NFL football analyst Matt Williamson will break down each of the Steelers games this season in the Trib’s Steelers Film Study. Here’s what he saw in the Steelers’ Week 9 win over the Browns.
The Chicago Bears came to Heinz Field Monday night riding a three-game losing streak in which they were outscored 95-39. Pittsburgh was going the opposite direction with a three-game winning streak. When it was all said and done, the Steelers racked up yet another home Monday Night victory, 29-27.
This was the most points the Steelers have produced in any game this season. Still, it was an evenly played game.
With two seconds left on the clock, Bears kicker Cairo Santos attempted a 65-yard field goal to win the game. Santos’ field goal try predictably fell short to seal the Steelers win.
That was the first field goal or extra point that was missed against the Steelers in 2021. Before that, the Steelers were the only team in the league whose opponent made every single kick attempt.
Statworthy numbers
Here are the key numbers from this game:
• The Steelers’ offense produced 280 yards, but the Bears’ 12 penalties gave Pittsburgh an additional 115 of hidden yardage in a game that was officiated in the Steelers’ favor.
• The Steelers offense averaged 4.2 yards per play, while Chicago’s produced 7.1 every time they snapped the football.
• Pittsburgh averaged just 3.3 yards per rushing attempt, but did possess the ball for 34:05 against 25:55 for the Bears. Still, the Steelers running backs could only muster 68 yards with their 24 carries (22 by Najee Harris) for just a 2.8 yards-per-carry average by the running backs.
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Steelers running back Najee Harris stiff-arms the Bears’ DeAndre Houston-Carson on the way to a touchdown in the first quarter on Monday, Nov. 8, 2021 at Heinz Field.
• Pittsburgh snapped the ball on third downs a whopping 17 times in this game, which really demonstrates how inefficient they were on early downs. Early down success rate is an excellent indicator for wins and losses in the NFL. After going 1 of 7 on third downs in the first half, Chicago converted on 3 of 5 third down opportunities in the second half of play.
Roethlisberger in control
Despite a 42-yard completion to James Washington in which Ben Roethlisberger really struggled to get the ball where it needed to be, Roethlisberger still only finished this game with 205 passing yards. Removing Diontae Johnson’s 22-yard catch and run on a short throw that was a busted coverage by Chicago, that leaves Roethlisberger with 183 passing yards on 28 attempts. That isn’t how stats, or the NFL works, but it is noteworthy, nonetheless.
It is also noteworthy that Roethlisberger didn’t make the huge mistake against Chicago. Roethlisberger hasn’t thrown an interception in the Steelers’ last four games. Pittsburgh’s record over that period? 4-0. That isn’t a coincidence, and it is obvious that the 39-year-old quarterback now understands what his role must be for this team to succeed. He is making solid reads and attacks single coverage.
Plus, give offensive coordinator Matt Canada credit for adapting to his quarterback. It looks as though these two have a better on-field understanding of one another compared to the first month of the season. The Steelers effectively used a lot of jet motion and end arounds as well as varying between condensed formations and spreading the field horizontally.
Still, Chicago — which is common of course from Steelers opponents — mostly sold out to stop Harris on the ground and left a lot of favorable matchups downfield. Most NFL starting quarterbacks would have taken much more advantage of that situation through the air, but that is just where Roethlisberger is at this advanced stage of his career, and it is unlikely to improve.
The fact is most of Roethlisberger’s deep balls this year are just uncatchable. This offense has produced 23 completions of 20 or more yards, which ranks 26th despite the receivers often seeing one-on-one matchups downfield.
This year, Roethlisberger’s average pass has traveled just 6.8 yards past the line of scrimmage, which ranks 35th out of 37 qualifying quarterbacks. Roethlisberger’s yards per attempt went from a horrific 4.8 in the first half to 8.3 in the final 30 minutes. To be fair, Roethlisberger is fighting injury. But we can only evaluate what we see on the field.
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Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger runs on the final drive against the Bears in the fourth quarter on Monday, Nov. 8, 2021 at Heinz Field.
Contested catches
Steelers receivers have been criticized this year for not making enough contested catches. That is quickly changing, as Chase Claypool and Diontae Johnson have drastically improved in this department. Rookie tight end Pat Freiermuth is already exceptional in this capacity.
As for Pittsburgh’s peripheral offensive weapons, James Washington played 41 snaps out of a possible 72 but didn’t stand out as a receiver and didn’t do enough to impact this game despite a high snap percentage.
Tight end Zach Gentry played 37 snaps and only ran a route 13 times. Receiver Ray-Ray McCloud saw 26 snaps with the offense, and fullback Derek Watt was on the field for seven plays. Watt did a great job blocking in his limited action. Ideally, a more contributions overall from this group would be terrific, but what Gentry and Watt bring to the table really don’t show up in the stat sheet.
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Steelers receiver Chase Claypool runs after a catch against the Bears in the second quarter on Monday, Nov. 8, 2021 at Heinz Field.
Freiermuth peaking early
As a rule of thumb, tight ends generally hit their peak in the NFL around age 27. Freiermuth is 23 yeas old. And as any good fantasy football player knows, tight ends have an awful history of producing numbers in their first season in the league. Well, Freiermuth has caught 16 balls for 145 yards and three touchdowns in his past three games.
Roethlisberger has targeted the rookie tight end 20 times in that short stretch and obviously has great confidence in Freiermuth already. Let’s just say it is rare for rookie tight ends to be targeted on back shoulder throws and 50/50 balls like we are seeing here. Freiermuth’s blocking has also improved, especially when operating in space and on the move. He is quickly becoming a star.
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Steelers tight end Pat Freiermuth pulls in a third-quarter touchdown over the Bears’ Kindle Vildor on Monday, Nov. 8, 2021 at Heinz Field.
Bears front makes impact
Chicago was without a few key defenders, most notably Khalil Mack. But even with Mack out of the equation, the Bears defensive front routinely got the better of Pittsburgh’s offensive line. And it was the rookie center and left tackle that most stood out in a negative manner Monday night.
Guard Trai Turner didn’t play a bad game, but he did allow Roquan Smith to run right past him for an easy sack. Rookie tackle Dan Moore’s run blocking left a lot to be desired, but he certainly wasn’t alone in that regard in this game. In reality, the entire Steelers offensive line struggled in the run game at the point of attack.
That being said, rookie center Kendrick Green’s inability to handle big power players still stands out in a negative manner. This was especially true in this game against Chicago’s Akiem Hicks and Eddie Goldman, two massive interior defensive linemen who rely on power to bully their opponents.
Hicks was nursing an ankle injury and only contributed on 35 of a possible 72 snaps. Goldman is only an early down player and is never a high snap count guy. He was on the field for 29 plays, but was very disruptive. Green isn’t playing with enough power or proper leverage.
Roethlisberger was sacked four times, and Pittsburgh averaged just 3.3 yards per carry. Most of that falls on the shoulders of the offensive line.
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Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger is sacked by the Bears’ Cassius Marsh in the fourth quarter on Monday, Nov. 8, 2021 at Heinz Field.
Attacking Fields
Defensively, the Steelers had a distinct pass-rush plan for Bears rookie quarterback Justin Fields and executed it well. They used a straight forward rush with few twists and stunts. They didn’t want to create open lanes for Fields to exploit as a runner and clearly tried to keep Fields from moving to his right as a scrambler. Pittsburgh did a nice job of not getting too far upfield with the edge rushers and, overall, kept Fields in the pocket quite well all things considered.
Watt shines again
What more can you say about TJ Watt? He is now just a half-sack behind Myles Garrett for the NFL lead. But Watt has played two fewer games this year than Garrett. Watt has played 104 fewer snaps in 2021 and Garrett has had 288 opportunities to rush the passer against just 217 for Watt.
Watt had three sacks against the Bears. It should be noted that Garrett picked up 4.5 of his 12 sacks against Chicago in Fields’ first ever start when the rookie quarterback was in way over his head. No other player in the NFL has double digit sacks this year besides Garrett and Watt.
Alex Highsmith played a solid game as well and Taco Charlton chipped in, playing 16 quality snaps. Highsmith and Charlton did a particularly good job securing the edge against Chicago’s foundational outside zone running game. Still, a big play from Highsmith late in the game would have gone a long way to sealing this game, and that didn’t occur.
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Steelers linebacker T.J. Watt tracks down Bears quarterback Justin Field for a fourth-quarter sack on Monday, Nov. 8, 2021 at Heinz Field.
Defensive linemen find success
Cameron Heyward’s night was highlighted by his batted pass/interception, but he once again played an awesome overall game from start to finish. Heyward is having his best season as a Steeler and deserves to go down as the best defensive lineman in the history of this organization not named Joe Greene.
This wasn’t Chris Wormley’s finest performance though. Isaiah Buggs did some good things, but overall, the defensive linemen besides Heyward are still the weakest area of the Steelers defense, and you can’t help but wonder what this group would look like with Stephon Tuitt back on the field.
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The Steelers defense celebrates with Cameron Heyward after intercepting a ball against the Bears in the first quarter on Monday, Nov. 8, 2021 at Heinz Field.
Inside linebackers quiet
Joe Schobert and especially Devin Bush need to make their presence felt more in a game like this. Schobert basically is what he is: a quality, solid linebacker who isn’t a real difference maker. More should be expected from Bush, however. The third-year linebacker made some big plays but still was manipulated too often by the opponent. Darnell Mooney’s touchdown run was a perfect example of this. Overall, Bush’s recognition still needs plenty of work and his great athletic ability doesn’t show up enough to make up for it.
Minkah proves his worth
One guy who did shine on the backend of the defense was Minkah Fitzpatrick. We all know what Fitzpatrick is capable of, but because of the nature of his position, it isn’t always apparent on a weekly basis. He played deep safety a great deal in this game.
Fitzpatrick is the best deep safety in all of football. His two crushing hits were obvious, but Fitzpatrick also made Fields reconsider letting the ball go on several occasions. Fitzpatrick greatly impacted this game.
It can be very difficult to keep a defense out of one-on-one matchups when the quarterback is such a massive running threat, and the Bears began to really exploit that advantage late in the game by singling out Arthur Maulet alone on their best wide receivers.
The further Maulet gets downfield, the more he will be exposed. He played 23 snaps in this game. The Steelers defensive coaching staff has done a nice job this year of keeping Maulet out of difficult situations. Starting next week against the Lions, Maulet should expect to see a lot of passes thrown his way.
James Pierre played just 10 defensive snaps but stood out in a positive manner. He is more naturally gifted than Maulet. Maybe the best move here is play Pierre outside and kick Cameron Sutton to the slot when they go to nickel. Or maybe the Steelers could even experiment with Ahkello Witherspoon, who has yet to be active on game day, on the outside with Sutton inside. Maulet doesn’t absolutely have to be replaced, but there are some options here to explore.
Fields continues to improve
The Bears offense, particularly Fields, deserves a lot of credit for their performance in Pittsburgh, as well. Fields is quickly getting comfortable at the NFL level, and the Bears coaching staff and supporting cast are making his transition easier now than early in the season.
He threw the football well with power, accuracy and timing. What was especially impressive was Fields’ ability and willingness to make tight window throws. Of course, Fields’ legs are always a threat, but the other components of his game progression is exciting for his future and the future of the Bears organization. Fields has completed 64.3% of his passes over the past two weeks, which is great progress.
Cole Kmet, the first tight end selected in the 2020 draft, finished this game with six catches for 87 yards. He and Fields showed a nice chemistry on the field, and Bears fans should be excited about that young combination going forward. Five of his six catches went for first downs. Kmet’s blocking was also a positive for Chicago. It was great to see two young up-and-coming tight ends playing at a high level on Monday night.
Although he still looked sluggish, this was probably Allen Robinson’s best game of the season and Chicago has a real playmaker in second year receiver Darnell Mooney. David Montgomery returned from injury and played 53 snaps in this game compared to just 10 for Khalil Herbert. The Bears gave Pittsburgh’s defense a tough time with their wildcat package, with three running backs in the game at once and with Mooney aligned in the backfield on a play in which he scored an untouched touchdown.
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Bears Quarterback Justin Fields gets away from the Steelers’ Isaiahh Loudermilk in the third quarter on Monday, Nov. 8, 2021 at Heinz Field.
Wizard of Boz comes through
Steelers kicker Chris Boswell missed an extra point, and late in this game it looked like that one point could be the difference between a Steelers win and a loss. But Boswell is one of the NFL’s best kickers and was once again spectacular with that one exception. He was perfect on his field goal tries with two 50-plus yarders and the game- winner.
The Steelers also did a great job covering kicks in this game. Jakeem Grant is one of the NFL’s most dangerous return men, and they kept him bottled up. Pierre made a tremendous play causing a fumble that Boswell fell on. McCloud’s fumble (which turned into a Bears touchdown) was inexcusable though and gave Chicago a real shot at winning this game. Lastly, punter Pressley Harvin remains too inconsistent after yet another up-and-down performance.
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Steelers place kicker Chris Boswell with the game winning field goal to beat the Bears in the fourth quarter on Monday, Nov. 8, 2021 at Heinz Field.
Questionable calls abound
The refereeing in this game needs to be addressed. Chicago was flagged 12 times for 115 yards. The Steelers committed five penalties for just 30 yards. Without question, the referees very much favored the Steelers in this game. That really can’t be argued.
However, two crucial plays don’t show up in the box score: Marquise Goodwin’s 50-yard reception down the right sideline on a drive in which the Bears started at their own 6-yard line, and McCloud’s fumble on a punt return late in the game in which Chicago scooped the ball and scored to bring this game to 23-20.
Both of those plays could have gone either way, especially the Goodwin catch, and the Bears benefited greatly from both. The late-game taunting call against the Bears’ Cassius Marsh was an embarrassment for the league.
Still, the Bears are not without blame here. Chicago’s defensive linemen on the edge had a difficult time understanding the concept of a neutral zone. The Bears offensive tackles also seemed to be moving before the snap of the ball much more often than the referees chose to recognize.
History lesson
This was Pittsburgh’s 50th win in the history of Monday Night Football, the most by any NFL franchise. The Steelers have now won 19 straight home games on Monday Night Football, a truly remarkable streak and the longest of its kind in NFL history. Congratulations are in order to coach Mike Tomlin for his 150th career victory, which passes Bill Cowher, making Tomlin 20th on the all-time list of NFL coaching wins. Only three coaches (Don Shula, George Halas, and Curly Lambeau) got to 150 wins faster than Tomlin, who should find himself in the Hall of Fame someday.
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Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin after beating the Bears game on Monday, Nov. 8, 2021 at Heinz Field.
Overall reflections
Chicago has now lost four in a row, but its rookie quarterback and offense overall is on the uptick. Some might not be thrilled by the fashion and style points in which Pittsburgh won this game, and it was far from a perfect showing. But ask the Cowboys and Bills if they would have taken an ugly win this past weekend instead of losing to massive underdogs.
The AFC and the AFC North is a jumbled mess, and the 5-3 Steelers are right in the thick of it. That’s all you can ask from this team considering where they were a few weeks ago.
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Steelers linebacker T.J. Watt celebrates his sack of Bears quarterback Justin Fields in the second quarter on Monday, Nov. 8, 2021 at Heinz Field.
