The Pittsburgh Steelers were in the AFC championship last year. They were undefeated going into Soldier Field. The Chicago Bears haven’t been in a conference championship in seven years. They were winless going into the game. Everything about this matchup screamed that the Bears had no chance. The Steelers were loaded from top to bottom with young talent. Most importantly they owned an overwhelming advantage at quarterback.
Ben Roethlisberger has two rings, several Pro Bowls and every Steelers franchise passing record. Mike Glennon has a warrant out for his arrest. The crime? Robbing the Bears franchise of $18 million. Nothing about his play to this point has warranted even half that amount of money. Sunday was no different.
People can blame the wide receiver injuries all they want. Glennon is not good. His field vision is awful. The accuracy was once again erratic. It seemed like at some point during the game the Bears just got fed up with trying. How did they adjust? By dusting off a playbook they haven’t used since World War II.
1930s Chicago Bears would’ve loved this game plan
Glennon completed 15-of-22 passes on the afternoon. That doesn’t sound too bad until one hears it was for 101 yards. Seriously, a quarterback in 2017 threw for 101 yards. It was so depressing to watch especially since a wide receiver caught just one of those passes. Glennon had one touchdown and one interception on the day and he should’ve another pick late in the game.
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Chicago clearly had seen enough by the start of overtime because the $18 million QB did not throw a single pass. Instead it was the real heroes of the day Jordan Howard and Tarik Cohen doing the heavy lifting. Not only did they combine for 216 yards rushing and two touchdowns. They were also the Bears’ two leading receivers. That is the state of things.
Seriously. The Bears just beat one of the premier franchises in the NFL without a quarterback. Isn’t that a surefire sign that this team is capable of being something more if they actually had somebody under center who could make some plays. Of course head coach John Fox won’t see it that way. He’ll insist the team is just fine with Glennon “managing” the game.
Glennon managed nothing. He was a passenger the whole way in this game. A witness to the fine roster GM Ryan Pace has built. All the while having no understanding of what to do with it. One completed pass to receiver. One. Do they honestly think Mitch Trubisky can’t do better than this?
