Way to Bounce Back: Bears beat Super Bowl champs 17-14

Coming off a season-opening loss to the Green Bay Packers, the Chicago Bears bounced back and came away with a 17-14 victory over the defending Super Bowl champion Pittsburgh Steelers. This win could be the confidence booster the Bears needed after Jay Cutler’s four-interception performance in Week 1, and the season-ending injury to their all-pro middle linebacker Brian Urlacher.

Cutler showed Bear fans what they’ve been expecting of him by rallying Chicago on their final two drives, which eventually put the Bears over the top. In those last two drives, Cutler went 9 for 10 passing for 92 yards and a touchdown. The Pro Bowl quarterback finished the game completing 27 out of 38 passes for 236 yards, two touchdowns and no interceptions. Even though the Bears have a reputation of “coming off of the bus running the football,” second-year running back Matt Forte only had 13 carries for 29 yards rushing the entire game. The small contribution from the ground attack was largely due to Pittsburgh’s 3-4 defensive scheme, a defense Chicago rarely sees. Rookie Johnny Knox led the team with six receptions for 70 yards and recorded his first career touchdown; and after the first two weeks of the regular season, the fifth-rounder out of Abilene-Christian leads the Bears in receiving yards with 152.

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Once again, the Chicago defense got constant pressure on the quarterback. This time, Alex Brown was the standout player from the d-line with two sacks, one of which came on the heels of stopping Steelers running back Willie Parker for a one-yard loss, which resulted in Pittsburgh settling for a 38-yard field goal attempt that went wide left. Cornerback Charles Tillman came up big in the second quarter with an interception when the Steelers were threatening to score—keeping Chicago in the game. On a side note, the Bears’ replacement at starting middle linebacker Hunter Hillenmeyer finished the game with four tackles and a deflected pass.

With things seeming to be on the rise for the Chicago Bears, they will prepare for their next opponent then they travel to the Pacific Northwest to face off against the battered Seattle Seahawks.

By Clyde Speller
ProFootball-fans.com Chicago Bears Correspondent