a screen pass like a book and brings down Brandon Marshall behind the line. The negative play gives the defense room to blitz and Cutler throws an errant pass out of bounds on 3rd & 9. Robbie Gould kicks a field goal. 3-0.
Ben comes out with a fake screen and a draw to Felix Jones. It's still Felix Jones up the middle, but it changed up a look. He gets ten yards and a first down. Heath Miller gets the next ball and is serenaded with a hero's welcome by the Heinz Field crowd.
Then Ben fumbles. Bears recover. Matt Forte scores a touchdown. 10-0.
Maybe Ben shouldn't have shot a round of pool yesterday.
Ben overthrows Sanders by just a hair down the left sideline and Zoltan Mesko comes on to punt it away. Matt Forte runs it down to the 5. William Gay didn't even bother tackling him. Ike Taylor interferes with Brandon Marshall. Martellus Bennett maybe doesn't get two feet down in the end zone, then Michael Bush maybe just touches the ball to the goal line. The Bears challenge the no-TD, but there's not enough video evidence to overturn the call. Bush gets it on 4th & inches anyway. 17-0.
The offensive line survives a blitz and hits Antonio Brown on a crossing pattern. DJ Williams takes it back with a blitz up the middle. On 3 & 14, Ben pumps left and fires right. Antonio Brown gets wide open down the right sideline and hauls it in for a massive gain.
SECOND QUARTER
Ben's hand gets dinged in there somewhere and Shaun Suisham has to finish off the drive. 17-3.
Cutler avoids a blitz and finds the criminally underrated Matt Forte for a first down. Brett Keisel finds him on the next play. Shamarko Thomas gets on the field and manages to get called to blitz. He doesn't get the sack, but he forces a throw out of bounds and gets contact on Cutler.
He's gonna be a player one day.
Major Wright picks off a pass and goes the distance. 24-3.
He's been arguably the only player on offense so far this season. And he's falling apart.
Antonio Brown tries to get the offense moving again with a quick slant. Ben calls a timeout and the offense gets booed at home. Zoltan punts and some dude roughs him. Totally earns the call. The offense strolls back out and Ben eludes a couple of pass rushes. Emmanuel Sanders is open down the middle for a big gain.
Cris Collinsworth opines about the band-aid on Roethlisberger's hand and how it's ruining his throwing motion and he's short-arming throws. Ben answers by throwing a 33-yard touchdown to Antonio Brown.
He can find a way to be wrong about anything.
Jarvis Jones gets some pressure on Cutler, but he eludes it. Brandon Marshall straight-up doesn't catch a pass. The Bears punt and the Steelers take over. David DeCastro paves a highway and Jonathan Dwyer takes it for a huge gain.
But no, what were you saying about him being fat and out of shape?
Ben throws a ball behind Markus Wheaton as the drive slows down. Mesko punts it away. The Bears show no interest in trying to run a hurry-up offense and score again.
HALFTIME
Why does anyone still agree to go to lunch with this girl? She is insufferable.
THIRD QUARTER
Felix Jones fumbles.
Jarvis Jones wrestles Michael Bush down from behind to force a 4th down. The Bears send out their offensive personnel to try and make the Steelers jump offside. They don't bite, so Robbie Could kicks a short field goal. 27-10.
Freakin' David Johnson gets wide open running a seam down the left middle of the field.
Did anyone remember he was still around?
Ben calls an audible on 3rd & 1, directing backfield shifts and all sorts of motion. Then he takes a quick snap and sneaks for the first down. Creative set up. Dwyer picks up the next first down. The crowd briefly reacts negatively to the decision to kick a field goal on 4th & 2. Short memories. 24-13.
William Gay takes a penalty to give up a first down. Matt Forte gets up gimpy and limps off the field. Brandon Marshall grabs a screen pass but Ike Taylor wrestles him down.
Real talk: We don't appreciate Ike enough. Dude lines up against the best every week and keeps them quiet most of the time. He can play the run and defend physically. Some fans worry about their team's #1 cornerback. We don't have to.
LaMarr Woodley bull-rushes his blocker and puts Cutler on the ground. The Bears punt. Antonio Brown takes a facemasking penalty on a stiff-arm. Heath Miller makes up the deficit on the next play. Jerricho Cotchery gets in the game and pulls in a pass on the left sideline.
Antonio Brown makes an insane one-handed catch in the back of the end zone. I know I'm a writer and all, but it's hard to find words for how huge that touchdown is.
Creating hope for the hopeless.
The crowd comes to life behind the defense as Jay Cutler takes the field again. The Bears face a huge 3rd & 1. The crowd roars. Cutler calls time out and they only get louder. Ike Taylor and Ryan Clark blanket Brandon Marshall and the football sails harmlessly over his head.
The Steeler offense comes out and tries to quiet the crowd. Ben tweaks something getting rid of the ball, but continues undeterred to find David Johnson open in the middle on the next play.
FOURTH QUARTER
Antonio Brown gets open again for 21 yards. Ben scrambles, bizarrely kind of fumbles to himself and it goes as a gain of like six yards. Henry Melton goes down and gets carted off. Never a good thing.
Jerricho Cotchery grabs a pass short of the sticks (yay, play calling) and stretches ahead with some second effort and an assist from DeCastro. The Bears pin their ears back and rush 50 guys to force a bad throw. It falls well short of a receiver. Suisham struts out to cut the lead further from 44 yards out. 27-23.
Another thing we take for granted: How dependable Suisham has been. Does anyone even remember Jeff Reed?
They don't even kick it to Devin Hester. Lawrence Timmons drops Matt Forte for no gain. Then Ziggy Hood does the same. Cutler rolls out on 3rd & 10 and picks up the first down, but not before Robert Golden lays a big hit on him. William Gay comes in on a corner blitz and takes down Forte in the backfield.
Brandon Marshall finally gets leverage on Ike Taylor and Cutler manages to find him for a backbreaking 41-yard gain. Shamarko Thomas tries to reach and knock away a pass. It's just about a perfect throw to Earl Bennett at the side of the end zone. It's ruled out of bounds but the Bears challenge and win. 34-23 Steelers.
Heartbreaker
Ben comes out and goes no-huddle, down 11 with 5 minutes left. Dwyer gets a first down and Ben finds Brown at midfield. Isaac Redman makes an appearance only to get flattened by Lance Briggs, who knocks the ball out of Ben's hands an into Julius Peppers' somehow. Peppers jogs into the end zone. Troy Polamalu blocks the extra point because of course he does. 40-23.
Game.
-This felt like watching a Steeler game from the opposite perspective for a while. The Bears scored in bunches early and let the Steelers creep back into the game, only securing the win after a few big plays from the defense. Doesn't that sound like every game the Steelers played over the past three years?
-The offensive line DID step up their game… not that the bar was set very high to begin with.
-Ben Roethlisberger might be dead by Week 8.
