Bears squander masterful late touchdown drive from Justin Fields

PITTSBURGH – Justin Fields had his moment.

The Bears rookie quarterback led the offense 75 yards in 1:06 of game time to score a go-ahead touchdown on a 16-yard pass to receiver Darnell Mooney. Moments earlier, he connected with Allen Robinson for a 39-yard completion.

It was a masterful touchdown drive. And it was squandered.

The Bears defense couldn’t hold the Steelers offense. Pittsburgh quarterback Ben Roethlisberger led his team 52 yards into field goal range. Steelers kicker Chris Boswell made a 40-yard field goal, giving them a 29-27 victory over the Bears at Heinz Field on Monday Night Football.

With head coach Matt Nagy back on the sidelines following his absence with COVID-19 last week, the Bears lost their fourth consecutive game, dropping them to 3-6 on the season. They now have a much-needed bye week next weekend before meeting the Baltimore Ravens on Nov. 21. For the third straight season, the Bears are mired in a four-game losing streak.

Rookie quarterback Justin Fields did what he could. It was a struggle much of the night, but he led a heroic touchdown drive in the fourth quarter. His last chance, after the Steelers made the go-ahead field goal, ended unceremoniously on a missed 65-yard field goal from kicker Cairo Santos.

“My mindset was it’s time, we’re here,” Fields said. “You can either be the guy who always gets put in that position and doesn’t show up, or you can be that guy who shows up in the big moments.”

Nagy said he loved the vibe Fields gave off as the Bears were going out to try and win the game on that touchdown drive.

“I look over at Justin and he had this smile on his face where it was like, it was his time,” Nagy said. “To see that, the confidence that gives you as a coach when you see that, it was like he was almost hoping that this was going to be the situation.”

For the Bears, there were simply too many mistakes Monday.

The Bears offense failed to pick up a first down on three of its first four possessions. The other ended in an interception. On their second possession, there was an illegal formation penalty coming out of a timeout. There was the time they decided not to block All-Pro pass rusher T.J. Watt, which ended in an uncontested sack.

Then there was the penalty for a low block in a goal-to-go situation from the 1-yard line. Guard James Daniels was called for a low block, a 15-yard penalty, despite the fact that he didn’t even hit his intended target. Not surprisingly, the Bears settled for a field goal.

New Bears outside linebacker Cassius Marsh nearly cost the team the game with a taunting penalty late in the fourth quarter when it looked like the defense was going to be off the field.

As has been the case for weeks now, the Bears offense had no rhythm, no flow. It didn’t help that the team was penalized 12 times for 115 yards.

Fields repeatedly had to run from the pocket and put his body in harms way. He found a nice little connection with tight end Cole Kmet (six catches for 87 yards), but had little success with any of his other receivers.

His pass to Robinson, which immediately preceded the go-ahead touchdown to Mooney, might have been his best throw of the night.

“Once I saw [man-to-man], there’s not many guys that can guard A-Rob in man in the league,” Fields said. “So I knew the ball was going to him the whole time. Of course, he routed him up and made my job easier.”

The run game, aided by the return of David Montgomery, was there at times and absent during other stretches of play. The defense, playing without Khalil Mack, Eddie Jackson and Alec Ogletree, did what it could to keep the Bears in the game.

Now the Bears must go back to the drawing board. It doesn’t get any easier with the Ravens next. Any realistic playoff chances are circling the drain right about now.

The Fields drive had to be considered the highlight of the season thus far. It was the best sign that the rookie is heading in the right direction.

The Bears just couldn’t make it count.