Oh, look, it’s our old enemy, Aaron Rodgers. Coming into Soldier Field with his new team, nursing an injury.
He’s 42 now, and you would think past his prime. In fact, the things he’s saying, he appears
to be more reflective, a little more chill and ready to, in his own words, let bygones be bygones.
But I say no! We can’t.
He’s a troll.
He’s the scourge of many a Chicago Bears fan’s very existence. He made game days hell for me, twice a year, most years. I don’t even want to list the specific games because you’re thinking of them, too.
Sunday would be sweet, sweet revenge, to knock him on his backside, to batter him around, make him frustrated, throw his helmet and leave the field in a hissy fit.
But I don’t even know if we’ll get the chance for it. And I also know, like many other fans, there is always going to be that fear of him ripping our hearts out, again. Especially with as close as the Bears have played this year.
No, I don’t like it. I won’t feel good with a three-touchdown lead. Ben, Caleb, make five, please.
Pittsburgh Steelers
SB Nation site: Behind the Steel Curtain
Record: 6-4, first AFC North
Last week: 34-12 win over the Bengals
Game day, time, TV: Sunday, noon CT, CBS
Spread: Bears -2.5
Bears all-time record against: 19-8-1
Historical meetings: On Nov. 23, 1947 at Wrigley Field, the 6-3 Bears hosted the 7-2 Steelers.
Chicago’s offense was humming that day, as Sid Luckman threw two touchdowns, one to Ken Kavanaugh and one to Jim Keane. The Bears’ other Hall of Famer, George McAfee scored two rushing touchdowns. Don Kindt rushed for a score. Kavanaugh caught another TD from Nick Sacrinty in the fourth quarter.
The Steelers could only manage a second-quarter touchdown from Gonzalo Morales to Val Jansante.
The Bears put an exclamation mark on their onslaught with a 44-yard George Gulyanics touchdown run.
The Bears won 49-7.
Last meeting: Week 9, 2021, on a Monday night in the Steel City, the Bears struggled against the Steelers. They trailed 14-3 at halftime and 20-6 at the end of the third quarter, thanks in part to a missed extra point.
In the fourth, Darnell Mooney scored on a 15-yard rush out of a wildcat formation. Following a Pittsburgh field goal, a Jakeem Grant fumble on the ensuing kickoff and a punt from each team, the Bears forced a fumble of their own.
With 6:31 left, Joel Iyiebuniwe forced a fumble from Steelers’ punt returner Ray-Ray McCloud, which was picked up and returned for a touchdown by DeAndre Houston-Carson.
On the ensuing drive, following a 3rd and 8 sack of Ben Roethlisberger by Cassius Marsh, the Bears’ EDGE was called for taunting, giving Pittsburgh a first down. Three plays later, the Steelers made a 52-yard field goal to go up 26-20.
Justin Fields then put together one of the better two-minute drives of his Bears career. He hit Allen Robinson for 39 yards to set up a go-ahead 16-yard touchdown to Darnell Mooney.
Roethlisberger again moved Pittsburgh down the field and set up a go-ahead field goal with 30 seconds left.
The Bears moved the ball with a little help from a Pittsburgh illegal contact penalty. Fields found Cole Kmet twice but it wasn’t close enough.
Cairo Santos lined up for a 65-yard kick with 2 seconds left and it fell short. The Bears lost 29-27.
Injury report: The Steelers had eight players limited or not practicing Wednesday
Did not participate
- QB Aaron Rodgers (left wrist)
- RB Jaylen Warren (ankle)
- LB Alex Smith (pectoral)
- TE Jonnu Smith (NIR – rest)
- LB T.J. Watt (NIR – rest)
- DT Cameron Heyward (NIR – rest)
Limited participation
- G Isaac Seumalo (pectoral)
- WR Ke’Shawn Williams (concussion)
Offense: The Steelers enter this week ranked 12th in points and 28th in yards.
Their passing offense ranks 22nd and their rushing offense ranks 29th.
Aaron Rodgers (66.4 pct cmp./1,969 yds./19 TD/9 INT) needs no introductions to this fanbase. Should he play (he’s going to play), he’ll be facing the Bears for the 30th time.
If he were to not play (he’s going to play), Mason Rudolph (77.8 pct cmp/139 yds./1 TD/0 INT) would fill in.
The passing game flows through D.K. Metcalf (37 rec./551 yds./5 TD), Kenneth Gainwell (36/204/2), TE Jonnu Smith (26/163/2), Jaylen Warren (25/219/1), Pat Frieremuth (23/279/3), Calvin Austin (22/242/2), and don’t forget about Darnell Washington (18/209/1).
On the ground, Warren (123 att./536 yds./2 TD), Gainwell (61/244/3) and Kaleb Johnson (22/58/0) are getting the job done.
Defense: The Steelers’ defense comes in ranked 16th in points allowed and 28th in yards allowed.
Their passing defense ranks 32nd in passing yards and 13th in rushing yards.
You know the names of this defense, but they are a bit on the older side. T.J. Watt (6 sk/8 TFL/16 QB hits/7 PD/2 FF/1 INT) is still the main game wrecker. But Cameron Heyward (1.5 sk/41 tkls/5 QB hits/3 TFL/1 FF), Alex Highsmith (5.5 sk/6 TFL/10 QB hits), and Patrick Queen (78 tkl/1 sk/5 TFL/4 QB hits/4 PD) are all still making plays, too. Third-year LB Nick Herbig (6.5 sk/9 TFL/1 INT/16 QB hits/2 FF/2 PD) actually leads the team in sacks. Payton Wilson (84 tkls/1 sk/1 INT/2 PD/5 TFL/3 QB hits) leads the team in tackles.
In the secondary, Jalen Ramsey (1 INT/6 PD/2 sk/2 TFL/3 QB hits) and Darius Slay (35 tkls/3 PD/1 TFL) are elder statesman but still playing well. Joey Porter Jr. (25 tkl/1 INT/11 PD/1 sk), James Pierre (17 tkl/8 PD/1 FR/1 TFL), and Kyle Duggar (12 tkl/1 TFL/2 PD/1 INT) are also playing well.
Key matchups: On paper, the Bears’ receivers should have some favorable matchups. The Steelers are allowing the most passing yards per game in the league. But, they have a lot of interceptions and are allowing a 90 passer rating, which is 13th in the league.
They rank 13th in rushing yards, too. So pretty middle-of-the-road across the board. A good chance to make some plays, but Pittsburgh will get theirs, too. The big matchups will be the offensive line of the Bears against the DL of the Steelers. Darnell Wright and Theo Benedet against T.J. Watt, Alex Highsmith and Nick Herbig. And the interior guys against Cameron Heyward.
On defense, get after Aaron Rodgers (if he plays…he’s going to play). He’s not as mobile as he used to be and he isn’t taking downfield shots like he used to (see key stats below). He gets rid of the ball fast and on short passes. The secondary then needs to play tight and disciplined and make sure tackles.
Key stats
- Averaging -3.4 air yards to the first down, dead last. 71.6 percent of the Steelers yardage has come on YAC. League average is 50 percent.
- The Steelers defense is bend but don’t break. They rank sixth in red zone defense, holding opponents to scores on just 51.4 percent of their trips inside the 20.
- Rodgers ranks 23rd in success rate at 43.4 percent, a few spots ahead of Williams (42.2). Rodgers ranks 23rd in passing first downs, second-to-last among QBs who have started at least nine games.
- The Steelers rank fourth in blitz percentage. A week after facing the Vikings who rank first.
- Rodgers’ 196.9 yards per game is the lowest of his career
Can the new Bears regime send Rodgers off a loser? Will this be a revenge spot or will the bad man hurt us one more time on his way out the door?
