I had to go to church, so I was wondering why the Steelers lost. I have some theories (based on looking at the box scores):
Without Troy Polamalu, the defense couldn’t shut down the offense, and Cutler had a much better day than he should have.
2.a. The Bears defense shut down the running game. I find this hard to believe because they didn’t have Urlacher, but that’s what the box score says.
2.b. The Steelers o-line stank it up, unable to protect Ben nor get any running yards.
Jeff Reed choked in the 4th. If he hit 2, they win. If he hits 1, they go to OT. He misses 2, they lose. I’m hesitant to lay it at his feet though, as he’s been clutch so many times in the past.
Special teams: Kickoff fumble? Sigh, '90’s all over again.
Both teams were a little shaky. The defenses outplayed the offenses and neither Urlacher nor Polamalu were obviously missed. The Bears D line whopped the Steelers O line most of the game and Ben wasn’t able to bounce off the contact the way he was last week. The Bears O line was inept at run blocking but really protected Cutler very well. Lots of drops by the WRs of both teams, but perhaps the most critical ones were made by Holmes on some key plays.
Jeff Reed’s misses were big but you can’t really pin the loss on him. They were make-able kicks but they were from a ways out on a rainy, wet field. Soldier field is simply one of the toughest places in the league to kick and the weather was not helping. It seemed like at least on one of the misses the snap and hold were a little off the mark. Let’s face it, even if Reed nails one or both of those kicks the Bears still had the ball at the end and were driving pretty easily on the Steelers prior to kicking that field goal. Who’s to say they wouldn’t have gotten into the endzone with 2 minutes plus remaining on the clock.
Maybe the most decisive play of the game was Tillman’s interception of Roethlisberger. The Steelers opening the game strong and were pushing the Bears around a bit and were driving to take a 14-0 lead when the pass rush got to Ben and he forced a lame duck off his back foot. Tillman settled under it easily and stopped the drive. After that the pass rush of the Bears seemed to ratchet up and the Steelers never really got into sync again.
To sum it up in a couple lines, I’d say Jay Cutler and the Bears’ pass blocking played much better and cleaner football than Big Ben and the Steelers’ pass blocking. Cutler performed exceptionally well in the clutch leading scoring drives at the end of the half and 2 at the end of regulation.