Monday Night Football: Steelers edge Bears in controversial contest to continue winning streak
The Steelers retook the lead for the ultimate time by means of Chris Boswell’s 40-yard discipline objective 26 seconds from time however had been nonetheless pressured to endure a nail-biting potential 65-yard sport successful kick from Bears kicker Cairo Santos.
To Pittsburgh’s reduction, Santos’ kick dropped simply brief — securing the win and making it 19 straight victories at Heinz Subject for the Steelers when enjoying on a Monday night time.
Solely Cleveland Browns defensive finish Myles Garrett has extra sacks than Watt’s 11.5 this season, with 12.
‘Extremely inappropriate’
Regardless of Watt’s heroics, it was a selected sack on quarterback Ben Roethlisberger that dominated a lot of the protection — the topic of certainly one of a number of controversial calls through the sport.
Cassius Marsh of the Bears was penalized for taunting by referee Tony Corrente following his third-down sack on Roethlisberger — giving the Steelers a primary down and an eventual discipline objective — and Marsh subsequently claimed he was “hip-checked” by Corrente moments earlier than he was flagged.
“On my strategy to the sideline, I acquired hip-checked by the ref. It is fairly clear,” Marsh stated after the sport.
“If I used to be to do this to a ref and even contact a ref, we get kicked out of the sport and probably suspended and fined. I simply suppose that that was extremely inappropriate.
“I feel that one was simply dangerous timing. It is fairly clear to everyone who noticed it that I wasn’t taunting.
“I have been doing the celebration my complete profession. It is simply unhappy to see stuff like that occur in a detailed sport like that.”
“Initially, understand that taunting is a degree of emphasis this 12 months,” Corrente stated.
“And with that stated, I noticed the participant, after he made an enormous play, run in the direction of the bench space of the Pittsburgh Steelers and posture in such a manner that I felt he was taunting them.”
On the alleged contact with Marsh, Corrente stated: “That had nothing to do with it. It was the taunting side.”
Rise and slide
The end result continues the respective rise and slide of each groups. Having gone 0-3 in Weeks 2-4, Monday’s victory extends the Steelers’ streak following wins over the Denver Broncos, the Seattle Seahawks and the Cleveland Browns.
In the meantime, the Bears drop to 3-6 with a fourth successive defeat, however they may take coronary heart from the style by which they misplaced — a stark distinction to the 38-3 thrashing by the hands of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers final month — and the electrical fourth quarter efficiency of Fields.
The 22-year-old threw for 291 yards total — a private greatest for the season — and a landing cross to Darnell Mooney to rally his staff within the fourth, a show that didn’t go unnoticed by Bears head coach Matt Nagy.
“The large image, for him, is nice,” Nagy stated, discussing the drive.
“Once they kicked that discipline objective and went up six, there was a extremely, fairly neat second on the sideline. You’ll be able to really feel it from the gamers, like, ‘OK, we fought again to get up to now the place a landing wins it.’
“Then I seemed over at Justin, and he had this smile on his face the place it was like, it was his time. To see that, the boldness that provides you as a coach whenever you see that — it was like he was virtually hoping that this was going to be the scenario.
“Then for him to observe by means of with that and make these performs that he made, it was a extremely, actually good feeling on that sideline. So whenever you discuss in regards to the development for him and for the offense and simply our staff usually, that is a second.”
