Bear & Balanced: Bears Backups Step Up to Beat the Steelers

The Chicago Bears caught a break when Aaron Rodgers’ left wrist prevented him from suiting up for the Pittsburgh Steelers. But the Steelers caught a break when Chicago’s Jaylon Johnson and Kyler Gordon remained on injured reserve after practicing in full on Friday. The Steelers also benefited from the Bears’ injuries to starters Theo Benedet, Noah Sewell, Tremaine Edmunds, and T.J. Edwards, and with starters Tyrique Stevenson, Jonah Jackson, and Ruben Hyppolite II all forced out of action during the game.

Injuries happen in the NFL, but not all teams are prepared to overcome them. The Bears are a well-coached team, and the depth is in a much better place than it has been in a while.

The Bears got key contributions from backups Ozzy Trapilo, Luke Newman, D’Marco Jackson, and Amen Ogbongbemiga in the win on Sunday, and if (when?) they get healthier, all the playing time will benefit the younger players.

Check out JB and me on our latest Bear & Balanced right here (or on YouTube) live at 6:00 p.m. CT as we talk through Chicago’s win over the Steelers.

Podcast version right here:

Here’s our usual bullet point outline of Bear & Balanced.

• Intro: We’ll both share some general thoughts about the game.
• Trench Tribute: This is our weekly pick for the best Bears lineman.
• Caught up in a numbers game: This segment features one number or statistic from the game that we found interesting.
• Sweet Tweets: We’re both active on social media — so be sure you’re all following us at @gridironborn & @wiltfongjr — and we highlight one Twitter interaction/Tweet each week. We’re both also on the Bluesky here and here.
• The Caleb Corner: We talk about quarterback Caleb Williams before we take our commercial break.
• The 3 Bears: You all know the story of the Three Bears, don’t you? In this porridge-themed portion of the show, we give our picks for the Bear that was hot, the Bear that was cold, and the Bear that was just right in the game against the Steelers.

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