In a rollercoaster of a Week 12 game, the Pittsburgh Steelers (6-5) left Soldier Field in defeat following a loss to the Chicago Bears (8-3), 31-28.
However, Pittsburgh’s opening drive would unfortunately set the tone for the rest of the game, as following a touchdown and extra point by D.J. Moore and Cairo Santos, starting quarterback Mason Rudolph would throw an interception.
Not to be deterred, when Pittsburgh regained the ball, the team would secure a 95-yard drive ending in Rudolph finding DK Metcalf for a touchdown.
Chris Boswell would then score the extra point to tie the game and end the quarter.
As the game advanced into the second quarter, Pittsburgh would continue its wave of momentum through Nick Herbig recovering a fumble in the endzone for a touchdown.
Although it wouldn’t be long before Chicago responded, as Caleb Williams connected to Colston Loveland for a touchdown.
The touchdown would be soon followed by Santos tying the game with an extra point.
Despite Chicago’s response, Pittsburgh would not back down, as not long after, a Jaylen Warren touchdown and a Boswell extra point would allow the team to regain the lead.
As the quarter came to an end, Santos would close the gap between both teams with a 47-yard field goal to close the half.
Entering the third quarter, neither offense was able to achieve anything of significance.
This trend would continue into the fourth quarter until Kyle Monangai rushed for another Chicago touchdown and had Santos secure another extra point.
With the clock winding down, Pittsburgh would further its efforts to regain the lead, most notably having Pat Friermuth score a touchdown, followed by a Boswell extra point.
Unfortunately, their attempts came with no reward, yet no one is to blame other than Pittsburgh itself.
Even with T.J. Watt surpassing his brother J.J. Watt in all-time sacks, defensively, the team underperformed, specifically in the second half.
Offensively, a season-long problem for Pittsburgh would continue as the offensive line would struggle to protect Rudolph, once again filling in for the injured Aaron Rodgers.
Meanwhile, for Chicago, while it may not have been its strongest performance, the win still helps the Ben Johnson-led team maintain their spot on top of the NFC North.
Other Week 12 results include:
- Houston Texans (6-5) def. Buffalo Bills (7-4): 23-19
- New England Patriots (10-2) def. Cincinnati Bengals (3-8): 26-20
- Detroit Lions (7-4) def. New York Giants (2-10): 34-27
- Green Bay Packers (7-3-1) def. Minnesota Vikings (4-7): 23-6
- Seattle Seahawks (8-3) def. Tennessee Titans (1-10): 30-24
- Kansas City Chiefs (6-5) def. Indianapolis Colts (8-3): 23-20
- Baltimore Ravens (6-5) def. New York Jets (2-9): 23-10
- Cleveland Browns (3-8) def. Las Vegas Raiders (2-9): 24-10
- Jacksonville Jaguars (7-4) def. Arizona Cardinals (3-8): 27-24
- Dallas Cowboys (5-5-1) def. Philadelphia Eagles (8-3): 24-21
- Atlanta Falcons (4-7) def. New Orleans Saints (2-9): 24-10
- Los Angeles Rams (9-2) def. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (6-5): 34-7
- San Francisco 49ers (8-4) def. Carolina Panthers (6-6): 20-9
Heading into Week 13, Pittsburgh travels back to Acrisure Stadium to host a hungry Buffalo team.
A team that finds itself in a similar position as Pittsburgh, as both seek to regain first place in their respective divisions.
On the other hand, Chicago goes to Lincoln Financial Field to meet another top NFC team in Philadelphia, who are seeking redemption following their loss to Dallas.
Nonetheless, with its odds of making the playoffs on the decline, Pittsburgh must make adjustments soon to turn its season around.
The Week 13 game, between the Buffalo Bills (8-4) and the Pittsburgh Steelers (6-6) at Acrissure Stadium, has caused controversy amongst the NFL community.
Coinciding with Buffalo’s 26-7 victory over Pittsburgh is frustration amongst fans.
Whether it’s the calls for the firing of Head Coach Mike Tomlin or the anger with #8 Aaron Rodgers’ lack of accountability, chaos has ensued in the days that followed.
However, with how the game started, this outcome looked very unlikely, as in the first quarter, neither team scored, with both defenses standing their ground.
Notably, reigning league MVP #17 Josh Allen struggled to connect with Buffalo; this would be highlighted when he was sacked by #6 Patrick Queen, and with his interception, was caught by #26 Brandin Echols.
Regardless, offensively, Pittsburgh didn’t achieve much either.
This would continue into the second quarter until a fumble from #4 James Cook led to an eventual one-yard rushing touchdown from #30 Jaylen Warren, followed by an extra point from #9 Chris Boswell.
Despite their offensive struggles, Buffalo would retaliate as #15 Matt Prater managed a twenty-seven-yard field goal to shorten Pittsburgh’s lead to four at the end of the first half.
Now entering the second half after an altercation between #97 Cameron Heyward and Allen, Buffalo looked to carry on the momentum they had created for themselves in the previous quarter.
The team would go on to do so as during the first snap of the half, #47 Christian Benford recovered a fumble from Rodgers to return the ball for a seventeen-yard touchdown, followed by Prater kicking an extra point.
In the process, reaggravating Rodgers’ wrist injury, he had been playing through.
Nevertheless, things would go from bad to worse for Pittsburgh, as upon #2 Mason Rudolph substituting in for Rodgers, his second throw would result in an interception caught by Benford that eventually led to a one-yard passing touchdown from Allen to #0 Keon Coleman.
Afterwards, the extra point would be missed by Prater, but that wouldn’t be on fans’ minds for long.
In a decision, many were against, Rodgers would return to the game.
Yet in the grand scheme of things, this would be insignificant for Pittsburgh following an uneventful drive to close the third quarter, quickly into the fourth quarter, Allen rushed for an eight-yard touchdown, and Prater would kick an extra point.
Pittsburgh would attempt to come back, but a thirty-seven-yard field goal from Prater would secure Buffalo the victory.
A win that was largely credited to Cook, as the Pittsburgh defense seemed unable to stop him or any other runner from Buffalo, as the team allowed the most rushing yards ever in the history of the stadium
While it may not have been their flashiest win, Buffalo leaves Pittsburgh with many more positives than the home team.
Fans would actively express their concerns with the team, calling it arguably the worst second half of Tomlin’s tenure with the team.
Adding fuel to the fire was Rodgers’ post-game press conference, where the quarterback deflected blame to various teammates and officials.
Even Pittsburgh legend Jack Lambert would state on X (Formerly known as Twitter), “The Steelers are in big trouble.”
Other Week 13 results include:
- Green Bay Packers (8-3-1) def. Detroit Lions (7-5): 31-24
- Dallas Cowboys (6-5-1) def. Kansas City Chiefs (6-6): 31-28
- Cincinnati Bengals (4-8) def. Baltimore Ravens (6-6): 32-14
- Chicago Bears (9-3) def. Philadelphia Eagles (8-4): 24-15
- San Francisco 49ers (9-4) def. Cleveland Browns (3-9): 26-8
- Jacksonville Jaguars (8-4) def. Tennessee Titans (1-11): 25-3
- Houston Texans (7-5) def. Indianapolis Colts (8-4): 20-16
- Miami Dolphins (5-7) def. New Orleans Saints (2-10): 21-17
- New York Jets (3-9) def. Atlanta Falcons (4-8): 27-24
- Tampa Bay Buccaneers (7-5) def. Arizona Cardinals (3-9): 20-17
- Carolina Panthers (7-6) def. Los Angeles Rams (9-3): 31-28
- Seattle Seahawks (9-3) def. Minnesota Vikings (4-8): 26-0
- Los Angeles Chargers (8-4) def. Las Vegas Raiders (2-10): 26-7
- Denver Broncos (10-2) def. Washington Commanders (3-9): 27-26
- New England Patriots (11-2) def. New York Giants (2-11): 33-15
Heading into Week 14, Pittsburgh must navigate an injury to #99 Derrick Harmon while meeting an AFC North rival in Baltimore at M&T Stadium on Sunday at 1 p.m.
A game that would very well decide the division.
As for Buffalo, they go home to Highmark Stadium to meet another AFC North team in Cincinnati at the same time as they look to regain their top spot in the AFC East.
Nonetheless, Pittsburgh must their full effort if it wants to escape the hunt and earn a spot in the 2026 NFL playoffs.