To paraphrase Paul Rudd on his appearance on Hot Ones, ‘look at the Bears, who would’ve thought, not me.’ For the first time in years, the Chicago Bears are first in the NFC North past Week 1, with a 7-3 record after another come-from-behind victory over the Minnesota Vikings, 19-17. The Bears reached this point in part due to their successful alliance with the Philadelphia Eagles, which took down the Detroit Lions (6-4) 16-9 on Sunday Night Football. This 5th comeback win for Chicago was a bit different from the others we’ve seen this season. The Bears were leading 16-3 over Minnesota heading into the fourth quarter, but J.J. McCarthy seemingly repeated his Week 1 heroics, leading the Vikings on two touchdown drives. McCarthy’s touchdown pass to Jordan Addison gave the Vikings the lead with 50 seconds left, but that was too much time for this Bears team. Devin Duvernay had a 56-yard kick return, and D’Andre Swift ran for nine yards to set up Cairo Santos’ game-winning 48-yard field goal.
The Steelers have been up and down since their 4-1 start, now sitting at 6-4. They earned their sixth win against the Cincinnati Bengals at home, 34-12. It was a much tighter game than the final score indicated: 10-6 at halftime, but Pittsburgh put it on in the second half, outscoring them 24-6. New safety Kyle Dugger picked off Joe Flacco for a pick six, James Pierre scooped up a fumble and returned it for a touchdown, and Mason Rudolph threw a touchdown pass to Kenneth Gainwell. Rudolph came in for an injured Aaron Rodgers, who suffered a fractured left wrist. The Steelers defense limited Flacco to 23-of-40 passing (57.5%), 199 yards, one touchdown, and one interception.
This will be the 29th all-time meeting between two of the oldest NFL franchises, with the Bears holding a 19-8-1 series advantage. The last time these two teams played each other was just over four years ago, when they played on Nov. 8, 2021, on Monday Night Football. For those who remember, it was the infamous “hip check” where Cassius Marsh was called for a taunting penalty after sacking Ben Roethlisberger, allowing the Steelers to extend their lead and eventually win the game, 29-27. That was the Steelers’ first win over the Bears since 2005, after the Bears beat them in the last three meetings.
The Bears are 18-1 all-time against the Steelers when hosting them, with their last win coming in 2017, 23-17. Jordan Howard scored the game-winning touchdown in overtime, after Tarik Cohen nearly ran for a 73-yard touchdown, but he stepped out of bounds after 36 yards. It was the only win in the Mike Glennon era for the Bears, who went 15/22, 101 yards, a touchdown, and an interception.
Not a VIP subscriber to the Bear Report? Sign up now to get access to everything publisher Zack Pearson and the entire Bear Report team have to offer on all things Chicago Bears and access to the No. 1 site covering the team!