The ninth week of the NFL 2021 season concludes with another questionable primetime clash as the Pittsburgh Steelers play host to the Chicago Bears in what would historically have been a huge game but doesn’t really carry standout potential to be worthy of a Monday Night Football.
Despite that we do have it to enjoy on Monday night and during the game the Steelers will be looking to strengthen their record for the season, while the Bears will be looking to end a recent losing slump.
Pittsburgh Steelers
The Pittsburgh Steelers have played largely under the radar this season. One reason for that is because they haven’t been at their best and another reason is because some of the younger stars in the league have come to the fore and taken a lot of the limelight. The Steelers have been written off by a lot of judges this term but they go into this match off the back of three straight wins. Having seen the Baltimore Ravens and the Cleveland Browns win this week, the Steelers are under pressure to follow suit.
You could argue that the Steelers’ wins in this three match burst haven’t been overly convincing but they are steadily improving all the time, especially in the run game, and with some key defensive players also getting up to speed you sense the Steelers still very much have a part to play this season. A lot of their success will come down to keeping Ben Roethlisberger fit. He has been suffering with a hip issue this week but he is expected to play.
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Chicago Bears
This season was never going anywhere fast under Andy Dalton. The whole world knew it was only a matter of time before Justin Fields was a starter for the Chicago Bears, and although they are only 3-5 for the season, there have been signs that Fields might develop into what Chicago are looking for. His mobility makes him a much better proposition to Dalton and if he can tighten up his radar a little bit the Bears might have that elusive franchise quarterback.
Fields does need to start to limit the interceptions though because it has killed this team. Another thing which isn’t helping them is a raft of injuries on the defensive side of the ball and what was very much the strength of the Bears outfit hasn’t been allowed to show those skills recently. One concern for the Bears is when they lose they are rarely in the game. They need to be more competitive week on week but you hope that will come when Fields is fully settled into the position.
Betting
While the three wins of the Pittsburgh Steelers going into this match have only been by a cumulative 16 points, they look an absolutely terrible matchup for the Chicago Bears, whose five losses this season have all been by 10 points or more. They can argue they have been beaten by good teams but the Steelers might just be better than people are giving them credit for. Heinz Field is never the easiest place to go either.
The Bears have a couple of problems here. They have an undermanned defence due to injuries and they have a quarterback who isn’t getting much protection and who is likely to be under a lot of pressure here. This match might well be on Fields too because teams don’t find it easy to run the ball on Pittsburgh. The good thing for Pittsburgh is the Bears rank as one of the worst teams against the run and their own rushing game is improving by the week so that can take some of the heat off Roethlisberger here. This has been a strange weekend for results but I don’t expect Chicago to pull off another upset. I’ll back the Steelers to win and cover.
Tips
Back Pittsburgh Steelers (-6.5) to beat Chicago Bears for a 3/10 stake at 1.91 with Betfair
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