5 Keys to Victory: Chicago Bears versus Pittsburgh Steelers
By Jesse Tamayo
Week 3 is here in the NFL and the Chicago Bears return to Soldier Field to host the Pittsburgh Steelers. After last week’s debacle in Tampa Bay the Chicago Bears hope to find a way to get a much needed ’W’.
Reading most fans posts it is easy to see why lots of fans are already ready to give it up. I am not quite there yet. In all honesty, didn’t most people pick the Bears to start 0-4? There is no real reason to be upset if you believed it and its coming true. Before we start walking in front of trains lets look to see how the Bears can come away with a victory this week.
Pressure Big Ben.
The Steelers are missing starting right tackle Marcus Gilbert. Ben Roethlisberger has been sacked 3 times this season and it looks like the matchup on the lines favors the defensive line for the Bears. Additionally, the Steelers currently are averaging only 2.8 yards per carry. This looks to be a matchup the Bears can exploit.
Limit the Big Plays on Defense.
When you watch the Steelers game versus the Vikings one thing that stands out is the fact that Roethlisberger is more than happy to throw deep when forced out of the pocket. He doesn’t care if he connects or not. In some cases he got pass interference calls and other times it was incomplete. However, the threat is very real for a big play. This is something we are not seeing from Mike Glennon. The Bears will be getting back Prince Amukamara and that should help boost the secondary.
Mike Glennon needs to stretch the field.
In the Tampa Bay game Glennon only threw the ball more than 20 yards once. When you see the film you can clearly see the Buccaneers had no respect for the Bears ability to stretch the field. Most snaps the Bucs had all 11 players within 20 yards of the line of scrimmage with many single safety looks. This must change for the Bears to be able to do anything at all. The best thing is that the Bears will have WR Markus Wheaton on the field for the first time this season.
Kickstart the Running game
The Bears running game has been very bad to say it mildly. This is supposed to the bread and butter of the team. I am pretty sure most people don’t want to see Glennon throwing the ball all day. Even though the Bears are averaging 4.1 yards per carry Jordan Howard is only averaging 2.7 yards per carry which means most of the rush yards are coming on big plays.
Next: Bears can catch Steelers in vulnerable spot
Limit the mistakes.
One thing the Bears can not do is dig themselves a hole with silly mistakes. This is on the coaching staff. Last week the special teams played horrible and the defense made a couple penalties on third downs that sustained the drives for the Bucs. If the Bears want the boo birds out early then those silly mistakes will be all it takes for them to be flying high.
One final point is the Bears need to protect Glennon. The Steelers blitzed Case Keenum like crazy and he couldn’t handle it. One good thing is that starting rookie T.J. Watt will miss the game. If the Bears can pick up the blitz and keep Glennon clean they have a real chance to make some plays. Also Bennie Cunningham who can pass block much better that Tarik Cohen will be available. I am hoping the Bears can pull this one out but it will not be easy.