This win marks their eighth in nine games, going to 8-3 on the season. Pittsburgh falls to 6-5 with the loss after a 4-1 start. The journey to 9-8 is still on track for them.

Despite reports that he was pushing hard to play, Steelers quarterback Aaron Rodgers missed Sunday’s game at Soldier Field, much to everyone’s dismay as the Bears missed out on what was likely their final chance to get a win over their “owner”. 

On the flip side, Chicago’s top three linebackers and three out of their top four cornerbacks were unable to play in the game, adding to the laundry list of defensive injuries for them this season. 

This wasn’t a problem early in the game, though, as defensive back Nahshon Wright added another impressive interception to his tally this season, helping the Bears strike first on a touchdown pass to receiver D.J. Moore. 

Chicago Bears defensive back Nahshon Wright (26) intercepts a pass against Pittsburgh Steelers receiver D.K. Metcalf (4) in the first quarter on Sunday, November 23, 2025, at Soldier Field in Chicago, Illinois (Mike Dinovo / Mike Dinovo-Imagn Images).

Pittsburgh responded with an endless barrage of swing passes on a 95-yard drive, culminating in a touchdown from D.K. Metcalf to tie the ballgame. 

During this timeframe, commentators Ian Eagle and J.J. Watt were talking a lot about how well the Bears were doing at not giving the ball away. “The Bears don’t turn the ball over a lot,” they said. While the numbers certainly back this up, there is no defeating the announcer’s jinx. 

Chicago’s next drive ended with quarterback Caleb Williams being stripped in the end zone by Steelers’ edge rusher T.J. Watt and recovered in the end zone by fellow edge rusher Nate Herbig. 

They also fumbled on their next drive as running back D’Andre Swift lost the ball on a halfback dive. Fortunately, the Bears’ defense managed to come up with a stop on an awkward-looking quarterback sneak by the Steelers.

Chicago took advantage and marched down the field to tie the game again with a reception by rookie tight end Colston Loveland. 

On Pittsburgh’s next drive, Chicago looked like they were going to get another fourth-down stop on a QB sneak, but this time they ran a fake that worked to perfection against a dumbfounded defense all the way to the one-yard line. Steelers backup Mason Rudolph threw a touchdown to Jaylen Warren to finish the job. 

The Bears notched a 47-yard field goal to make the score 21-17, Steelers, going into halftime.

They continued to pack on some points after the break. Williams threw a dime to a a wide-open D.J. Moore for a touchdown pass, his second of the game. This play was redemption for Moore, as a couple of plays earlier, he committed an unacceptable taunting penalty. At least he backed up his trash talk.

The train kept rolling as defensive end Montez Sweat knocked the ball out of Rudolph’s hands to add another takeaway to the Bears’ impressive resume. Sweat said after the game, “I want to make those types of plays, so it feels good to get recognized.” Well, if you keep getting strip-sacks and living up to your contract, you’ll definitely keep getting recognized.

The fourth quarter opened up with rookie running back Kyle Monangai making good on this fumble with a rushing touchdown to extend the lead to 31-21.

The Steelers offense woke up again as Rudolph led his fellow reindeer to another long touchdown drive ending in a pass to the endzone for tight end Pat Freiermuth. 

Pittsburgh Steelers tight end Pat Freiermuth (88) runs against the Chicago Bears’ defense during the second half of the game on Sunday, November 23, 2025, at Soldier Field in Chicago, Illinois (David Banks / David Banks-Imagn Images).

Nothing to worry about, though, the Bears had the ball with under two minutes to play, and one first down would ice the game. But here’s the thing: this was far too early for the 2025 Cardiac Bears to end a game, meaning they didn’t get a first down, and the Steelers had the ball again to tie or take the lead.

The Steelers slowly trudged down the field and came to a 4th and 6 at Chicago’s 47 with 21 seconds remaining. Rather than send kicker Chris Boswell out to tie the game, Steelers coach Mike Tomlin opted to trust his offense. 

This strategy backfired as Rudolph’s pass was batted at the line by defensive back Jaquan Brisker. That’s right, the Bears won again. This time, against a team WITH a winning record.

They remain atop the NFC North despite having a negative point differential on the season. Is this a sustainable way to win games? Absolutely not, but it’s nice that they’re winning these games. 

On Black Friday, the Bears will travel to Philadelphia to take on the 8-3, defending champion, hungry for a win, Eagles. This is easily Chicago’s biggest test so far, and possibly the biggest test they will face all season. 

It’s always difficult to pull off an upset. But after all of these wins, we must remember what famous philosopher K.G. once said: “Anything is possible.”

The post Not Christmas Yet, Rudolph: Bears hold off Steelers, 31-28 appeared first on KRUI Radio.

In a league where it is hard to find a good, solid goalie, the Penguins have been able to lock up just that.  Since becoming the Penguins full time starter in the 2005-2006 season, Fleury has been one of the best regular season goalies.  In 521 career regular season starts, Fleury holds a 2.61 goals against average and a .911 save percentage.  The Penguins have been a playoff team year after year, and having a consistently solid goalie in Fleury has no doubt been one of the main reasons for their success.

The contract, at just under $6 million per year, is reasonable for the quality of goaltending that Penguins are getting.  Fleury has proved that he deserves to be paid and as a household name in Pittsburgh, $5.75 million is just right.  With the salary cap set to rise after this season, the money spent on Fleury will become less significant and will not cause as much of a hit.

The Penguins were smart to lock Fleury up as they would have faced limited offseason options.  As stated earlier, it is not easy to find a goalie that you can rely on season after season to be the backstop on the ice.  The Penguins are lucky to have a goalie where they know what they will get out of him and know they can trust.

If the Penguins decided not to bring Fleury back, there is little doubt that he would have gotten more years and more money from a different team in free agency.  Teams with goalie needs would jump almost instantly on the chance to lock up a proven goalie for possibly five or six years, even with Fleury being 29 years of age.

It is still early in the season, but Fleury appears to be in the midst of a career year.  In 11 games, he is 9-2 with a 1.99 goals against average and 3 shutouts.  At the “prime” of his career, this could turn into one of Fleury’s top seasons as a pro.

A concern in Fleury’s game can be seen in his inconsistency’s in the past couple of playoffs.  After posting good numbers in the playoffs from 2008-2011, 2012 and 2013 were a whole different story.  In those two playoff years, Fleury had a 4.63 and 3.51 goals against average, respectively.

Despite those struggles in the playoffs, Fleury had a nice bounce back post season in 2014, where he posted a 2.40 goals against average along with a 9.15 save percentage.  It is not a definitive sign of things to come, but it was a big step for Fleury and it very well could have decided his future fate with the Penguins.

Although there are flaws in Fleury’s game, his contract extension is well earned.  Fleury may not be a superstar goalie in the NHL, but he is a good goalie and one that the Penguins and their fans should be very excited to have for four more seasons.

A concern in Fleury’s game can be seen in his inconsistency’s in the past couple of playoffs.  After posting good numbers in the playoffs from 2008-2011, 2012 and 2013 were a whole different story.  In those two playoff years, Fleury had a 4.63 and 3.51 goals against average, respectively.

Despite those struggles in the playoffs, Fleury had a nice bounce back post season in 2014, where he posted a 2.40 goals against average along with a 9.15 save percentage.  It is not a definitive sign of things to come, but it was a big step for Fleury and it very well could have decided his future fate with the Penguins.

Although there are flaws in Fleury’s game, his contract extension is well earned.  Fleury may not be a superstar goalie in the NHL, but he is a good goalie and one that the Penguins and their fans should be very excited to have for four more seasons.

The post Defending Marc-Andre Fleury’s Contract appeared first on KRUI Radio.

In a game that seemed to be positioned toward a blowout at halftime, Iowa responded from being outplayed in the first half to come out with a 24-20 victory over Pitt.

The Hawkeyes came out flat to start the game on both sides of the ball, allowing numerous big plays to running back James Conner and wide receiver Tyler Boyd.

The Panthers started the scoring on their first drive of the game on a 14-yard run from Chris James to give Pitt the 7-0 lead. Running the ball was a common theme in the Panther offense, totaling 185 yards on the day against a very good Iowa rushing defense. Conner led the charge for the Panthers on the ground carrying the ball 29 times for 155 yards and a touchdown.

Iowa, however, responded right back on the ensuing drive going 75 yards on 7 plays capped off by a 13-yard touchdown pass

from quarterback Jake Rudock to Henry Krieger-Coble to tie the game. Rudock finished his afternoon completing five of his ten passes for 80 yards with a touchdown and an interception.

Pitt took control of the game after that, adding a touchdown run from Conner and a 33-yard field goal from Chris Blewitt making the halftime score 17-7.

Coach Kirk Ferentz must have said the right things coming out of locker room after halftime, as Iowa came out sharp in every facet of the game and outscored the Panthers 17-3 in the second half.

In the second half, a change in quarterback seemed to jumpstart the stagnant Hawkeye offense. C.J. Beathard replaced Jake Rudock to begin the second half and immediately made his presence known in different ways. His highlight of the afternoon was a 63-yard completion to Damond Powell, who caught it one-handed, that set up Mark Weisman’s first touchdown of the game from 10 yards out to cut the deficit to 17-14.

“It feels good to have an adrenaline rush and go out there and play,” Beathard said after the game. “I just try to go out there and make the best of every opportunity I can.”

Beathard finished with 98 yards passing; completing seven of his eight passes.

After the teams exchanged field goals, Iowa took the lead for good on a 1-yard touchdown by Weisman to give the Hawkeyes the final margin of victory.

Coach Ferentz was proud of the effort of his team after the heartbreaking defeat last weekend.

“We are just very happy to get the win today. It didn’t come easy,” Ferentz said. “Pitt is a very good and tough football team, but I’m very proud of our guys.”

“Our staff did a good job of making adjustments after the first half, but I give a lot of credit to the players on making changes as well.”

On the defensive side of the ball, John Lowdermilk led the charge with eleven tackles seven of them solo. Louis Trinca-Pasat and Quinton Alston were close behind with eight and seven tackles respectively. Drew Ott had the only sack of the game for either side corralling Panther quarterback Chad Voytik.

The lone turnover forced by the Hawkeyes sealed the game as Anthony Gair picked off a Voytik pass in the waning seconds of the fourth quarter to put an end to the Panther’s potential game-winning drive.

The Hawkeye defense as a whole took some steps forward after the debacle last week, and this will hopefully be a tipping point in the right direction going into next week.

Iowa will travel to West Lafayette to take on the Purdue Boilermakers to open Big Ten Conference play next Saturday. Kickoff is set for 11:00.

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