Chicago Bears: 3 Duds from Week 9 vs. Steelers

The Chicago Bears fell just short of stealing a game from the Pittsburgh Steelers in their Monday Night Football matchup on the road. The Steelers took it 29-27 after Chris Boswell nailed the go-ahead kick with 26 seconds left. Unfortunately, the team had a chance to win after taking the lead late in the fourth, but the defense melted down and beat themselves on multiple plays.

Plenty of blame to go around for the Chicago Bears most recent loss, especially on the defense.

Week 9 Dud No. 1: Chicago Bears Defense

Up until the fourth quarter the Chicago Bears defense was going to be on the winners’ list. They kept the Steelers’ offense in check for the most part through three quarters and into the fourth. While it was not a perfect effort, they were able to get pressure on Big Ben and limit Najee Harris on the ground, which is the game-plan to beating the Steelers.

Some poor coverage and late-game penalties showed that the Bears’ defense could be torn apart. On the last drive, the Bears committed back-to-back offsides penalties, both on Robert Quinn. Quinn is a veteran on this team and should play like one. The free yards given to the Steelers all but sealed them getting into field goal range. There is no reason to help out an offense that had been struggling in the latter part of the game.

Matt Nagy was outcoached once again, and it showed as his players were just not disciplined enough. 12 penalties for 115 yards is inexcusable, and the defense saw most of those today. Sean Desai and Matt Nagy must address this going forward because the sloppy play on defense ended up causing the Steelers to have enough time and cushion to get that go-ahead field goal attempt.

It was amazing how well this team played without Khalil Mack and Eddie Jackson, but ultimately they fell apart in the clutch. Two weeks in a row the defense lets us down, even though they played good enough today. Good enough does not win football games, especially with an offense that can falter at any given moment. The defense needs to step it up in the second half of the season.