Monday Night Football Predictions – Free Monday Night Football Picks: Chicago Bears at Pittsburgh Steelers

Steelers vs Bears Preview

Two of the league’s best defenses and most deficient offenses square off in tonight’s MNF encounter. 

The moment people began writing Mike Tomlin’s Steelers team off this season – and talking about the Bengals as AFC North contenders – the two franchises’ fortunes reversed. Pittsburgh has won three on the trot against the Broncos, Seahawks, and, most recently, the Browns to get their season back on track. 

Following consecutive defeats to Packers, Buccaneers, and 49ers, the Bears, on the other hand, are amid a three-game skid. Chicago’s defense is doing everything it can to keep their underperforming offense in games, but Nagy’s team is struggling for yards again, and fans in Illinois are growing impatient.

The Bears’ offensive woes start at the line. A decent-looking unit on paper has already allowed 30 sacks this year, which is the most of any team in the NFL. Matt Nagy’s team’s inability to stop the oncoming rush has seen both QBs Andy Dalton and Justin Fields put under severe pressure in the pocket. Rookie QB Fields has done a better job of evading the pressure and making plays on the fly than the former Bengal. But the harsh reality is that Fields’ efforts have done little to improve the Bears’ spluttering offensive production.

Nagy’s team is ranked 32nd in the NFL with a measly average of 264-yards per game. A fact no better highlighted than by the fact that one of the league’s premier pass-catchers, Allen Robinson II, has barely been mentioned at all this season. The Bears can’t get the ball to him. 

Unfortunately for Bears fans, Steelers are a match-up nightmare for Nagy’s offense, too: T.J. Watt and co. are tied sixth in the NFL for total team sacks, posting 19 to date, and Watt is directly responsible for nine of them. So, expect to see Justin Fields put under a ton of pressure from the edges tonight. Whether or not the rookie breaks is going to be pivotal to the final result. 

Another area of the game in which we feel the home team has a huge advantage is in the run game. Chicago is set to welcome back David Montgomery this evening, and stand in RB1 Khalil Herbert has deputized well in his absence. But it’s the other side of the football where we think the Bears could have problems. Chicago’s run defense ranks 24th in the league, surrendering over 120-yards per game on average. Up against the Steelers in form rookie back Najee Harris, who already has 752-yards from scrimmage this season, the Bears’ porous OL could be in for a rough night. 

Steelers vs Bears Team News

The biggest news of the day is that Bears LB Khalil Mack has not been passed fit to play and will sit out tonight’s game which is a huge loss. S Eddie Jackson (hamstring) will also sit this one out after injuring himself during the defeat to the 49ers last week.

On the Bears offense, RB Damien Williams (knee) and TE J.P. Holtz (concussion) both left the field during the defeat to the 49ers and aren’t expected to suit up. However, star RB1 David Montgomery returns to action after sitting out most of October with a knee injury. 

As for the Steelers, K Chris Boswell could miss out after suffering a head injury vs Browns last week. So new signing Josh Lambo could be set to fill in. TE Eric Ebron is still healing up from a hamstring injury. So, rookie TE Pat Freiermuth can expect to see an increase in his offensive reps.

Steelers vs Bears Picks 

Without Khalil Mack orchestrating the defense, we’re expecting the in-form Steelers defense to prove too much for the Bears’ inexperienced QB Justin Fields. As such, expect a low-scoring game to swing in Pittsburgh’s favor. 

Steelers to beat the -7.0 spread is our NFL betting Pick for the game.

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