Steelers force overtime before falling to Bears
CHICAGO — The Steelers weren't on the field while the national anthem played Sunday. Some would say they also weren't on the field when the game ended.
Despite rallying from a 10-point halftime deficit, the Steelers watched the Chicago Bears move effortlessly down the field on the first possession of overtime. Jordan Howard's 19-yard run on the fourth play of the extra session sent the Steelers to a 23-17 defeat at Soldier Field.
It was a deflating way to end a game that began with the Steelers remaining in the tunnel when the anthem was performed as a unified protest against President Donald Trump.
"I'm not going to sit here and call it a distraction," defensive end Cam Heyward said after the loss. "We stand by our choice, and we go on with life."
It was another road loss for the Steelers against a team with a losing record. They are 7-13 in such situations since the start of the 2012 season. They also are 5-10 in early-season road games against all competition dating to 2011.
Faced with the possibility of taking over sole possession of first place in the AFC North, the Steelers had two breakdowns on special teams that led to 10 points and a 17-7 halftime deficit. And despite entering the game with the NFL's eighth-best rushing defense, they allowed the Bears to run for 220 yards, with Howard accounting for 138 yards and two touchdowns.
"We just didn't perform," cornerback Joe Haden said. "(The anthem decision) didn't make us miss tackles, stuff like that. I don't think it had anything to do with it."
At least the Steelers weren't the only unbeaten division team to fall flat Sunday. The Baltimore Ravens were thrashed by the Jacksonville Jaguars, 44-7, in London. The Steelers travel to Baltimore next Sunday for a matchup of 2-1 teams.
"We've still got 13 other games," said guard Ramon Foster, who left in the first half with a left hand injury and did not return. "We're 2-1. There are teams that are 0-3. We'll be all right."
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The Steelers will try to get their highly touted, supposed high-scoring offense on track after another middling performance. Ben Roethlisberger, playing much of the game without two starting linemen, passed for 235 yards and one touchdown but completed only 22 of 39 attempts and had an 82.7 passer rating.
Le'Veon Bell had 61 yards rushing and a touchdown, and Antonio Brown caught 10 passes for 110 yards and a score. Yet the Steelers were held to their lowest scoring total of the season and are averaging 21 points through three weeks.
"I will take this game on me," Roethlisberger said. "I did not play well enough. I missed too many throws, did not make good reads … turned the ball over on a sack fumble. I cannot do that, so this one is on me."
The Bears did their best to give the game back to the Steelers. After Chicago blocked a field-goal attempt at the end of the first half, Marcus Cooper Sr. was running for an apparent touchdown when he pulled up short of the goal line. Vance McDonald knocked the ball loose, and it was punched out of the end zone by holder Jordan Berry.
After officials sorted out the confusion, the Bears kicked a field goal for a 17-7 lead that would have been 21-7 had Cooper crossed the goal line.
The Steelers rallied in the second half. In the third quarter, Ryan Shazier stripped Howard of the ball and recovered at the Bears 16. This led to Bell's 1-yard touchdown run.
J.J. Wilcox's interception of Mike Glennon at the Bears 21 with 8 minutes 57 seconds remaining led to Chris Boswell's 32-yard field goal that tied the score 17-17.
After yielding 114 rushing yards in the first half, the Steelers held the Bears in check in the second half.
Overtime was a different story.
The Bears ran the ball on all four plays. Tarik Cohen gained 36 yards on the second play, stepping on the sideline to wipe out what appeared to be a game-ending 73-yard touchdown run.
No matter. Howard peeled off the left end for 18 yards, putting the ball on the Steelers 19. He went through the left side of the Steelers defense on the next play and didn't stop until he reached the end zone.
Opponents had averaged 74 rushing yards against the Steelers through two games. And the Steelers allowed 237 total yards apiece to the Cleveland Browns and Minnesota Vikings, giving them the NFL's No. 3-ranked defense.
"If you're going to have over 100 yards rushing in the first half, you're going to have a lot of confidence," linebacker Ryan Shazier said. "You feel like you can do what you want, and I think that's how they felt. They kept testing our will to see if we could slow them down, and I guess we didn't do a good enough job."
Heyward was more succinct in his analysis.
"We got our (butts) kicked today," he said.
Joe Rutter is a Tribune-Review staff writer. Reach him at jrutter@tribweb.com or via Twitter @tribjoerutter.
