The Chicago Bears thought they had an improbable comeback victory on Monday against the Pittsburgh Steelers, but Ben Roethlisberger had other ideas, leading his team down the field for a game-winning drive in a 29-27 triumph at Heinz Field.
Chris Boswell drilled the winning field goal with 26 seconds remaining in the game, and the Bears couldn't answer in time as they fell to 3-6.
Cairo Santos had an opportunity from more than 65 yards, but his game-winning field goal attempt came up short, leaving the Bears with a fourth-straight loss.
Justin Fields threw for 291 yards and a touchdown, and rushed for 45 more yards in his second consecutive strong game. Cole Kmet led the Bears with 87 receiving yards, and David Montgomery rushed for 63 yards in his first game off of injured reserve for Chicago.
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After the Bears went three-and-out on their opening drive, the Steelers marched down the field, moving 59 yards in six plays for a touchdown. Najee Harris scampered in for a 10-yard touchdown, and gave Pittsburgh a 7-0 with a little less than 10 minutes to go in the first quarter.
The two teams traded punts on their following drives, but as the first quarter wound down, Cameron Heyward made an incredible play, snagging a Fields pass at the line of scrimmage to give the Steelers tremendous field position at the Chicago 36.
After a nine-play drive, the Steelers finally found paydirt, with Freiermuth hauling in a 4-yard touchdown catch to give Pittsburgh a 14-0 advantage.
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Late in the second quarter the Bears finally got on the board with a 12-play, 52-yard drive, and although the Bears couldn’t convert in a goal-to-go situation, Cairo Santos booted through a 30-yard field goal, making it a 14-3 game at the half.
The Bears appeared to score a touchdown in the third quarter when Fields found Jimmy Graham in the back of the endzone, but the touchdown was wiped off the board after a questionable penalty on James Daniels.
The Bears couldn’t recover the lost 15-yards, and had to settle for another Santos field goal to trim Pittsburgh’s lead to 14-6.
The Steelers responded quickly, with Roethlisberger lofting a deep pass down the field to James Washington to set things up. On third-and-goal, Freiermuth snagged his second touchdown catch of the game, outjumping Kindle Vildor to do so, and although Chris Boswell missed the extra point, the Steelers still pushed their lead back to two touchdowns.
The Bears responded virtually instantly, with Fields finding Graham for a long completion down the middle of the field. On Chicago’s first red zone play, Darnell Mooney got the handoff from David Montgomery in a wildcat formation play, and cruised to the endzone, with the Santos extra point cutting the Steeler lead to 20-13.
After the Steelers got another Boswell field goal, the Bears’ quest to get the momentum back was short-circuited immediately, as kick returner Jakeem Grant Sr. lost the ball, giving the Steelers good field position and an opportunity to milk time off the clock.
Unfortunately for the Bears, they had to punt the ball away after a three-and-out, but a miracle occurred at Heinz Field with 6:31 remaining, as Caleb Johnson forced a fumble on the ensuing punt, and DeAndre Houston-Carson scooped up the ball and scored an improbable touchdown to make it a 23-20 game.
The Bears made a huge defensive play on third down on the Steelers’ ensuing drive, with Cassius Marsh making a sack on Roethlisberger, but he was called for taunting after the play concluded, and the Steelers were given a fresh set of downs. The Bears’ defense was able to stop Pittsburgh, and forced the Steelers to settle for a field goal that made the game 26-20.
"Whether I agree with the call or not, it cost us at a very crucial time," Marsh said after the game. "So I definitely feel a lot of remorse for costing our team a possible victory."
Marsh's celebration looked relatively innocuous, though the league has cracked down on any semblance of taunting this season.
“I saw the player, after he made a big play, run toward the bench area of the Pittsburgh Steelers and posture in such a way that I felt he was taunting them,” referee Tony Corrente said.
Marsh's teammates came to his defense, with linebacker Roquan Smith calling the penalty “BS.” Marsh shrugged his shoulders.
“It’s just sad to see stuff like that happen in a close game like that,” he said. "It’s just rough. I don’t want to say too much because you all know how it is.”
Incredibly, the Bears weren't done, and after a long bomb throw to Allen Robinson, Fields found Mooney in the endzone with less than two minutes to go, giving the Bears a 27-26 lead.
The Steelers, only needing three points, managed to move down the field thanks to a Bears penalty and a couple of big throws from Roethlisberger, and Boswell converted on a field goal with 26 seconds to go to make it a 29-27 game.
Fields and the Bears managed to get back to the extreme edge of field goal territory, but Santos' field goal came up short, and the Steelers escaped with the win.
After a bye week, the Bears will return to Soldier Field in Week 11 to take on the Baltimore Ravens.
