The Pittsburgh Steelers (6-4) and the Chicago Bears (7-3) clash this week in the Windy City. Ahead of the big matchup between division leaders, I chatted with Bill Zimmerman, the deputy manager of SB Nation’s Bears website Windy City Gridiron, the figure out what the Steelers can expect from the Bears in Week 12.
You can read my questions and his answers below:
1. Caleb Williams is in Year 2. Has he looked like the player the Bears drafted him to be?
Has he looked like the player the Bears drafted him to be? No. Have we seen improvement this year that he seems to be trending in that direction? Absolutely. I think after his rookie season, a lot of people wanted to pile on him because he’s such a polarizing figure. Look, Williams didn’t have a fantastic rookie season, but he did throw for 3,600 yards and 20 touchdowns with just 6 interceptions. The advanced numbers weren’t great, and his sack numbers were alarmingly high, but when you have two head coaches, three offensive coordinators, and a raging dumpster fire all around you, things won’t look too good.
This year, Caleb has greatly improved his sack numbers; he’s cut them more than half, and his sack avoidance numbers are near the top of the league. He is playing more in rhythm and in structure as well. His accuracy has nose-dived, and that wasn’t an issue in college, so it’ll be interesting to see if Ben Johnson can figure out how to clear that up. He’s seeing the field well and has been making the right read more often than not. It feels like if Caleb can get more comfortable and realign his accuracy, he might be on the cusp of taking off. 2026 could be a breakout season if that’s the case.
2. The Bears are 7-3 and in first place in the NFC North right now. How has first-year head coach Ben Johnson transformed the team?
The most significant aspect to consider here is culture. Sometimes I feel like it’s a cop out answer, but it’s definitely true with this team. The Bears have been a losing organization for a long time. Just because a player comes from a winning program in college doesn’t mean they know what it takes to win at an NFL level. Same with front office and coaches. You may have been part of a winning organization, but when you are promoted and the culture that needs to be set falls on your shoulders, do you know how to do it? Whoever the Bears have asked over the last 15 years, they’ve all failed miserably. The Bears have been an organization that included fights among players, incompetent coaches, poor decision-makers, and ownership that certainly makes you question if they’ll ever put the right people in place.
When the Bears hired Ben Johnson, the knock on him was that he wasn’t a leader of men. He was a nerd who just wanted to sit in front of a whiteboard and dial up plays. But that hasn’t been the case at all. Johnson is intense to the point of being a borderline psycho, and I mean that in a good way. He has crazy attention to detail, and he came from a winning organization (crazy to say that about the Detroit Lions), and he learned how to build culture from a great culture builder in Dan Campbell. I think the Bears players have expected to lose when the game is on the line at the end of the game, but this team believes they are going to win, and they are making the plays they need to make when it matters most.
3. Chicago’s defense hasn’t been as high-flying as the offense. What are some of the strengths and weaknesses of Dennis Allen’s unit?
This entire defense was going to rely on an excellent back seven. But Jaylon Johnson has missed most of the season, Kyler Gordon has missed about half the season, and even Tyrique Stevenson has missed a couple of games. Suddenly, the secondary hasn’t been very good, and even LB TJ Edwards has missed multiple games. Suddenly, the Bears’ front four needed to step up with all the injuries, and they didn’t have the talent to do it. Jaylon Johnson and Kyler Gordon are getting closer to a return, but I don’t expect them back against Pittsburgh.
The team’s weakness is the pass rush on the front four. They just don’t win individual matchups and get to the quarterback. Montez Sweat is their best pass rusher, but he’s good, not great. Austin Booker is a second-year player who has flashed some big plays, but hasn’t played enough to know if he can become a consistent player. Grady Jarrett hasn’t had the results on the field that the team had hoped for, although last week was his best game of the season, so perhaps he’s turning the corner. But this front four has had some success stopping the run, but they just can’t generate a pass rush with four.
As for the strength, it’s Dennis Allen’s aggressive scheme. The defense does an excellent job of creating turnovers, and they do a great job of creating havoc in the blitz game (keep an eye on CJ Gardner-Johnson and Jaquan Brisker with that). They also play very well on third downs and do a good job of getting opposing offenses to fourth down. But you can certainly move the ball down the field on first and second down if the offense takes care of the football.
4. Who are two under-the-radar players, one each on offense and defense, who could make an impact on Sunday’s game?
It’s tough to give you an under-the-radar player on offense because most of their offensive skill players are very much on-the-radar type players. But two players that didn’t have too much impact in the first half of the season, that are starting to get more action on the offense and could make pretty big impacts, are rookies Colston Loveland and Luther Burden. Both of them have seen an increase in snap counts and are starting to be featured in the offense more and more. Don’t be surprised if Loveland burns the Steelers on a seam route or Burden has some success on intermediate routes as well.
On defense, I’ll say CJ Gardner-Johnson, who I mentioned in the last question. When Kyler Gordon was placed on IR, they signed CJ to play nickel and try to replace what Gordon does. He has done a great job with that. In 3 games, he has 3 sacks and 4 QB hits, and has also forced a fumble. He has been the playmaker the team has desperately needed on defense.
5. What’s your final score prediction, and why?
I’m having a hard time being objective in this one. As a Bears fan, I loathe Aaron Rodgers. I don’t want to see Mason Rudolph on the football field. I want Rodgers out there, and I want the Bears to make him look like he did against the Chargers. I can’t type that in what is almost certainly Aaron Rodgers’ last game against the Bears (if he plays), I cannot even come to make myself type that the Bears could lose.
So maybe I’m just confident in the Bears’ ability to win games, or maybe I just won’t allow myself to see a negative outcome. I say the Bears do win this one. I think the offense is going to be able to score on the Steelers’ defense, and if the Bears’ defense can force a couple of turnovers, I think Chicago comes up with the win. I’ll say 27 to 20.
