Every Thursday throughout the 2021 regular season, Bears Wire will take a look back at some of the most memorable moments in Chicago Bears history.
September 22, 2013: Bears defeat Steelers 40-23 to start season 3-0
The Chicago Bears travel to the Steel City this week to take on the Pittsburgh Steelers in prime time. The last time the Bears faced the Steelers on the road was eight years ago, which also happened to be a night game. It was three weeks into the short-lived Marc Trestman era, but the Bears were riding high. They had started 2-0 and were looking for their first road win of the year.
Like their season, Chicago got off to a hot start. They scored a field goal on their opening possession, then got the ball right back when they stripped-sacked Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger on the Steelers’ opening drive. The fumble led to a touchdown by Matt Forte to make it 10-0. The star running back then kept the points coming, ripping off a 55-yard run to set backup Michael Bush for a rushing touchdown of his own. The Bears were up 17-0 at the end of the first quarter and this one looked like it was already over. The Bears defense wanted to make sure of it.
Though they fell off significantly during much of Trestman’s tenure, the Bears defense still had some juice early on. Roethlisberger was beaten up by the front seven, getting sacked three times on the day, two of which came from linebacker D.J. Williams. Turnovers also continued to be a problem as the future Hall of Fame quarterback threw a pick six to safety Major Wright in the second quarter, giving the Bears a 24-3 lead. But the Steelers weren’t going away quietly.
Roethlisberger relied on emerging superstar wide receiver Antonio Brown to get points and he delivered. Brown caught nine passes for 196 yards and two touchdowns, his best performance of his career at that time, to pull Pittsburgh within seven points. The Bears lead narrowed to 27-20 late in the third quarter, but they wouldn’t let it get closer than that.
For much of the night, Jay Cutler was dinking and dunking the ball for short gains while relying on the running game. In the fourth quarter, however, he decided to let loose – both in the air and on the ground. Cutler began completing deeper passes to his wide receivers while also gaining yards on the ground. On a third down, he scrambled for 13 yards, capped off with a hard hit he put on the defender to move the chains. The drive ended with an impressive touchdown toe-tapping catch by Earl Bennett to extend the lead.
Not to be outdone by the offense, the defense had one final trick up their sleeve. Lance Briggs casually stripped Roethlisberger for another fumble, this one picked up by Julius Peppers, who ran his way into the endzone for the score. It was the finishing touch on a dominant 41-23 victory for the 3-0 Bears. The win was also arguably the most complete victory of the Trestman era, with offense and defense both playing at a high level.
Can the Bears find similar success when they make their return to Pittsburgh on Monday night? We’ll find out soon enough when both teams square off in primetime yet again.
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