The Bears have started 2-0 and the Steelers have started 0-2. However, none of the 4 games these two teams have combined to play have been blowouts. Sure, the Steelers have looked like they clearly have some major problems and the Bears have been coming up big when it has mattered most, even though there has been subpar play that has led up to that. So where do I see this game ending? Well....
It's hard to say. I'll come right out and say that I think the Bears will win. I mean, the Bears beat a team that the Steelers lost to (the Bengals). However, there's a lot more to it than that, and I generally find that argument to be a pretty silly one.
The first thing is matchups. Certain teams just match up against others better. The Bears could easily have the advantage as a whole here, as Pittsburgh's weakest link right now is their offensive line. The Bears, on the other hand, have a talented defensive line that just hasn't been getting any pressure this year. Stephen Paea, Henry Melton, Corey Wootton, and Julius Peppers are way too talented of a group for that trend to continue, and going against a weak Pittsburgh offensive line may just be the cure. The one advantage that Pittsburgh does have is that they play a 3-4 defense, which is something that the Bears don't see very often. However, there are enough veterans on the team that have seen 3-4 defenses on the offensive end of the ball, especially since they at least get to see them twice a year with the Packers. At the same time, Cutler hasn't been especially successful against 3-4 defenses, but at the same time, this has been a bit of a different Cutler this season, so it will be interesting to see how that works out.
The second thing is that anything can happen any given day. Teams can play great one week and terrible the next. Some days guys just have it and sometimes they don't. That's just how it works out. That's why teams play every game and don't just sit out games when there's a lopsided matchup. I mean, it would really lower the risk of injury if they just decided to give the game to the better team, but they don't, because of that whole "Any given Sunday" thing.
So what do I see happening? Well, west coast offenses generally are pretty good against 3-4 defenses, but the success rate isn't anything out of this world. So that's really no guarantee, especially since the style of offense the Bears are playing is so new to most of the players on offense. One of the big things I'm looking at is that the Steelers, as the media has told us all week, are indeed a very hungry team, a wounded animal if you will. The game is also being played in Pittsburgh, the first road game of the season for the Bears. While teams play road games all the time, the Bears are implementing a new offense, and if crowd noise can become any sort of factor it can be a huge advantage for the Steelers.
In the end, I think it will be a close game. While the Bears are clearly the better team to me, the Steelers are no joke. They still have a good defense with one of the best defensive coordinators in league history. Their offense is not very strong at all, but there are still enough weapons that they will be able to take advantage of mistakes that are made. I see the Bears pulling out a 27-17 win, with the last 7 points for the Bears coming later in the game after a few tense moments.
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