In the end, the difference was in two teams' kickers

There were an infinite number of factors that played a role in the Bears' 17-14 victory over the Steelers, but the bottom line is that the winners had a better kicker than the losers.

The Bears have won three of their last five games, and Robbie Gould has hit the game-winning field goals in all three victories.

His 44-yard game-winner Sunday allowed the Bears to even their record at 1-1. The Steelers dropped to 1-1, in large part because their kicker, Jeff Reed, missed his only 2 FG chances, from 38 and 43 yards.

Gould said he doesn't clutter his mind with positive thoughts or go to his happy place when he's called on to win the game.

"I don't think; I just do," he said. "I'm just the final piece. Tonight we got a win, that's all that matters, regardless of how we did it. Everyone contributed, everyone did a great job."

The last time Reed missed 2 field goals in the same game was in monsoon-like rains at Miami in 2004. His misses didn't effect Gould though.

"You don't think," he said. "Either way you're going to have to kick a field goal. If he would have made it, (I) still have to get ready to kick one. If he missed (I) still had to get ready to kick one.

"You don't really think about missing any kicks because when you start doing that, you're going to miss. You just have to go out there and do your job."

One down: After a tough debut, quarterback Jay Cutler's first win as a Bear was important.

"It means a lot (to me), and it means a lot to this team," Cutler said. "We've had a lot of pressure and expectations on us since I got here, since Orlando (Pace) got here, since the defense has stepped it up.

"It's good to get this one off our back and move on. We went to Green Bay with the whole city of Chicago on us, which is fine. We love it, we expect a lot out of ourselves. To get this first one behind us and get rolling it's good for us."

Cutler's 104.7 passer rating was 61.5 points higher than his 43.2 against the Packers.

"I thought Jay was outstanding all day," coach Lovie Smith said. "We as an offense, as a team, have a long ways to go. But he's a pro. I think he handled the week well."

Brown goes down: Defensive end Alex Brown left the game late in the fourth quarter with a sprained ankle after getting both of the Bears sacks, making 2 other tackles for loss and hitting Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger just before he threw his only interception. No other injuries were reported.