Aaron Rodgers didn't play, and the Pittsburgh Steelers couldn't overcome the loss of their starting quarterback, dropping a 31-28 decision to the Bears on Sunday at Soldier Field in Chicago.
Rodgers sustained a minor fracture in his left wrist last Sunday in a win over the Cincinnati Bengals and sat out the second half. The four-time NFL MVP practiced on a limited basis on Thursday and Friday but was deemed not able to play.
"(Rodgers) fought his tail off all week, but that's the prudent play to make for us as a collective," Steelers Mike Tomlin said during a pregame interview with CBS.
The Steelers (6-5) fell into a first-place tie with the Baltimore Ravens (6-5) in the AFC North. The Steelers have won only once in their history in Chicago, an overtime victory in 1995, while Rodgers is 25-5 in his career against the Bears.
The NFC North-leading Bears (8-3) won for the seventh time in their last eight games.
Mason Rudolph started in Rodgers' place and was efficient in a conservative game plan by offensive coordinator Arthur Smith. Rudolph completed 24 of 31 passes for 171 yards and one touchdown while being intercepted once. Eight different Steelers caught passes, but none finished with more than 36 receiving yards.
The Steelers had a season-high 186 yards rushing on 36 carries. Kenneth Gainwell had 92 yards, and Jaylen Warren added 68 as the Steelers held a 345-328 edge in total yardage.
The Bears were missing all three starting linebackers because of injury – Tremaine Edmunds, T.J. Edwards, and Noah Sewell.
Bears quarterback Caleb Williams threw three touchdown passes, two to DJ Moore, as he completed 19 of 35 attempts for 239 yards and no interceptions. The Steelers had only one sack, but it resulted in a touchdown: T.J. Watt stripped the ball from Williams, and Nate Herbig fell on the fumble in the end zone in the second quarter, putting Pittsburgh ahead 14-7.
A 1-yard touchdown run by Warren gave the Steelers a 21-14 lead with 1:19 left in the second quarter. However, the Bears scored the following 17 points to move in front 31-21 on Kyle Monangai's 2-yard TD run in the opening minute of the fourth quarter.
The Steelers closed within three points on Rudolph's 3-yard touchdown pass to Pat Freiermuth with 6:27 remaining. The Steelers had two more possessions but were forced to punt on the first one and turned the ball over on downs at the Bears' 47-yard line the second time with 17 seconds to go.
The Steelers host the Buffalo Bills (7-4) next Sunday at Acrisure Stadium.