In a game that was marred by controversy and crushing heat, a familiar Tomlin era theme occurred, the Steelers dropped another road game to an inferior team. Dropping a tough game to the Chicago Bears, who were 0-2, getting gashed on the ground.
The Steelers made the ridiculous choice of not going out for the National Anthem, as a protest to the ill advised rant of President Trump. This wrecked the afternoon for the fans and absolutely put undo scrutiny on the team.
The Steelers offense continues to struggle, Ben Roethlisberger has been unable to get started this season. He continues to misfire and has been unable to get anything going. He was completely inconsistent Sunday and the offense never recovered. The Steelers found very little running room as Le’Veon Bell grinded out 61 yards. Antonio Brown is the lone bright spot so far this season racking up 10 catches for 110 yards. Martavis Bryant has been inconsistent all season.
The defense was also horrible Sunday. The front seven was consistently out of their zones and were absolutely routed on misdirection plays. Jordan Howard ripped up the Steelers for 138 yards and won the game in OT on a 19 yard carry. The Secondary was never tested as Mike Glennon was shackled all day, however picked off three times. The question of course…where was Deebo???
After two weeks of Special Teams play being a highlight, reality once again set in. After naming Tyler “Tackle Machine” Matakevich as a special teams captain the Steelers fumbled a punt and had a had a field goal blocked. Eli Rogers fumbled a punt return which led to the Bears first touchdown. Chris Boswell had a 36 yard field goal blocked, with one of the strangest plays ensuing afterward. The Steelers gift wrapped a TD that Marcus Cooper promptly returned on a great play by Vance McDonald. The refs botched the called and once again the Steelers looked lost.
The coaching has to own this loss. Like so many road games of the same ilk, the Steelers lost to a terrible team and were unprepared for the heat as well as the Bears run first offense. The decision to not come out for the national anthem was a huge mistake, it was an unneeded distraction for a struggling team.
BEER WE GO STEELERS, BEER WE GO!
My “GAME BEER” goes to: Without question, Alejandro Villanueva, because he showed class, courage and made a very brave choice. It goes beyond his performance on the field, it speaks to his sense of duty. Also Considered: Antonio Brown, who remains the lone bright spot on the offense.
Where I watched the game: At Soldier Field. KGB and I met up with our friends the Colluras, Joe and Joe and my buddy Bill and Mike. Bill and Mike are both West Point Graduates and were disturbed about the National Anthem. The Beer of choice was Miller Lite. The National Anthem stunt was a complete and utter disappointment.
My Stat of the week: 220 Yards on 38 carries by the Bears running backs who absolutely killed the Steelers front seven. It was one of the worst performances by a Steelers defense. Another Stat consider 1-4 my record watching games with Bill!
My Thoughts on next week: The Steelers need a bounce back week and need to put the Chicago debacle in the rearview mirror.
This week’s Jersey: My gamer is always Joe Greene and most of the Bears fans were complimentary.