Steelers get late field goal from Boswell, survive rally by Bears

The Pittsburgh Steelers’ string of consecutive home victories on Monday Night Football was put to the ultimate test by the Chicago Bears.

Despite holding 14-point leads in the first and third quarters and a 10-point advantage with less than seven minutes to play, the Steelers needed Chris Boswell’s 40-yard field goal with 26 seconds to pull out a 29-27 victory at Heinz Field.

The Steelers gave up three touchdowns in the fourth quarter and trailed, 27-26, with 1:46 to play before rallying for their 19th consecutive home victory under the Monday night lights. It’s a streak that dates to 1991 and didn’t appear to be in jeopardy when the Steelers held 14-0, 20-6 and 23-13 advantages.

Ben Roethlisberger led a seven-play, 52-yard drive that culminated in Boswell’s third field goal of the fourth quarter. It was Roethlisberger’s 50th career game-winning drive, tying him with Tom Brady for third place on the all-time list.

“Had it all the way, right?” said coach Mike Tomlin, who won his 150th career regular-season game, breaking a tie with predecessor Bill Cowher for the second-most regular-season wins in franchise history.

The win was the fourth in a row for the Steelers (5-3) and kept them a game behind first-place Baltimore in the AFC North. For the Bears (3-5), their fourth consecutive loss was sealed when kicker Cairo Santos was short on a 65-yard field-goal attempt at the final buzzer.

“The cool thing is we made the necessary plays,” Tomlin said. “Ben took the offense down the field. We got the necessary field goal and were able to close out the game. I’m thankful for that.”

Boswell, who began the week in concussion protocol, missed an extra point in the third quarter but made three field goals into the open end of Heinz Field in the final 15 minutes. He converted from 54 and 52 yards earlier in the fourth.

“It doesn’t matter,” Boswell said about kicking toward the scoreboard. “A kick is a kick. There was a good breeze in the middle of the field toward that end.”

It capped a busy final quarter for Boswell, who also recovered a fumble on the kickoff return following his field goal that put the Steelers ahead by 10 points.

“I took a pretty good shot and got folded in half,” Boswell said, “but I just saw the ball, grabbed it and the next thing I know, I’m at the bottom of a pile.”

Boswell’s missed extra point came after the Steelers went ahead, 20-6, in the third quarter on rookie tight end Pat Freiermuth’s second touchdown catch — and third in two games. Boswell’s 54-yard field goal pushed the lead back to double digits, 23-13, with 11:54 to play.

The momentum changed when Ray-Ray McCloud fumbled on a punt return. McCloud fielded the punt at the 20 and gained nine yards before linebacker Caleb Johnson jarred the ball loose. DeAndre Houston-Carson scooped and scored from 25 yards to pull the Bears within three points.

“I don’t care what it was. It was unacceptable,” Tomlin said when asked about McCloud fighting for extra yardage on the play.

The next drive appeared to end at midfield with 3:16 left when Roethlisberger was sacked by Cassius Marsh, who spent the final month of the 2020 season on the Steelers roster. Marsh, who was cut at the end of training camp, lingered on the field, looking at the Steelers sideline, and he was flagged for taunting.

This led to Boswell’s 52-yard field goal with 2:52 left that made it 26-20.

Taunting is a penalty that officials have been told to emphasize this year, and referee Tony Corrente said the flag was justified.

“I saw the player, after he made a big play, run toward the bench area of the Pittsburgh Steelers and posture in such a way that I felt he was taunting them,” Corrente said in a pool report.

Bears rookie quarterback Justin Fields needed just 66 seconds to give his team its first lead, 27-26. He finished off a 75-yard touchdown drive by hitting Darnell Mooney with a 16-yard touchdown pass. It came after Fields found Allen Robinson for a 39-yard completion against slot corner Arthur Maulet.

The clock showed 1:46 remaining when Roethlisberger trotted back onto the field.

“I thought they left me too much time,” he said.

Diontae Johnson’s 22-yard catch-and-run was the big gain for the Steelers, giving them a first down at the Chicago 32 with 59 seconds left.

After Roethlisberger came up a yard short on a third-and-2 run with 30 seconds left, Boswell put the Steelers ahead for good.

“We have, in my opinion, one of the best field goal kickers in the league,” Roethlisberger said. “I wasn’t thinking about a touchdown. I was thinking about getting us down in field goal range.”

Fields, though, worked the sidelines in the final moments and positioned the Bears at the Steelers 47 with two seconds left. Only when Santos’ 65-yarder fell short could the Steelers exhale.

“If you’ve done this long enough, you know very few leads are safe,” Roethlisberger said. “Games are never over, no matter how well you’re playing or how bad you’re playing. Tonight was one of those nights that hopefully we all can appreciate and know we have to play 60 minutes — and sometimes more.

“You can’t let up.”