NFL preview capsule: Pittsburgh Steelers at Chicago Bears
Trending
Records: Pittsburgh (6-4); Chicago (7-3)
TV: Sunday, 1 p.m., CBS
BetMGM NFL odds: Bears by 2.5
Against the spread: Steelers 5-5, Bears 6-4
Series record: Bears lead 22-8-1
Last meeting: Steelers beat Bears 29-27 in Pittsburgh on Nov. 8, 2021
Last week: Steelers beat Cincinnati 34-12 at home; Bears won 19-17 at Minnesota
Steelers offense: overall (28), rush (29), pass (22), scoring (12)
Steelers defense: overall (28), rush (13), pass (32), scoring (16T)
Bears offense: overall (4), rush (2), pass (13), scoring (8)
Bears defense: overall (27), rush (25), pass (23), scoring (26)
Turnover differential: Steelers plus-8, Bears plus-16
Steelers player to watch: TE Darnell Washington. The 6-foot-7, 300-plus-pound third-year tight end is stepping into his own, and stepping over opponents while doing it. Washington has always been a willing and capable blocker, but has increasingly found himself involved in the passing game. He caught four passes for a career-high 67 yards last week against Cincinnati, including a 31-yard catch-and-run in which he demolished three different defenders. He is a matchup nightmare and figures to be featured no matter who is at quarterback for Pittsburgh this week.
Bears player to watch: WR DJ Moore. The veteran has four 1,000-yard seasons in eight years. But in the past two games, he hasn't been all that involved. He was targeted four times against the New York Giants two weeks ago and did not catch a pass. In the Minnesota game, he had one catch for 18 yards while being targeted three times. He also carried once for 3 yards. Moore is second on the Bears with 421 yards receiving and third in receptions with 31.
Key matchup: Bears QB Caleb Williams vs. Pittsburgh's defense. Despite setting a franchise single-season record with his league-leading fifth comeback, Williams is coming off a shaky outing. He continued to struggle with his accuracy and missed some potential big plays, completing 16 of 32 passes for 193 yards. The Steelers are allowing a league-worst 261.7 yards passing per game, so maybe this is just the sort of matchup he needs. Williams ranks 27th among qualifying leaders in the NFL in completion rate at 59.7 percent and is one of just four below 60%.
Key injuries: Steelers: QB Aaron Rodgers is questionable while dealing with a broken left wrist, putting the chances of the four-time MVP facing a team he has dominated throughout his career in jeopardy. Mason Rudolph will start if Rodgers can't go. … OLB Alex Highsmith is dealing with a pectoral injury and could miss a second straight game. … CB Darius Slay is expected to return after sitting out last week while in the concussion protocol. Bears: CB Jaylon Johnson, who returned to practice last week, has missed eight straight games. … LB T.J. Edwards (hand/hamstring) has missed the past two games. … CB Kyler Gordon missed the first four games because of a hamstring injury and has been sidelined since Week 7 because of a groin injury. He was designated to return to practice Wednesday, opening a 21-day window to activate him off injured reserve … CB Tyrique Stevenson (hip/calf) was injured in a collision with S Jaquan Brisker late in the third quarter last week and left the game after briefly returning.
Series notes: The Bears are 14-1 at home in the series, including a pair of wins over the combined 1943 Philadelphia-Pittsburgh and 1944 Chicago Cardinals-Pittsburgh teams. The Steelers' lone victory in Chicago was in 1995. Pittsburgh's record against the Bears is the franchise's worst against any NFL team still in existence. The Steelers did lose their lone game against the St. Louis Gunners in 1934.
Stats and stuff: Chicago has five wins this season after trailing in the final two minutes of the fourth quarter, including the past three games. … Five of the past seven games have been decided by five points or fewer, with Chicago winning each of those five games. … The Bears are 3-0 in games decided by two points or fewer and 5-1 when the margin is five or fewer. … Chicago's wins are against teams that are a combined 20-51-1, and all have losing records. … The Bears have gone three straight games without committing a turnover.