Dark Times Lie Ahead - Quick Steelers @ Bears (Nov. 23) Recap
The night is darkest just before the dawn. And I promise you, the dawn is coming. - I just think things need to get a little worse before they do.
Usually when I do these posts, I have handwritten notes that I keep next to me with different stats and talking points. It helps me maintain some kind of structure so that I don’t start rambling and that helps me get my point(s) across in a way that’s concise for the reader. I don’t have any notes today…just my thoughts. So, if you’re looking for structure, maybe go check out Alex Kozora or Derrick Bell. I like those guys, and they keep things structured and unemotional. Maybe I’ll get there one day, but right now, that’s not Jason Newman football.
The Steelers lost to the Bears 31-28, but the final score is not reflective of the football game that my eyes were watching. The game I watched…the Bears should’ve won that thing by multiple scores.
I’m admitting fault an awful lot in the 2025 football season, and here we go again: I said in my pregame thoughts that who played QB for the Steelers in this game didn’t matter, and BOY was I wrong about that. Mason Rudolph’s thing is hanging tough in the pocket and pushing the ball down field…he had the nice throw for 21 yards over the middle to Ben Skowronek, then donuts from there. I also mentioned turnover differential likely being the differencemaker, so at least I was right about one thing. Mason’s first throw of the game was an INT on a jump ball to DK Metcalf, but I’m not going to kill him for that - hell of a play by the Bears corner. What I will kill him for is his atrocious pocket awareness that led to multiple sacks, including a sack fumble recovered by the Bears that they converted into a touchdown.
Then this shit from the illegal formation that we got called for late in the fourth quarter on third down. I’m no lipreader, but I’m fairly certain Aaron Rodgers says “oh my god…you’re in the wrong formation!” That, pretty much, perfectly encapsulates how wrong I was about the starting QB for us being irrelevant…our actual starting QB was in street clothes on the sideline kindly letting the world know that we fucked up and a flag was coming. Obviously, if he was in the game, that ball doesn’t get snapped until the play is changed, and who knows, maybe the tone of Steelers Nation is a lot different on this terrible Monday. Do I think Rodgers would’ve played perfectly? - No. Do I think he would’ve turned the ball over twice? - No. Do I think that last drive could’ve had a different outcome with him as quarterback? - Obviously, yes. Do I think we would’ve won if he played QB yesterday? - Probably.
But, again, here we are on a Monday, and the Steelers scored 28 points in a game yesterday and lost. I thought the Bears offense vs. the Steelers defense involved some intriguing matchups, but there wasn’t much intriguing about the product on the field, unfortunately. The Bears were able to hang 31 points on us despite turning the ball over twice, and I hate to say it, but they left plays out there, too. There were multiple drops from open Bears receivers in this game, as well as (at least) two deep balls on the sideline where the receiver was open but couldn’t get their feet down in bounds. Not only that, but the turnover where Yahya Black came out of the pile with the football was sus to say the least. Despite these gifts from the football Gods, the Bears were able to throw the ball all over the yard with impunity.
I touched on this about a month ago, but the Steelers are just a wildly inconsistent football team. Unfortunately, I’m not in the business of dubbing a football team both good and inconsistent, so I guess I’m saying that the Steelers are not good. I think they’re capable of beating anyone, yet I wouldn’t put my own money on them to beat the Titans on a neutral field. So where do we go from here?
The answer is unfortunate no matter how you spin it. We’ve got games vs. BUF, vs. BAL, @ BAL, @ DET, and @ CLE. I don’t think we’ll go 0-5 in those games, but I don’t think we’re going to be odds-on favorites in any of those games either. After a 4-1 start, I’m legitimately concerned that this team could finish below .500 and have some really tough decisions to make regarding the coaching staff very soon. On the flip side, there’s a ton of talent on this team, so I could see them scraping together some good wins and getting us bought in just enough to see them get torched by an actual contender on Wild Card Weekend. Either way, we’re going to get lower than we are right now at some point this season, as impossible as that may seem. I’m an optimist at heart, but I’m also realistic: this team isn’t winning a Super Bowl this season, so it will inevitably get worse and it’ll probably happen pretty soon.
I can’t believe I’m saying this…I really, really can’t…but I think we’re witnessing Mike Tomlin’s last days as the Pittsburgh Steelers head coach. I basically grew up with this man. But, at the end of the day, my loyalties lie with the logo. 2026 is going to be wild.
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