Chicago Bears vs. Pittsburgh Steelers: Five quick takeaways from Week 2

Here are a few quick observations about the Chicago Bears and their thrilling overtime victory over the Pittsburgh Steelers.

Well…those of us who thought the Chicago Bears might not win a game until after Week 4 just got a pleasant surprise.

The Bears used some remarkable play from their stud running backs, Jordan Howard and Tarik Cohen, to topple the Pittsburgh Steelers in overtime today.

Howard battled through injury all day to carry the Bears’ offense on his back. Cohen sparked a magical finish with a huge run, nearly bringing down Soldier Field in the process. And the defense stepped up time and again when needed, including holding the Steelers to a field goal after a Mike Glennon interception.

After a hard first couple of weeks, the Bears fought back and kept proving that they can compete with top teams. The difference was that they finally came out on the right side of things this time.

Here are a few quick post-game thoughts about the game.

1. Jordan Howard and Tarik Cohen have the potential to be the best running back combo in the league.

Just look at what they accomplished today, carrying an otherwise lifeless Chicago Bears offense. They accounted, amazingly, for 289 of the Bears’ 304 total yards.

Howard, despite being in obvious pain, kept his legs churning against the Steelers, eventually wearing them down by the end of the game. And Cohen exploded for two huge plays, including the one that set Howard up to win the game.

The Chicago Bears could have their offense in far worse hands than those two’s. Hopefully, they can stay healthy enough to keep lighting defenses up like this for years to come.

Howard and Cohen’s styles provide the perfect contrast to keep teams off-balanced. Howard’s one-cut, downhill style clearly wore the Steelers down in this game, as evidenced by the last drive.

And Cohen’s ability to make men miss and accelerate in ridiculous time, like what he did to Ryan Shazier at one point, can gash teams that don’t stay disciplined.

Until the Bears get some wide receivers, their dominance may have to do.

2. Even in a win, Mike Glennon was utterly and completely useless.

Can someone provide me with any legitimate reason for why Glennon deserves credit for this win? Any at all?

The Bears clearly were terrified of letting Glennon do anything resembling challenging the Steelers’ defense. He averaged a disgusting 4.6 yards per completion, again simply refusing to throw to open receivers down the field. Oh, by the way, Chicago Bears wide receivers managed just nine yards on the day. Don’t tell me that’s just because they aren’t getting open.

Okay, some of it is because they’re dropping passes (Markus Wheaton…), but that’s still absurd execution.

Then, when the Bears gave him opportunities to throw later in the game, he repeatedly proved he can’t be trusted.

Aside from this throw, he threw another ill-advised pass that almost got undercut for a pick. Good thing that didn’t happen, or it would’ve likely cost the Bears their win.

3. Mitch Trubisky is one step closer to starting for the Chicago Bears.

Trubisky and the Bears can acknowledge his learning curve all they want, but nothing I have seen tells me that Chicago is running an offense that he can’t execute.

More from Da Windy City

• Juan Soto appears headed to the Yankees which is not a big blow Chicago Cubs offseason
• 3 takeaways from Chicago Blackhawks shootout loss to Nashville
• Chicago Cubs in the middle of chaos that is Shohei Ohtani’s free agency
• The Chicago Cubs are on a roller coaster of emotions chasing Shohei Ohtani
• Chicago Bears quietly compiling list of head coaching candidates

As mentioned before, I understand the logic in not making a switch on a short week against the Green Bay Packers. That’s not exactly putting the kid in the best spot to succeed.

But quit kidding yourself: Mitch Trubisky likely makes this Chicago Bears offense better very quickly.

For one thing, I imagine that he won’t look like a gimpy sloth when he’s forced to scramble or run a stretch play. His athleticism and ability to move in the pocket can create plays for the Bears that they’re simply missing right now.

Also, you can’t deny that Trubisky has both the arm strength to challenge a defense and the willingness to use it. Again, not screwing up can only do so much to win football games. At some point, your passing game actually has to threaten defenses if you want offensive success.

If anything, I wonder if this win might even help the Chicago Bears see that point more clearly, even if they don’t make this change immediately. It’s coming.

4. The Bears’ corners balled out

To an extent, there isn’t that much you can do about Antonio Brown racking up 100+ receiving yards on you. He’s simply a really good player. And to an extent, the Bears allowed him those underneath catches as long as they could tackle him before he got loose.

But on the whole, the Chicago Bears’ cornerbacks played the best game we’ve seen here since about 2012.

Prince Amukamara played very well in his return from injury, defending two passes and ending the game as Pro Football Focus’ highest-graded Bear.

Kyle Fuller keeps playing like he could be the best cornerback on this team. Despite picking up an early penalty and surrendering some yardage, he had two clutch passes defended against Brown. One was on a deep sideline throw that he perfectly played, and the other, while a missed interception, got the Bears the ball back in overtime with a chance to win.

And though he’ll be remembered for his idiotic special teams gaffe, Marcus Cooper had a dominant day in coverage.

Remember when everyone hated the Bears for passing on the top free agent corners?

Well, for right now, it certainly looks like they did just fine with that group.

5. This team still makes too many losing plays

Why do we keep having to watch this movie over and over again? What is so difficult about playing smart football, and why haven’t the Chicago Bears learned how to do it yet?

First, we have the Tarik Cohen fumble last week and a blown coverage in Week 1 that essentially cost them their first game.

Then, we have two hilariously bad plays to end the first half that very well could have lost them the game. If the Bears had lost this game by a touchdown, I would’ve cut Marcus Cooper right after the game. And, of course, the Bears couldn’t even pull out a touchdown when given the chance from the half yard line.

Seriously, what is the point of John Fox coaching this team if they’re going to be this foolish? Through three seasons of watching this, could anyone make the argument that the Chicago Bears are well-coached? I really can’t.

Next: Chicago Bears shock Steelers in overtime

In spite of the negatives, the Chicago Bears showed that maybe they’re not as bad as many people assumed. Maybe they’ll improve once a certain rookie takes over at quarterback…

Also, welcome to Packers Week, everyone!