CHICAGO, Ill., — The Chicago Bears battled some tough injuries going into their Week 12 matchup against the Pittsburgh Steelers, ruling their top three linebackers out for the contest on Friday. They were also without their top two defensive backs as Jaylon Johnson and Kyler Gordon remained on injured reserve.
It got worse during the game.
Rookie linebacker Ruben Hyppolite II, as well as defensive back Tyrique Stevenson, both left the game and didn't return, leaving Chicago short-handed even more. But the resilient Bears didn't just lie down. Instead, they grinded out a gritty win over the Steelers to move to 8-3 on the year, using the 'next man up' mentality.
"Next man up," defensive back C.J. Gardner-Johnson said after the game. "Play for your brothers and play within yourself and the team and the defense. A lot of things will go your way if you pay attention and do what you need to do."
Things went the Bears' way on Sunday, even with those injuries. That's the sign of a team that is resilient and didn't want to let the excuses fly.
Chicago fought through those injuries, and after trailing 21-17 at halftime, they rallied off 14-straight points, which were enough. They had the confidence in the end to close out the game despite a late surge from Pittsburgh. That confidence has grown over the past 10 weeks, where the Bears have 8-1 in that span.
"Super high," safety Kevin Byard said to the Bear Report when asked about his confidence in close games. "I think the defense, this team, we are all super confident. We were on the sideline saying, 'Hey, this is our opportunity. This is our chance to go out and finish the game the right way.' The confidence is super high."
When Chicago's defense needed to come up with stops in the second half, they were able to get them. The Steelers had just one scoring drive in that second half, with the rest either resulting in a punt, a turnover on downs to end the game, or a takeaway.
Byard said he never wavered, even with the injuries, which included a few members of the front seven.
"Just being the calm of the storm. Just making sure I'm communicating as much as possible. Giving tips, things I'm seeing. Obviously, at the end of the day just trusting the guys out there. These guys have prepared, they have practiced all week, they are doing their thing and just having trust in those guys to make plays when they need to."
Close wins count the same as blowout wins and Chicago won't apologize for how they have won games or who they have faced in this winning stretch. Nor should they.
And while it may have signified to the fans that this team has found something at 8-3, it's nothing surprising for Byard and his teammates in the locker room.
"Nothing that I didn't already know about this group," Byard said. "We are very resilient. We've been facing adversity all year, we've been stepping up to the plate. It's just another example of that."
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