Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Aaron Rodgers notoriously claimed ownership of the Chicago Bears while leading the Green Bay Packers in 2021.
Whether he gets the opportunity to prolong that proprietorship during Sunday’s meeting of division leaders remains questionable.
Rodgers boasts 24 career victories against Chicago but his status for the Steelers’ visit to the Bears is uncertain. Rodgers fractured his left, non-throwing wrist during last week’s 34-12 victory against Cincinnati, throwing for a touchdown before backup Mason Rudolph entered in the second half.
Steelers coach Mike Tomlin said this week that Rodgers won’t need surgery but the team might not fully be able to evaluate the wrist until Friday.
“The variables are stabilizing it and making sure that he’s safe and he can protect himself as he falls,” Tomlin said. “And then lastly, obviously, how effective he can be.”
Pittsburgh (6-4) remains atop the AFC North while Chicago (7-3) leads the NFC North on the legs of three straight victories.
Rodgers, who didn’t practice Wednesday, insists there’s not an added impetus to face Chicago, against whom he has thrown 60 touchdown passes, more than any other foe.
“There’s incentive for every opponent, but I have enjoyed many a Sunday and Monday and, I think, Thursday in that city,” he said.
Whether it’s Rodgers or Rudolph under center, Pittsburgh may also have to be without running back Jaylen Warren (ankle), who left the Cincinnati game and didn’t practice Wednesday.
The Steelers will meet a Bears defense that leads the NFL in turnover differential at plus-16. Kevin Byard III and Nahshon Wright snagged interceptions to help visiting Chicago edge the Minnesota Vikings 19-17 last week in a game that ended on Cairo Santos’ 48-yard field goal as time expired.
The Bears also have benefited from strong play from nickelback C.J. Gardner-Johnson in two games since signing with Chicago to fill in for the injured Kyler Gordon (calf, groin). The defense, however, had a number of key players miss practice on Wednesday, including safety Jaquan Brisker (shoulder) and their entire starting linebacking corps of Tremaine Edmunds (groin), TJ Edwards (hand/hamstring), and Noah Sewell (elbow).
While the Bears opened Gordon’s practice window on Wednesday, they envision a reality with both players in the lineup, although likely not against Pittsburgh.
“C.J. is definitely a playmaker,” Bears coach Ben Johnson said. “He’s a guy we’re going to want on the field. When we feel good about Kyler being ready, we’ll make sure we have a good plan in place in terms of how we set that up.”
While Bears quarterback Caleb Williams remains healthy, Johnson is hoping for more consistency from the second-year pro, who had a season-low QBR of 23.7 and completed just 50% of his passes against Minnesota.
Williams helped engineer his third straight fourth-quarter comeback, boosting the Bears’ morale as they avoided an 0-3 start in division play.
“We’re bought in,” Williams said. “We believe. Like I said after the (Minnesota) game, we’ve got all the guys that we need; we’ve got everybody. We just have to go out there and execute for the whole game, all 60 minutes.”
Johnson complimented the development of rookie wide receiver Luther Burden, saying he has “steadily climbed” while logging six receptions for 78 yards in the past two weeks.
The Steelers are 1-6 in Chicago during the Super Bowl era. Their past two visits to Soldier Field, in 2009 and 2017, were losses by nine combined points.
