5 things to watch as Bears look to stop skid in Pittsburgh

For the third consecutive season, head coach Matt Nagy and the Bears need to end a prolonged losing streak. The 2019 Bears lost four in a row (and five out of six) after a 3-1 start. The 2020 Bears lost a whopping six in a row and somehow still made the playoffs.

The current Bears (3-5) have lost three consecutive games, while the Steelers (4-3) have won three straight and are coming off a win over the Cleveland Browns on Sunday.

This is a Steelers organization that hasn't had a losing season since 2003. Yet the Bears have won three consecutive against Pittsburgh, most recently an overtime win on Sept. 24, 2017. The Bears handed the Steelers one of their three regular season losses that year.

Here are five things to watch this time around.

1. Old man Ben

Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger is on his last legs at age 39, and doesn't look like he's going to be playing as long as Tom Brady. Roethlisberger is akin to a statue in the pocket, giving his team very little mobility. He makes up for it by releasing the ball quickly. His 2.37-second average time to throw, per NFL Next Gen Stats, is the quickest in the NFL.

The easiest way to disrupt the Steelers offense is to make Roethlisberger uncomfortable. Few teams have successfully done that. Only once has he been sacked more than twice in a game (the Bengals got to him four times in Week 3). Roethlisberger has been pressured on only 20.3% of his dropbacks, according to Pro Football Reference's advanced stats. That ranks fourth among NFL teams.

2. Can Justin Fields carry the momentum over?

Justin Fields played what quarterbacks coach John DeFilippo called his best game "by far" last week against the 49ers. The Bears need the rookie to build off that momentum. Fields was decisive and effective running the ball. His touchdown pass to tight end Jesse James was a high-level throw. His touchdown run was electric.

The Steelers defense ranks in the middle of the pack against the pass. The defensive front will cause havoc, but the secondary is beatable. The Pittsburgh defense has only two interceptions on the season.

As offensive coordinator Bill Lazor said, "Until we get the passing game to produce better, we're going to have a hard time."

3. T.J. Watt vs. the Bears' offensive tackles

Bears rookie right tackle Larry Borom passed his first test last week against the 49ers' Nick Bosa. Now he has another tough challenge ahead with Steelers pass rusher T.J. Watt. As a team, the Steelers defense is sacking the quarterback on 7.82% of pass attempts, ranking fifth in the NFL. They get to the quarterback, and Watt leads the way with 8.5 sacks, good enough for second in the NFL (behind only Myles Garrett's 10.5 sacks).

Garrett leads all pass rushers in win rate, according to ESPN Analytics' advanced metric. Watt ranks right behind him in second. Watt is going to be among the toughest challenges the Bears offensive line will face all season. He and the Steelers' other edge rusher, Alex Highsmith, both rank in the top three against the run, too.

"He's a game changer," Nagy said of Watt. "I mean, he's special now. He's all over the place. He's smart. He can beat you with different moves, speed to power, can bull rush you. He'll be all over the place."

4. Does David Montgomery make his return?

Bears running back David Montgomery returned to practice Thursday. That opened a 21-day window for the Bears to activate him off injured reserve. For the time being, Montgomery is not on the active roster. His return could be a huge boost for the offense. With the emergence of rookie running back Khalil Herbert, it would give the Bears multiple reliable backs to work with.

It's possible the team gives him one more week off. With the bye week coming up after the Steelers game, it would provide two additional weeks to rest his body.

5. The rookie running back

The Steelers took running back Najee Harris with the 24th overall pick in the draft last spring. For an organization that likes to run the ball, Harris has seen the bulk of the carries this season. His 128 attempts dwarf the rest of his teammates and were third highest in the NFL entering Week 8. He is the only Steeler with double digit rushing attempts.

"He can make you miss with speed, he can make you miss with a stiff arm," Bears defensive coordinator Sean Desai said. "If you try to go low on him as a tackler, he's going to jump over you. So he's a complete, solid back."

The Bears haven't stopped the run well in any of their previous three games. Harris will be another challenge and the Steelers are sure to use the rookie often.