PITTSBURGH (AP) — Mike Tomlin sat down, smiled, and let loose a sarcastic giggle.
“Had ’em all the way, proper?” the longtime Pittsburgh Steelers coach stated after his team slipped previous Chicago 29-27 on Monday night.
Not precisely.
Not after a 10-point fourth-quarter lead was a one-point deficit following a fumble by punt returner Ray-Ray McCloud and a flash of brilliance by Bears rookie quarterback Justin Fields, who put Chicago in the entrance with a 16-yard strike to Darnell Mooney with 1:46 to go.
Steelers rookie tight finish Pat Freiermuth hardly appeared rattled. Certain, the Bears had the lead. However, the Steelers had Ben Roethlisberger.
“I wasn’t nervous at all,” stated Freiermuth, who caught a pair of landing passes. “Ben’s been doing this for a very long time. We’re all assured in each other. I used to be thinking in my thoughts after they scored, ‘It’s too much time (left).’”
And there was.
Roethlisberger guided the Steelers 52 yards in seven performs — abetted by Chicago’s twelfth penalty of the night time — to arrange Chris Boswell’s 40-yard discipline objective with 26 seconds left, and Pittsburgh gained its fourth straight after a 1-3 begin.
“We’re discovering methods to win the sport,” Roethlisberger stated. “Played nicely enough. Not nice. However offensively talking, we’re simply doing enough proper now.”
Roethlisberger accomplished 21 of 30 passes for 205 yards and the 2 scores to Freiermuth whereas pulling off the fiftieth game-winning drive and 38th fourth-quarter comeback of his 18-year profession. Rookie running back Najee Harris discovered the tip zone for the fifth straight sport and Boswell made three field targets — including two from over 50 yards — into the open finish at perpetually windy Heinz Subject.
“Boz is a serial killer,” Steelers defensive finish Cam Heyward stated. “He’s too calm.”
Boswell may need been the only one relaxed after the Steelers frittered away a seemingly snug lead when McCloud gave the ball up on a punt return midway by the fourth quarter that DeAndre Houston-Carson returned 25 yards for a landing to tug the Bears inside three.
Issues obtained bizarre from there. Chicago appeared to get a cease on Pittsburgh’s ensuing possession solely to have linebacker Cassius Marsh — who spent coaching camp with the Steelers — get flagged for taunting after sacking Roethlisberger on third down.
Marsh’s celebration appeared relatively innocuous, although the league has cracked down on any semblance of taunting this season.
“I noticed the player after he made a giant play, run towards the bench space of the Pittsburgh Steelers and posture in such a manner that I felt he was taunting them,” referee Tony Corrente stated.
Marsh’s teammates got here to his defense, with linebacker Roquan Smith calling the penalty “BS.” Marsh shrugged his shoulders.
“It’s simply unhappy to see stuff like that occur in a detailed sport like that,” he stated. “It’s simply tough. I don’t wish to say too much since you all understand how it’s.”
The decision prolonged Pittsburgh’s drive and allowed the Steelers to take a 26-20 lead with 2:52 remaining.
It took Fields all of 66 seconds to place the Bears in front. He took Chicago 75 yards in seven plays, and his strike to Mooney appeared to have the Bears in place to tug off a stunner earlier than Roethlisberger and Boswell came by.
Chicago did get the ball to midfield within the last seconds, but Cairo Santos’ 65-yard try into the closed finish of the stadium was nicely brief. Bears coach Matt Nagy praised Fields’ resilience on a night he handed for 291 yards with a landing and an interception and ran for 45 extra, but it surely wasn’t sufficient.
“We misplaced,” Nagy stated. “It is a team game. That’s what our guys care about. And we’ve obtained to determine it out.”
PASSING COWHER
The victory was the 150th of Tomlin’s profession, moving him into second place on the franchise’s win listing behind Chuck Noll. Tomlin handed predecessor Invoice Cowher, who joined Noll within the Corridor of Fame over the summer.
“I’m simply appreciative of the standards which were set by people who have come before me,” stated Tomlin, who’s in his fifteenth season. “That normal is inspirational for us. … I work to do my job and uphold that standard.”
FLAG DAY
Chicago’s dozen penalties ran the gamut, from a pass-interference name that arrange a Pittsburgh discipline objective to an illegal block within the second quarter that negated a 1-yard landing move from Fields to Jimmy Graham. The Steelers, by comparability, had been flagged six occasions for 30 yards.
“With 12 penalties, that’s too many,” Nagy stated. “What it does is it pushes you again or gives them free yards. You wish to avoid penalties and I believe we need to be better there.”
THE MAN GOT PAID
Steelers linebacker T.J. Watt sacked Fields thrice to push his season whole to 11 1/2. Watt signed a contract in September that made him one of the highest-paid defenders within the league.
“He’s well-compensated,” Tomlin stated with fun.
INJURIES
Bears: WR Allen Robinson went down with hamstring harm. … DT Akiem Hicks is dealing with a sprained ankle.
Steelers: WR Chase Claypool was being evaluated for an undisclosed injury.
UP NEXT
Bears: Are off next week, then welcome Baltimore to Soldier Field on Nov. 21.
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