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Ben Roethlisberger and the Pittsburgh Steelers will try to turn their season around against Jay Cutler’s Chicago Bears. Join us for live scores and commentary from 10.30am AEST.
The Steelers, currently 0-2 and experiencing their worst start since 2003, have looked terrible in both games and criticism is pouring in from fans and media alike.
Pittsburgh, traditionally a running team, has totalled 75 yards on the ground through the first two weeks and has been outscored 36-19 during that span.
All eyes are on offensive coordinator Todd Haley and his unit to pick up their game, including the attention of the head coach.
“The most significant reason we’re 0-2 is we’re not scoring enough points,” said Steelers coach Mike Tomlin this week to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.
In contrast, Bears coach Mark Trestman is in his first year in the NFL and is the only first-year head coach to remain undefeated, albeit winning two narrow ones.
Last week’s 31-30 victory over division rivals Minnesota Vikings came with via a touchdown strike to tight end Martellus Bennett in the last ten seconds of the game.
Bennett now has three touchdowns in his first two games with Chicago, and runningback Matt Forte is also off to a great start with 252 scrimmage yards.
The NFL’s best kick returner Devin Hester has also found his stride – he averaged almost 50 yards a return last week on his way to winning his 13th NFC Special Teams Player of the Week award.
With both teams coming from separate conferences, neither side is very familiar with their opponent, so we should see an increased output from both offenses – for example, Bears wideout Brandon Marshall averages eight catches and over 100 yards against AFC opponents, and Roethlisberger’s home record against NFC teams is 15-1.
The last game between Pittsburgh and Chicago was in Week 2 of the 2009 season, wherein Cutler (in his second game as a Bear) went 27-of-38 for 236 yards and two touchdowns to lead Chicago to a narrow 17-14 win.
Chicago cornerback Charles ‘Peanut’ Tillman also starred in the game with an interception and a forced fumble.
All hope for the Steelers is not yet lost. Since 1990, 22 teams have started the season 0-2 and still made the playoffs, including a 2007 Giants team that went on to win the Superbowl.
That number reduces to three if they lose this one and start 0-3.
Join us on the Roar for live commentary from kickoff at 10.30am AEST.