Bears Win Backups Bowl 31-28 Against Steelers

GOOD MORNING, CHICAGO FANS

Happy Victory Monday! Nothing like a Bears win heading into a holiday week. They have 8 wins on November 24th…

The last time the Bears had 8 wins in a season? 2020. How many times in the last 10 seasons before this? 3. How many times since 2000? 11. It may be painful on the eyes and harmful to the blood pressure, but it’s worth celebrating today.

CHICAGO BEARS

W - BEARS 31 STEELERS 28

THE BOLD, BRAVE, AND BEAUTIFUL BACKUPS

Without Aaron Rodgers chirping at the Chicago faithful, the Steelers sent in Mason Rudolph to battle it out with a whole host of Bears backups. Ozzy Trapilo started at LT, D’Marco Jackson and Ruben Hyppolite started at LB, and you can keep going down the list. Amen Ogbongbemiga, Luke Newman, and Carl Jones all saw the field after in-game injuries.

Thanks to a rocky Caleb Williams outing and a wounded defense, it was another game that felt out of reach for the Bears. A 95-yard TD drive by the Steelers followed by a disastrous strip sack of Caleb Williams for a TD quickly turned the tide early in the 2nd quarter.

The offense eventually put together 2 solid TD drives in the 2nd half while the defense buckled down, allowing only 7 points in the half. The bottom of the depth chart played significant parts, but Caleb was icy in the end again. Plus, the big money players at the top of the totem pole earned the win.

Standouts:

• Montez Sweat had 2 sacks, 1 forced fumble, and 3 TFLs

• DJ Moore had 5 receptions for 64 yards and 2 TDs

• Jackson had 15 tackles and Ogbongbemiga had 14 tackles!

• Nahshon Wright worked his magic again for a ridiculous interception, moving into a tie with teammate Kevin Byard for the NFL lead with 5, and had 2 PDs

• Jaquan Brisker and Grady Jarrett batted down passes at the end of the game in clutch moments

Quick Hits:

• Steelers failed to convert a 4th down tush push but later pulled off a 55-yard fake tush push to the 1-yard line

• Bears had every reason to lose, mainly by losing the battle on the ground - Steelers: 186 rushing yards, Bears: 98 rushing yards

• D’Andre Swift and Kyle Monangai combined for only 63 yards on 20 carries (3.15 yards/carry)

• Caleb settled in and finished with an impressive stat line (19/35, 239 yards, 3 TD)

• Both teams were 2/2 in the red zone and had 2 turnovers

• Tremaine Edmunds, T.J. Edwards, Noah Sewell, and Theo Benedet all missed the game due to injury

STAR OF THE WEEK ⭐ Montez Sweat

2 sacks (1 strip sack) and 3 TFLs

PLAY OF THE WEEK 🎥 Nahshon Wright interception

Placed Tremaine Edmunds and Roschon Johnson on IR. Edmunds had been the engine of the defense so far this season, so it will be a challenging stretch without him.

Jake Moody signed with the Washington Commanders. He must have left quite the impression when he hit a game-winning kick against them in Week 6!

Opened the 21-day window for Kyler Gordon to return from the IR. Reports say he and Jaylon Johnson may return next week against the Eagles!

Signed LB Jalen Reeves-Maybin to the practice squad. He made the Pro Bowl in 2023 as a Special Teamer on Ben Johnson’s Lions.

Hired Matt O’Brien as Senior Vice President of Global Commercial Revenue. He formerly worked for the Cleveland Cavaliers.

Bears have won 4 in a row for the 2nd time this season! Their last 4 games were won by a combined 14 points.

SCHEDULE 📅 FRIDAY @ Eagles

CHICAGO BLACKHAWKS

W - BLACKHAWKS 5 FLAMES 2

THE A-TEAM HATTY

• Connor Bedard wore the “A” for the first time in his career and had his second hat trick of the season and his career!

• Flames had 43 hits to the Hawks’ 13 as Adam Klapka landed a couple dirty hits to the head

• Oliver Moore had 1g/1a and Louis Crevier extended his point streak to 4 games

L - KRAKEN 3 BLACKHAWKS 2

NEFARIOUS NO CALL

• The refs missed a blatant penalty on a Connor Bedard breakaway with 4 minutes left. Instead of a penalty shot, Bedard was called for unsportsmanlike conduct, and the Kraken scored a game-winning power play goal

• Fluky deflections carried the Kraken comeback as the Hawks collapsed in the 3rd period

• Tyler Bertuzzi and Teuvo Teravainen each had 1g/1a

L - SABRES 9 BLACKHAWKS 3

NINE-SPOT IMPLOSION

• 9 goals allowed is the most by the Hawks since 2011 🤮

• Arvid Soderblom only stopped 21 of 30 shots on goal and didn’t get any help in front of him

• Alex Tuch had 4 assists for the Sabres who had 8 players rack up multiple points

L - AVALANCHE 1 BLACKHAWKS 0

WEDGEWOOD WOBBLER

• Scott Wedgewood pitched a shutout and stood strong against a fierce last minute push by the Hawks

• Hawks owned the 1st period (12-2 shots on goal), and the Avs owned the 2nd period (19-1) in a back and forth battle

• A Spencer Knight giveaway led to the only goal

STAR OF THE WEEK ⭐ Connor Bedard

3 goals and 2 assists (5 points) on 13 shots, hat trick

PLAY OF THE WEEK 🎥 Tyler Bertuzzi assist

Placed Nick Foligno on IR, activated Jason Dickinson off IR

Prospect Mason West won the Minnesota state championship!!! A championship QB now, a Stanley Cup championship forward later 📈

Black alternate jerseys are BACK

SCHEDULE 📅 W/F/SUN

CHICAGO BULLS

W - BULLS 130 NUGGETS 127

NO REST FOR THE WEARY

• Bulls beat one of the NBA’s best in the second half of a back-to-back after going to double OT the previous night in Utah

• Bench scoring was 66-9 Bulls 😯

• Jevon Carter scored 15 points off the bench on five 3s!

W - BULLS 122 TRAIL BLAZERS 121

VOOCH THE SALVAGER

• Nikola Vucevic hit ANOTHER game-winning 3-pointer to rescue the Bulls from a near-collapse after seeing their 21-point lead disappear

• Bulls had 60+ bench points for the 3rd straight game and made a season-high 21 3-pointers

• Coby White scored 25 points in his 2nd game of the season

L - HEAT 143 BULLS 107 (NBA CUP)

TAKING NOTHING TO SOUTH BEACH

• Heat led by as many as 41 points and had 8 players score in double figures while 3 Bulls starters finished with less than 10 points

• Bulls only had 7 available players at the end of the game (3 left with injuries, 1 fouled out, 1 was ejected)

• Worst defensive outing for the Bulls this season as the Heat shot 47% from the field and took 44 free throws!

W - BULLS 121 WIZARDS 120

SHORTHANDED SPELL

• Bulls survived the 1-win Wizards without Okoro, Williams, and Terry

• Tre Jones forced a turnover with 1 second left to seal the victory

• Bulls won despite an ugly shooting night (42% FG, 27% 3PT)

STAR OF THE WEEK ⭐ Josh Giddey

16.8p/10.5r/9.8a per game, 1 triple-double, 2 double-doubles

PLAY OF THE WEEK 🎥 Nikola Vucevic game-winner

Ring of Honor Ceremony honored the Class of 2025: Bill Cartwright, John Paxson, Horace Grant, Johnny Bach, Norm Van Lier, Neil Funk

Tre Jones was named the NBA Cares Bob Lanier Community Assist Award winner for October! 🫡

Coby White made his first start of the season on Saturday! Starting lineup: Giddey, Coby, Ayo, Buzelis, Vucevic

Noa Essengue made his NBA debut on Saturday!

Essentially eliminated from the NBA Cup after going 1-2 in group play

SCHEDULE 📅 M/F/SAT

CHICAGO CUBS

OFFSEASON

Shota Imanaga accepted the Qualifying Offer (1-year, $22.025M)

• Shota must not have expected quality multi-year offers from other teams around the league

• This gives the Cubs a commitment-free year of a former All-Star who everyone in the organization still loves

• Current rotation once Justin Steele is healthy: Steele, Horton, Boyd, Taillon, Imanaga. With all 5 spots taken by players under contract and depth remaining on the squad (Assad, Rea, Wicks, etc.), will the Cubs actually want to throw money at a top end starter??

Signed RHP Phil Maton to a 2-year contract with a club option in Year 3

• Veteran reliever who grew up near Springfield and has played for 7 teams, most recently the Rangers

• Impressive strikeout and run prevention stats the last 2 seasons

• 2025: 2.79 ERA, 1.06 WHIP, 11.9 K/9

Non-tendered C Reese McGuire and RHP Eli Morgan. Tendered contracts to Justin Steele and Javier Assad.

Kyle Tucker declined the Qualifying Offer as expected. He should have a lot of suitors on the open market willing to give him a long-term deal. If he signs somewhere else, the Cubs will receive a compensation draft pick at the end of the 2nd round after the Competitive Balance Round B selections.

Selected the contracts of LHP Riley Martin, IF Pedro Ramirez, and INF James Triantos for the 40-man roster and Rule 5 Draft protection.

Cubs have shown interest in Michael King, Dylan Cease, and Alex Bregman. They reportedly will focus on pitching this season, so any significant position player being namedropped is surprising to me. They pursued Bregman last winter, came up short with their offer, and now seem to be comfortable with Matt Shaw moving forward. We’ll see if their interest in Bregman is real.

SAY WHAT?

A CITYWIDE SALUTE

Connor Bedard

Bedard owned up to his penalty-inducing argument with the refs against the Kraken. Instead of complaining about the no-call or lamenting what happened, he took the professional route as a leader in that locker room. Watch him speak post-game:

MILD TAKE

The Blackhawks forward prospects are underrated.

People rave about the young defensive core in Chicago. Most of them have already earned ice time at the NHL level, so it’s easy to see the vision of athletic, big, playmaking defensemen manning the blue line for the next decade.

Mason West taking home the trophy as a quarterback this week made me consider the Hawks’ prospect pool at forward. They are way more loaded than you would think.

Potential linemates with Connor Bedard? Anton Frondell, Roman Kantserov

Potential Top 6 forwards? Oliver Moore (just graduated), Nick Lardis, Marek Vanacker

Future NHLers with high potential? Sacha Boisvert, AJ Spellacy, Nathan Behm, Vaclav Nestrasil, Jack Pridham, Mason West, John Mustard, and more

Forward depth has FELT thin the last couple years as Bedard was playing on an island. He may have a rotating set of linemates now, but reinforcements will be here soon.

The Hawks have an abundance of prospects and have way too many promising forwards for just 4 lines.

HITTING THE LINKS

Michael Cerami - Here’s a Look at the 2026 Cubs Payroll After the Shota Imanaga Decision (Bleacher Nation)

Courtney Cronin - Rookie RB Kyle Monangai delivers for Bears (ESPN)

Ben Pope - Blackhawks prospect Kevin Korchinski has learned to embrace AHL development: 'Life is a journey' (Chicago Sun-Times)

Kevin Fishbain - How Ben Johnson made ‘Good, better, best’ a motto for the Chicago Bears (The Athletic)

TWO MINUTE WARNING

Thanks for reading! Enjoy a Bears-free Thanksgiving with friends and family! I’m grateful for…Ben Johnson