Two Missed Field Goals Prove Costly In Steelers 17-14 Loss To Chicago

NFL News - September 21st, 2009 - Written by Scott

In their first trip to Chicago since 1995, the Pittsburgh Steelers were looking to make it four in row on Sunday afternoon against the Bears. This did not happen as the Chicago Bears kept their composure and defeated the defending Super Bowl champions 17-14 at Soldier Field in Chicago. With the game tied at 14 late in the fourth quarter, Pittsburgh had their chance to take the lead, but failed as kicker Jeff Reed missed his second field goal attempt of the quarter from 43 yards out. Bears' quarterback Jay Cutler responded, after being hounded all game and suffering from dropped passes, by leading his team to their game winning field goal by Robbie Gould with :15 seconds left in the game.

"I always hope to get a chance," Cutler said. "I always think we're going to get a chance if it's 3 minutes or if it's 30 seconds. All we want is a shot."

The Steelers were led by quarterback Ben Roethlisberger all game long. He threw for 221 yards with 1 touchdown and also ran for another. His great effort was overshadowed by Reed's two missed field goals in the fourth quarter. Reed could have sealed the win had he connected on his attempts.

"I'm just embarrassed, you know, because these guys fight their tails off to win the game," Reed said. "If there is one player that can single-handedly lose the game, I'll take credit for it."

Pittsburgh opened up the scoring in the first quarter on a one yard pass form Roethlisberger to Matt Spaeth. Cutler responded with 19 seconds left in the second quarter on a 6 yard touchdown pass to Kellen Davis to even the score at 7 going into the half. The Steelers then regained the lead on a two yard leaping run by Roethlisberger in the third, but the final quarter belonged to the Bears.

Cutler hit Johnny Knox, who had 70 yards receiving, from seven yards out to tie the score at 14 with 6:21 remaining in the game. Both teams were missing their stars on defense as Steeler safety Troy Polamalu and Chicago linebacker Brian Urlacher were out due to injuries. Polamalu's replacement, Tyrone Carter, was the victim on Knox's touchdown which proved to be costly as this touchdown tied the game. Gould's late field goal sealed the win for Chicago. Cutler, who had 236 yards passing and 2 touchdowns, kept his poise during the game and put the weight of his team on his shoulders.

"In the face of pressure he made great decisions, put the ball in some good locations and guys converted third downs," Steelers coach Mike Tomlin said. "They did enough to win, we didn't. We accept responsibility for that."

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