Bears Hold Off Steelers 31-28

Nahshon Wright Intercepts Mason Rudolph to become the league's leader in INT's. 11/23/25

Bears Win Fourth Straight in 31-28 Victory over Pittsburgh

The Chicago Football Bears are 8-3 and sit by themselves atop the NFC North. Prior to the season, if you told any Bears fan that this would be the case heading into Thanksgiving, they would be ecstatic (and they probably wouldn't believe you). The Bears finally get their first win against an opponent with a winning record after knocking off the first-place Steelers in what could be considered their most complete game of the season. The defense locked in when it counted and the offense had a very productive day from start to finish. This was a game in which I feel that Ben Johnson outcoached future Hall of Famer Mike Tomlin which is something Bears fans haven't been able to say since the Lovie Smith era...

GOOD, BETTER, BEST!

GOOD: Fourth String Linebackers.

Going into this game, it was difficult to have faith in this defense with all the injuries at all three levels. The Bears first three linebackers were injured with TJ Edwards, Tremaine Edmunds, and Noah Sewell each being sidelined. If that wasn't bad enough, rookie Ruben Hyppolite II exited the game in the first quarter of the game with an apparent shoulder injury leaving D'Marco Jackson and Amen Ogbongbemiga to fill the role. Even the most die hard Bears fan found themselves saying "who?" during yesterday's game with both players being fixtures of the practice squad nearly all season. Despite the lack of name recognition, the next men up held their own in the middle of the field. D'Marco Jackson wore the Green Dot and ran the huddle for the defense and added to this difficult task with 15 tackles and a tackle for loss. Amen Ogbongbemiga also had a great run stopping day with 14 tackles and 5 solo tackles. The Bears have signed former Washington Commander's Linebacker Dominique Hampton to add some depth before their upcoming game with the Eagles, but the no namers took care of business.

BETTER: The 98 Million Dollar Man, Montez Sweat

Although he's been productive since the bye week, we've been waiting for a dominant performance from our number 1 pass rusher Montez Sweat. This was that game! Sweat dominated when it mattered finishing the game with 3 tackles, 2 sacks, including an ample-timed strip sack on quarterback Mason Rudolph that lead to the Bear's 9-play touchdown drive. That touchdown took the Bear's lead from 3 points to 10 in the second half and eventually decided the game. In order to beat the Eagles on Friday, the Bears will need to get to the quarterback and we are counting on Sweat to keep up this momentum.

BEST: The Rookies!

We may look back on the 2025 draft as a significant turning point in the Ryan Poles era of Bears Football. In Ben Johnson's first draft as Bears Head Coach, it seems that the Bears may have hit on a few diamonds in the rough. First Round pick, Colston Loveland hauled in 4 receptions for 49 yards and a touchdown as he continues to be a bigger part of the offense. Kyle Monangai lead the team in carries with 12 for 48 yards and a touchdown as he seems to be taking over as RB1. Luther Burden has continued his increased role with 4 touches for 61 yards and has found himself playing in the teams WR3 role over the previous 2 games. The offensive line had some holes with Left Tackle, Theo Benedet injured and Guard, Jonah Jackson leaving the game prematurely. This opened an opportunity for second and fifth round picks Ozzy Trapillo and Luke Newman to get important reps against an aggressive defensive front with two of the league's best pass rushers in Alex Highsmith and T.J. Watt. They held their own and the line didn't skip a beat only allowing one sack on Caleb Williams.

Don't look now, the Chicago Bears are young and hungry.

Find A Way

It is the same story every week with this team... they always find a way to win the game. If the game is close in the fourth quarter, you have no choice but to bet on the Bears. The culture that Ben Johnson is building in his first year in Chicago has this team confident, and ready to win. You just simply cannot count this team out. Whether the offense needs a game-winning drive, the defense needs a big stop, or special teams needs to sink a game-winning field goal, they always seem to pull it off.

Dennis Allen deserves every ounce of credit for the way that he coaches and schemes this defense. This Sunday the Bears had 7 starters on defense injured, yet due to Dennis Allen's second-half adjustments, they were able to stuff the Steeler offense in the back half of the game. The Bears lead the NFL in takeaways with 24 (17 INT's, 7 Fum Rec) despite all the injuries. They added 2 more against the Steelers with Montez Sweat's strip sack and Nahshon Wright's first quarter interception. Bears' Kevin Byard and Nahshon Wright are tied for the league lead in interceptions with 5 a piece, while Tremaine Edmunds comes in at fourth with 4. The defense is holding their own and could see the addition of All-Pro Jaylon Johnson, and key pieces Kyler Gordon and TJ Edwards with the 3 players practicing during the short week prior to the game at Philadelphia. As Ben Johnson said, "the calvary is coming".

Caleb Williams continues to ascend each and every week showing that he will be the franchise quarterback for the Chicago Bears for years to come. He is on pace to become the first Bears quarterback to pass for 4,000 yards in a season, not to mention his 25 touchdown pace. He looked poised in the pocket this Sunday throwing for 239 and 3 touchdowns with 21 yards on the ground. He missed a few open throws against the Steelers and took a rough sack in which he fumbled in the endzone, gifting the Steelers a defensive touchdown. I won't give him too much grief for it because it came at the hands of future Hall of Famer T.J. Watt as he passed his brother J.J. with his 115th career sack. He also responded extremely well coming back unphased and unbothered by the abysmal mistake. His connection to DJ Moore came alive in this game as well targeting him 7 times for 5 receptions and 2 touchdowns. I love the way Caleb is playing and his few mistakes are good problems to have. I refuse to nitpick quarterback play at 8-3 while Caleb is playing the best ball of his career so far.

There will always be naysayers, and it seems to me that the more games the Chicago Bears win, the more naysayers come out of the woodwork. It's expected and it means that we are doing something right. If there is one thing I know, it is the only thing that can control the destiny of the Bears, is the Bears. The schedule is getting more difficult, but with 6 games the go, the Bears are in the driver's seat.

Let's Have a Short Week

Bear Down

Beat the Birds

Vince Fioretti

11.25.25