Bears Drop 30+ on Steelers Defense
by Bo Marchionte
@bomarchionte | College2Pro.com
Published November 23, 2025, 5:19 PM
PITTSBURGH, PA – For a team that preaches The Standard Is The Standard, the Pittsburgh Steelers aren’t even close to living up to their own mantra. Not on defense, not with this payroll, and not in games like Sunday’s 31–28 loss to the Chicago Bears.
The ugly truth hit even harder in the locker room when T.J. Watt, the Steelers highest-paid defender on the highest-paid defense in all of football, didn’t sugarcoat a thing.
“We have a lot of things that need to be fixed, fixed quickly,” said T.J. Watt. “Need to be playing our best football at this stretch of the season. We need to get better and get better quicker.”
The message is honest. But the reality? This team keeps saying the same thing every week and nothing gets fixed.
And for the price they’re paying, it’s becoming embarrassing.
$178,904,919 and 16th in points allowed
That’s not a typo. That’s not rounded. That’s the actual number (according to asking Google).
The Steelers rank No. 1 in the NFL in total defensive spending: $178.9 million.
And in return?
A defense sitting 16th in points allowed.
Not exactly bang for their buck.
Pittsburgh has now had six games allowing 25+ points, including Sunday’s 31-spot by a Chicago team that entered with more questions than answers. For a defensive unit carrying this much talent and this much financial weight, the results aren’t mediocre, they’re unacceptable.
Yet through it all, Mike Tomlin remains committed to the status quo.
Tomlin Defends His Late-Game Management
Down three, with time melting away, the Steelers showed almost no urgency. A slow, plodding fourth quarter left fans stunned. When asked afterward, Tomlin defended his approach to the timeouts.
“I was holding all three and as you can see, we got the ball back,” said Tomlin, clearly frustrated by the fourth loss to the Bears in their last five games.
Technically true. Functionally pointless.
The Steelers didn’t lose because of clock management alone, but the lack of urgency felt symbolic of a bigger issue, a team playing like it expects wins to fall into its lap instead of going and taking them.
A game that got away, again.
On paper, it was a marquee matchup, 6-4 Pittsburgh, leaders of the AFC North, against 7-3 Chicago, leaders of the NFC North.
When the final seconds drained away, it was Chicago winners of four of their last five who walked out with another victory, while Pittsburgh now faces a Buffalo Bills team next week at home in dire straits themselves.
The game itself had everything. Momentum swings, turnovers, and big plays. But what mattered most was who capitalized and it wasn’t Pittsburgh.
“You know, I thought was a hardcore game,” said Tomlin. “Certainly got a compliment Coach Johnson and the Bears man on a winning performance, like I just told the team, and it’s tight when it’s good on good particularly when you’re in a hostile environment, any number of plays could have changed the outcome of the game, and that’s why we just got to live every down singularly in all three phases, knowing that. And I think today was very good illustration of that.”
Tomlin nailed it. This wasn’t a debacle on behalf of the Steelers, but the defense was built to be relied upon to save these nail-biting games. The exact games Pittsburgh usually finds itself in. Wins are ugly and loses a little uglier. Chicago is 8-3 after the win. Pittsburgh slips to 6-5 the same exact record as the Baltimore Ravens.
“Margin fair is slim every week. It’s the National Football League,” said Watt post-game when asked about the Ravens now sitting firmly in the standings.
Winners of their last four games, the Ravens have erased the once glamours lead the Steelers had in the AFC North.
And every time the situation demanded urgency, the Steelers drifted.
Fourth-and-one failures, long Chicago touchdown drives, blown coverages, and a bafflingly slow final quarter all blended into a familiar script: Pittsburgh giving themselves little chance to win.
Down ten. On the road with a win hanging in the balance. A fast-paced strike needed.
Instead?
The Steelers used nearly eight minutes on a 17-play, 73-yard drive that felt more like a leisurely Sunday yoga session than a comeback attempt.
There was no push.
No tempo.
No killer instinct.
Later, getting the ball back with 4:37 left still down three Pittsburgh didn’t snap the ball until 3:53. Then, facing 4th-and-9 near midfield, they punted. With under two minutes left.
It was coaching conservatism at its worst and a defense that hadn’t proved it could get a stop all day.
Predictably, they didn’t.
Game over.
The Standard Isn’t the Standard. Not Even Close
Photo Credit Frank Hyatt/College2Pro.com
