Mike Tomlin took a seat, grinned, and laughed sarcastically.
“Had ’em all the way, right?” remarked the longtime Pittsburgh Steelers coach following his team’s 29-27 victory over Chicago on Monday night.
No, not at all.
After a mistake by punt returner Ray-Ray McCloud and a flash of brilliance by Bears rookie quarterback Justin Fields, who put Chicago in ahead with a 16-yard bomb to Darnell Mooney with 1:46 left, a 10-point fourth-quarter advantage transformed into a one-point loss.
Pat Freiermuth, the Steelers’ rookie tight end, seems unfazed. Sure, the Bears were in front. The Steelers, on the other hand, had Ben Roethlisberger.
“I wasn’t nervous at all,” Freiermuth, who had two touchdown receptions, said. “This is something Ben has been doing for a long time. We all have faith in one another. When they scored, I was thinking to myself, ‘There’s too much time (left).’
That was the case.
After a 1-3 start, Roethlisberger led the Steelers 52 yards in seven plays, aided by Chicago’s 12th penalty of the night, to set up Chris Boswell’s 40-yard field goal with 26 seconds left, and Pittsburgh won their fourth consecutive.
Roethlisberger stated, “We’re finding ways to win the game.” “I think I did okay. This isn’t ideal. But, in terms of offense, we’re already doing enough.”
Roethlisberger threw for 205 yards and two touchdowns to Freiermuth on 21 of 30 passing, his 50th game-winning drive and 38th fourth-quarter comeback in his 18-year career. At perpetually windy Heinz Field, rookie running back Najee Harris scored for the fifth straight game, and Boswell kicked three field goals, two of which were over 50 yards, into the open end.
Steelers defensive end Cam Heyward described Boz as a serial killer. “He’s a little too calm.”
After the Steelers blew a seemingly comfortable lead when McCloud gave up the ball on a punt return midway through the fourth quarter, DeAndre Houston-Carson returned it 25 yards for a score to put the Bears within three, Boswell may have been the only one to relax.
Then things started to become odd. After sacking Roethlisberger on third down, Chicago appeared to earn a stop on Pittsburgh’s next possession, only to have linebacker Cassius Marsh — who spent training camp with the Steelers — get called for taunting.
Marsh’s celebration appeared to be harmless, however the league has been cracking down on any hint of taunting this season.
“I watched the athlete sprint toward the Pittsburgh Steelers bench area after he made a major play and posture in such a way that I felt he was taunting them,” referee Tony Corrente stated.
Marsh’s teammates defended him, with Roquan Smith, a linebacker, calling the penalty “BS.” Marsh shook his head and shrugged his shoulders.
