Caleb Williams threw three touchdown passes, the defense came away with two turnovers, and the Bears held off the Aaron Rodgers-less Pittsburgh Steelers 31-28 on Sunday at Soldier Field for their fourth straight win.

Three moments that mattered

1. Sweet Sweat: DE Montez Sweat’s defensive trifecta – sack (second of the day), forced fumble and fumble recovery – came with the Bears protecting a 24-21 lead late in the third quarter. The Bears’ second turnover of the day led to a nine-play, 54-yard drive that RB Kyle Monangai capped with a 2-yard touchdown run.

2. Watt are you thinking, Caleb?: Caleb Williams’ Houdini act of magically avoiding sacks with his athleticism expired when LB T.J. Watt grabbed the Bears QB, spun him and body-slammed in the end zone early in the second quarter. Watt’s 25th career strip/sack resulted in LB Nick Herbig recovering the ball in the end zone for a touchdown, putting the Steelers up 14-7.

3. He’s all Wright: Nahshon Wright’s highly unexpected, highly productive season continued with the cornerback’s fifth interception and the Bears’ league-leading 23rd takeaway early in the first quarter. Wright soared in front of WR DK Metcalf down the left sideline and then deftly got both feet inbounds. The pick led to Williams’ 5-yard TD pass to D.J. Moore to open the scoring.

Three things that worked

1. Second-half Caleb: Williams was better at delivering the ball quicker and in rhythm after Watt ragdolled him in the first half. After completing only 10 of 21 passes for 121 yards in the first half, Williams finished 19 of 35 for 239 yards (three TDs, no interceptions).

2. Believing in Burden: The Bears tried getting rookie WR Luther Burden III more involved in the passing game last week against Minnesota and had mixed results, at best. They went back to him again Sunday, and the results were better. Burden had three receptions for 46 yards (all in the first half), including a beautifully designed play for 19 yards that set up Cairo Santos’ 47-yard field goal as time expired in the first half.

3. Love for Loveland: It took a while, but Williams and rookie TE Colston Loveland are finally showing chemistry game to game – showing why the Bears took the rugged and athletic Loveland with the 10th overall pick in the draft. Loveland’s 12-yard TD catch from Williams, which tied the score at 14-all in the second quarter, was his third and first since his dramatic game-winner against Cincinnati three weeks ago. Loveland had three catches for 38 yards in the first half and finished with four receptions, including a juggling grab late, for 49 yards.

Three things that didn’t

1. Taking advantage of A-Rod’s absence: The Steelers declared Bears nemesis Aaron Rodgers (broken left wrist) inactive about 90 minutes before kickoff. Veteran QB Mason Rudolph didn’t riddle the Bears defense, but he took advantage of what was given him. He completed 10 of 11 passes in the first half, with the only miss being Wright’s interception on a rare deep ball. Rudolph engineered a 17-play drive in the fourth quarter, capping it with a 3-yard TD pass to TE Pat Freiermuth with 6:27 left.

2. Defending the second tush push: The Bears stuffed the Steelers on a fourth-and-1 tush push midway through the second quarter. The Steelers went back to the play late in the half, and the Bears bit. Kenneth Gainwell took a short pitch, raced outside and sped 55 yards to the 1. The well-disguised play led to Jaylen Warren’s TD with 1:19 left, putting the Steelers up 21-14.

3. New-look linebacking crew: With injured starters T.J. Edwards, Tremaine Edmunds and Noah Sewell all out, the Bears were forced to run out a combination of Ruben Hyppolite II, D’Marco Jackson, Daniel Hardy and Amen Ogbongbemiga. Early on, the backups showed why they’re backups. Rudolph picked apart the defense with short passes, and the Bears couldn’t stop the run either. Hyppolite hurt his shoulder early and did not return. Jackson and Ogbongbemiga were busy all day, finishing with 15 and 14 tackles, respectively.

What’s next?

The 8-3 Bears have a quick turnaround as they visit the defending Super Bowl champion Eagles on Friday. The Eagles sit atop the NFC East standings after winning the division last year. It’s a 2 p.m. kickoff at Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia.