Chicago Bears vs. Pittsburgh Steelers Matchup Preview (11/8/21): Betting Odds, Depth Charts, Live Stream (Watch Online)

Chicago Bears vs. Pittsburgh Steelers Matchup Preview (11/8/21)

Week 9 closes on Monday night as the Chicago Bears travel to Heinz Field to take on the Pittsburgh Steelers.  In week 8, the Bears defense allowed seven consecutive scoring drives and lost to the 49ers, 33-22, falling to two games under .500 at 3-5.  This past weekend, the Steelers beat their long time AFC North division rival Cleveland Browns 15-10, pushing their record to 4-3.  Chicago is averaging a dismal 10.5 points per game on the road, while the Steelers are scoring 19.5 points per game at home.  

The Bears are the first team since the Tennessee Titans in 2008 to have fewer than 200 passing yards in each of their first eight games of the season.  While Pittsburgh is allowing 345.7 total yards of offense to their opponents in 2021, ranking the 11^th in the NFL.  

The Steelers are a 6.5-point home favorite this week.  The Bears 3-5 against the spread in 2021; 1-3 on the road.  

Chicago Bears vs. Pittsburgh Steelers Betting Odds

The kicking game could become an issue on Monday night.  Bears kicker Cairo Santos missed a critical extra point during the 4^th quarter in the 49ers game; the kick would have tied it early in the fourth quarter; hopefully his confidence doesn’t go away. Santos is 100% on field goal attempts and 92.3% on extra points in 2021.  As Bears fans know, kicking can be the difference between winning and losing.

Chris Boswell has been the NFL‘s most accurate kicker since 2019, making 60 of 64 of his attempts for a 94% accuracy; he was knocked out of the week 8 game against the Browns due to a head injury.  Currently Boswell is in the concussion protocol and is questionable for Monday’s game.  He’s a difference maker whose consistency makes him one of the best kickers in the NFL.  If he can’t kick, can Josh Lambo (signed on Tuesday) be counted on to make a big kick? 

My Prediction: Steelers 24-13, Steelers cover and over/under is over 40 points.   

TV Schedule

Date: November 8th, 2021
Time: 8:30 PM ET
Location: Heinz Field, Pittsburgh PA
TV Coverage: ESPN

Chicago Bears vs. Pittsburgh Steelers Live Stream

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Chicago Bears Analysis

In the loss on Sunday to the 49ers, Justin Fields played his most dynamic game in his short NFL career.  His ridiculous 22-yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter showed how he could create when things break down in the pocket.  He looked like the quarterback that accounted for 78 touchdowns (63 passing and 15 rushing) in his last two seasons at Ohio State to become a first round pick.  In the loss to San Francisco, Fields threw for 175 yards and touchdown.  The rookie signal caller also ran for 103 yards and a score, the first Bears quarterback to rush for 100 yards in a game since Bobby Douglass on November 4, 1973, at Green Bay.  The Bears #1 became the first Chicago quarterback with 175 passing yards and at least 100 rushing yards in a game since at least 1950.  With the Bears offense playing poorly, Fields mobility is key in keeping a play alive.  Using NFL Next Gen Stats, Fields was 4-4 for 40 yards on designed rollouts and rushed for 89 yards on scrambles against San Francisco.  For the season, the former Buckeye has thrown for 991 yards while adding 243 yards on the ground and accounting for five touchdowns (three passing and two rushing).  The Bears must continue the momentum and allow Fields to create on the field using his incredible abilities to make plays outside the pocket.

Darnell Mooney leads Chicago in receiving with 33 catches for 409 yards and a touchdown.  Mooney seems to be Fields go-to guy, being targeted 34 times in the past five weeks.  Allen Robinson seems to continue being the forgotten man in the Bears’ offense with or without Matt Nagy calling plays.  I was truly surprised he wasn’t traded this past Tuesday.  On the season he has 26 receptions for 271 yards and a touchdown.  In his career the Bears #12 has averaged 60.4 catches per season (in 2017 he only played in one game due to injury).   In the last five weeks he’s been targeted 23 times; in week 1 he was targeted 11 times at the Rams.  The Penn State product has three 1,000 yard receiving seasons in his career including twice as a Bear; being the team’s leading receiver in 2019 (1,147) and 2020 (1,250).   This season Robinson has fewer than 70 yards receiving in each game, for comparison he had over 70 yards receiving in 12 games last season.  

Tight End Cole Kmet is another weapon that could help with the development of the young Bears quarterback.  The second-year tight end has 22 receptions in 2021, averaging 9 yards a catch.   Jimmy Graham is also expected back this week after being on the reserve/COVID-19 list, he could be a dangerous target for the Bears in the red zone.  

Quarterback Ben Roethlisberger looked as though his tank was empty at the end of last season and the early part of the 2021 season.  The two-time Super Bowl champion has played better as Pittsburgh’s running game has improved.   During Pittsburgh’s three game winning streak the 18-year veteran, has thrown for 748 yards, four touchdowns and no interceptions.  When he doesn’t throw an interception in a game the Steelers are undefeated in 2021.  On the season, Big Ben has passed for 1,781 yards, eight touchdowns with 65.1 completion percentage.

Chicago Bears Depth Chart

QB: Justin Fields
RB1: David Montgomery
RB2: Damien Williams
WR1: Darnell Mooney
WR2: Allen Robinson II
WR3: Marquise Goodwin
TE1: Cole Kmet
TE2: Jimmy Graham

Pittsburgh Steelers Analysis

Quarterback Ben Roethlisberger looked as though his tank was empty at the end of last season and the early part of the 2021 season.  The two-time Super Bowl champion has played better as Pittsburgh’s running game has improved.   During Pittsburgh’s three game winning streak the 18-year veteran, has thrown for 748 yards, four touchdowns and no interceptions.  When he doesn’t throw an interception in a game the Steelers are undefeated in 2021.  On the season, Big Ben has passed for 1,781 yards, eight touchdowns with 65.1 completion percentage.

The Pittsburgh ground attack is averaging 86 yards per game ranking them 28^th in the NFL.  After a slow start to the season for first round pick Najee Harris, rushing for 185 yards and a touchdown in his first four games of the 2021 campaign, Harris has rushed for 294 yards and two touchdowns in his last three contests: rushing for a career-high 122 yards in the victory over Denver in week 5.  

Diontae Johnson is the Steelers leading receiver with 40 receptions for 474 yards and three touchdowns.  Chase Claypool is second on the team in receiving yardage with 403 yards.  The

Notre Dame product is averaging 15.5 yards per reception and is Pittsburgh’s downfield threat.

The Steelers can still get to the quarterback with 19 sacks in 2021.  They have at least four sacks in 19 games since 2019.    T.J. Watt is one of 13 players with at least seven sacks in each of their first 5 seasons (58 total sacks). 

Rookie running back Khalil Herbert has run the ball well in four games since David Montgomery has been out with a knee injury.  The sixth-round pick in 2021, has rushed for 344 yards and a touchdown in Chicago’s last four contests.  But beware since Montgomery is eligible to come off injured reserve this week.

Pittsburgh Steelers Depth Chart

QB: Ben Roethlisberger
RB1: Najee Harris
RB2: Benny Snell Jr
WR1: Diontae Johnson
WR2: Chase Claypool
WR3: James Washington
TE1: Eric Ebron
TE2: Pat Freiermuth

Chicago Bears vs. Pittsburgh Steelers Daily Fantasy Picks

With Eric Ebron nursing an injury, rookie tight end Pat Freiermuth should take on a bigger role in the Steelers offense.  In the Steelers win over the Browns in week 8, the rookie caught a touchdown pass.  The Penn State product is a talented pass catcher.  In his career as a Nittany Lion he caught 92 passes for 1,185 yards and 16 touchdowns and was looked upon as a reliable receiver in the red zone.  On the season, Freiermuth has 22 catches for 222 yards and two touchdowns.