The Chicago Bears were back at Soldier Field today on Sunday, facing off against the Pittsburgh Steelers. The Bears continue finding a way to win each week, pulling off a 31-28 win against the Steelers and moving to 8-3 on the season. The Bears have been a fun team to watch every week as they continue to ascend and develop their identity as a team.
This win was more of an impressive one. Let’s get into why as I hand out my Windy City Honors superlative awards.
Most Resilient Unit
The Bears’ defense
has been plagued with injuries all season, but this week takes the cake for the most injured defensive players. At the beginning of the game, the Bears were already without their three starting linebackers: Tremaine Edmunds, TJ Edwards, and Noah Sewell. This is on top of an injured cornerback room as Jaylon Johnson and Kyler Gordon are still on the mend.
During the game, the Bears suffered additional defensive injuries in cornerback Tyrique Stevenson and linebacker Ruben Hyppolite II. The Bears’ defensive depth was tested this week, and they prevailed.
While the defense struggled, especially against the Steelers’ run game, they responded with a couple big stops in crucial moments. They held the Steelers to seven points in the second half.
And to secure the win, safety Jaquan Brisker tips Steelers’ QB Mason Rudolph’s 4th down pass.
All the defensive injuries and the defenses’ ability to withstand them makes this week’s win that much more impressive.
Most Commendable Individual Performance
Since Bears’ left tackle Theo Benedet was ruled out for Sunday’s game, Bears’ second-round draft pick Ozzy Trapilo started at left tackle. This was Trapilo’s first career start at LT, and he put on a stellar performance against the Steelers’ dominant defensive pass rush. He only allowed one pressure the whole game.
Trapilo showed up in a big way when the team needed him. It will be interesting to see what the Bears do moving forward at the position, but Trapilo’s performance today was promising.
Best Postgame Locker Room Moment
Earlier this season, Tremaine Edmunds coined a signature saying that started to stick: “It’s Chicago, yeah!”
There were enough clips of him saying the phrase for fans to create a compilation video of all the moments he’s said it throughout the season.
Last week, the Bears’ social media team started to poke fun at it, getting in on the joke.
This week, the trend continues, only this time, other players join in. The social media team uses a clip of Edmunds, Kevin Byard, and Jonathon Owens all shouting Edmunds’ signature phrase as the introduction to a locker room celebration video.
Who are you picking heading into Week 13’s Black Friday Matchup between the Bears and the Philadelphia Eagles?
