Back in 1991 the weekly Saturday Night Live show debuted a sketch called “Bill Swerski’s Superfans.” The premise of the skit was a group of Chicagoans led by Joe Mantegna and joining him was Chris Farley, Mike Myers, Robert Smigel, and George Wendt. Their names in the skit in the order of the actors just listed were Bill Swerski, Todd O’Connor, Pat Arnold, Carl Wollarski, and Bob Swerski.
The hilarious skit introduced the world to the reference of the Chicago Bears as “Da Bears.”
With that, the Pittsburgh Steelers will be in Chicago for week 12 of the season to play Da Bears. What we have here is a meeting between two of the oldest franchises in the National Football League. In addition, the original owners were two of the most respected in league history. George Halas had the Bears and Art Rooney Sr. the Steelers. These two teams have legendary histories, and both are in the top five of having the most players inducted into the Hall of Fame in Canton, Ohio.
The Steelers have seen 32 players be presented with a gold jacket while the Bears have the most players in the hall with 39. The Dallas Cowboys are third with 32, and behind Chicago are the Green Bay Packers with 34. Aside from those busts in Canton, these two franchises have some incredible backgrounds. For the Steelers, this team will be remembered well for the dynasty they created in the 1970s when they won four Super Bowls in six years.
As for the Bears, two things stand out. Their 1940 NFL championship to this day stands out and holds the record for the worst defeat in a league title game as they wiped out the then Washington Redskins 73-0. Then of course prior to the Da Bears winning the Super Bowl in 1986, several of the players put together a video to raise money for charity which famously became known as the “Super Bowl Shuffle.”
Week 12 pits these two teams on the field in Chicago, their first meeting since 2021 when the Steelers defeated the Bears by two, 29-27 in Pittsburgh. In that game, Pittsburgh had a 20-6 lead heading into the final quarter but Chicago came storming back and got within three points at 23-20 and after a Chris Boswell field goal the Bears took the lead on a touchdown pass ironically from ex-Steeler Justin Fields but with just 2 seconds left Boswell connected again on a game winner from 40 yards out.
That last Steelers victory snapped a three-game losing streak to Chicago that began in 2009 with two more meetings in 2005 and 2009. With a first meeting in 1934 one year after Pittsburgh joined the NFL in a game won by the Bears 28-0, these two teams have met 28 times, and the Bears have won 19 of those games with one tie. From 1934 until 1958 when Pittsburgh finally defeated the Bears, Chicago had won 10 straight. The only time Pittsburgh has won more than a single game consecutively came in 1975 when the Steelers would win again in 1980. Then from 1995 to 2005, Pittsburgh would win three straight.
Of the 28 games played, the most points Pittsburgh has ever put on the scoreboard was 41 in 1967 when they dusted the Bears 41-13. If you’ve never seen the movie “Brian’s Song,” this game included the late Brian Piccolo as well as Hall of Famer Gayle Sayers. The Steelers held both running backs in check as Sayers only carried the ball seven times and rushed for just two yards. Piccolo did a little better with 12 yards on three carries.
Willie Asbury for the Steelers rushed for 107 yards in that game and scored twice while through the air Bill Nelson passed for 223 yards and tossed two touchdown passes. The Steelers have scored over 30 three times in victorious games. On the downside, the Bears have shutout the Steelers four times, the last goose egg coming in 1989 in a 20-0 loss. Pittsburgh has never shut out Chicago.
As for Da Bears, they crushed the Steelers in 1947 49-7 and then scored exactly 40 in a 40-23 victory in 2013. Chicago has gone over 30 playing the Steelers six times, all of them going in their win column except for the game played in 1995 when Pittsburgh won 37-34. Now we have the newest encounter taking place on November 23.
When the Steelers have the ball
At the time of this writing, it is still unclear whether Aaron Rodgers is the starting quarterback or he continues to heal his injured wrist, and Mason Rudolph gets the start. The Bears are giving up 231.3 yards of passing per game and 133.3 yards of rushing yards. Expect the Steelers to start with the run and go from there. Whether its Rodgers or Rudolph, the Steelers will attack through the air. However, the RPO worked well for Pittsburgh against the Bengals so expect much of the same.
When the Bears have the ball
The Bears have been looking for a franchise type quarterback since the days of Sid Luckman. They have yet to find that man. Caleb Williams might be him. There was massive hype about Williams when he entered the league, and he may finally be living up to it. Having his best year yet, the Bears have made changes starting with a new head coach. That appears to be making a difference as Chicago is now 7-3.
As for Williams, he has thrown just four interceptions, sacked only 16 times, and has a running game led by D’Andre Swift and his 634 yards rushing thus far. Behind him is Kyle Monangai with another 413 yards. Both players average 4.7 yards per carry. Chicago has some dangerous receivers in Rome Odunze and DJ Moore who combined have 1,021 yards receiving and seven touchdowns. That total is the same for Monangai and Swift. I believe Pittsburgh is up to the task, however, to defend.
Intangibles
Now is the time for the Bears to prove their record is no fluke facing a tough Steelers team. Bears fans are rabid but Pittsburgh has been on the road before in tough situations and came away unscathed. Aaron Rodgers wants nothing more than to play, especially given his history facing Chicago when he was a Packer. The Steelers need to retain their momentum from their standout defensive performance a week earlier.
Prediction
If Aaron Rodgers can’t play with his injured wrist Mason Rudolph has already proven he can get the job done on offense. Pittsburgh’s defense is playing more consistently now, and the surprising 7-3 Bears have won three in a row. The Steelers have proven they can be a particularly good road team and I like their chances here. Steelers 23 Bears 17.
