Tim Benz: Chris Boswell, T.J. Watt, Pat Freiermuth lead 'Feats of Strength' after harrowing Steelers win over Bears

It could’ve been a pedestrian win for the Pittsburgh Steelers, right?

A plain old 20-something to 12 or 13 victory against a sub-mediocre Chicago Bears team.

I mean, that’s the way it was pacing on “Monday Night Football” late in the third quarter when the Steelers went up 20-6.

But who are we kidding? These are the Steelers. They aren’t comfortable until they make us uncomfortable.

So, there were plenty of grievances for us to air along with our “Feats of Strength” after a 29-27 nail-biting victory at Heinz Field Monday night.

Feats of Strength

Red zone referendum: The Steelers offense was 3 for 3 in the red zone. The Bears were 2 for 4.

The Steelers defense stuffed a Chicago red zone sequence that started at the 10-yard line with 57 seconds left in the second quarter. It only resulted in a field goal.

They did the same thing on Chicago’s first drive of the third quarter. It was a goal-to-go set of downs that started at the Steelers’ four-yard line, got to the one, then fell back to the 16 via penalty for another three points instead of seven.

Meanwhile, Pat Freiermuth was part of making the Steelers effective deep in Bears territory. The rookie tight end had touchdown catches of 10 yards and four yards.

Pat Freiermuth rises for his second TD of the night! #HereWeGo @pat_fry5

: #CHIvsPIT on ESPN
: https://t.co/leKnrGxv9H pic.twitter.com/xzBNltJI43

— NFL (@NFL) November 9, 2021

MUUUUUUUUUUUTH@pat_fry5 | : ESPN pic.twitter.com/iuBWXPx93S

— Pittsburgh Steelers (@steelers) November 9, 2021

The Steelers entered the night 10 for 18 (55.6%) in the red zone, 21st in the NFL. They are now at 61.9%, 14th in the league. Opposing teams are now 12 of 25 against the Steelers (48%). That’s fourth best among NFL defenses.

Bounceback Boz: After missing an extra point following Freiermuth’s second touchdown, kicker Chris Boswell nailed a 54-yard field goal to make it 23-13 Steelers.

On the ensuing kickoff, Bears wide receiver Jakeem Grant Sr. fumbled, and the ball rolled right to a waiting Boswell.

The Steelers kicker — coming off of a concussion last week — then got drilled at the 42-yard line by three Chicago special teamers.

Chris. Boswell. Recovers. The. Fumble.

: ESPN pic.twitter.com/OREwZ3dKfR

— Pittsburgh Steelers (@steelers) November 9, 2021

Boswell recovered from the hit and added a 52-yard field goal later in the game to make the score 26-20. He capped the night with a game-winning field goal of 40 yards with 30 seconds on the clock for the decisive 29-27 final score. His 13 field goals made from 50 yards or farther are the most in Steelers history.

Flag fest: The Steelers did a better job avoiding penalties on a night when the officials were plenty happy to call them.

Chicago drew 12 flags for 115 yards. The Steelers were only hit for five, totaling 30 yards.

The most damaging flag for Chicago was thrown against Cassius Marsh. The former Steelers linebacker sacked Ben Roethlisberger on third down at the Steelers’ 46-yard line. Then he was flagged for either a jump kick that wasn’t much worse than anything T.J. Watt ever does in celebration of his sacks.

Or for — I guess — staring down the Steelers bench. And how about referee Tony Corrente leaning into Marsh with a hip while throwing the flag?

The league is going to need to issue an explanation about that one. Corrente said after the game that his decision to throw the flag was about Marsh making his way toward the Steelers bench with a “posture in such a way” that he felt the taunting was worthy of a flag.

Hat trick time: Kasperi Kapanen wasn’t the only guy with a hat trick in Pittsburgh this week.

Watt tallied three sacks.

This is the part where we say TURN DOWN FOR WATT @_TJWatt | : ESPN
Bid on exclusive T.J. Watt items in the #RockSteelersStyle auction: https://t.co/EYf0uQ3AN5 pic.twitter.com/VYhHVo1ZXv

— Pittsburgh Steelers (@steelers) November 9, 2021

With that sack, Watt hit 60 for his career in just 69 games. Only Reggie White (50), J.J. Watt (66) and Derrick Thomas (67) have hit 60 sacks in fewer games played.

That brings his season total to 11.5, just half a sack behind NFL leader Myles Garrett. Watt also batted down a pass at the line of scrimmage on the game’s penultimate snap to force Bears kicker Cairo Santos into a 65-yard field goal attempt that missed and secured victory for the Steelers.

Airing of Grievances

Trouble with the tight end: The Steelers managed to hold Bears running back David Montgomery to 63 yards rushing. Mike Tomlin made a big point about guarding wide receiver Darnell Moody. He scored twice (once on the ground), yet only ended up with 41 yards receiving on three catches.

But the team had issues keeping track of the Chicago tight ends.

Cole Kmet caught six passes for 87 yards. And Jimmy Graham had a 28-yard reception to set up the Bears’ first touchdown on the club’s opening drive of the fourth quarter.

No way, Ray-Ray: I think Ray-Ray McCloud was the victim of a bad call on his punt return fumble in the fourth quarter that resulted in a Bears touchdown.

He sure looked down to me.

Another look at that fumble. #Steelers pic.twitter.com/AYmic5Od7R

— Chad Tyson (@chadtyson) November 9, 2021

Just because you can see the back side of the ball, that doesn’t mean it was being fumbled until it was smooshed out of McCloud’s possession by Caleb Johnson.

But, c’mon, Ray-Ray. You don’t need to make a play there. Just go down and protect the ball and the game is over.

After the game, Tomlin called the fumble “unacceptable.”

Questions about the clock: In his postgame comments, Tomlin said the decision to stop the clock with a spike on second-and-2 with 40 seconds left in the game was done to catch the Bears with 12 men on the field. But they only had 11 on at the time. So, all that did was essentially act as a free stoppage for the Bears.

Then, Roethlisberger made a nice read to keep the ball on a roll out on third-and-2. But he only got about five of the six feet needed. So, the Steelers had to trot out Boswell for the game-winning field goal attempt with 30 seconds left following a Chicago timeout.

That gave Chicago at least enough time to cross midfield before trying the missed 65-yard kick to end the game.