The Bears and Steelers have met only eight times since the 1970 NFL-AFL merger, which is too bad because they have a few things in common, like Kordell Stewart, Jim Miller, Mike Tomczak, Kent Nix, Rudy Bukich, Ed Brown, Bobby Layne and Terry Bradshaw.
Q. Terry Bradshaw?
A Well, almost. All the other quarterbacks played for both teams. The Bears won only one game in 1969, against the Steelers, and tied them for the first pick in the 1970 draft. The Bears lost the coin flip, and the Steelers drafted Bradshaw.
Q. How come all the rest of the quarterbacks played for both teams?
A Neither franchise could settle on a No. 1 quarterback. So they passed them back and forth. Bukich went from the Bears to the Steelers and back to the Bears.
Q. Any chance of landing Ben Roethlisberger?
A Doubt it, unless the guy keeps losing.
Q. Losing? Isn’t he something like 19-4?
A Yeah, but he was 19-2 two weeks ago. Hasn’t done much lately.
Q. What’s wrong?
A Coach Bill Cowher blamed his offensive line recently. The Steelers got their offense going in their 38-31 loss to Cincinnati, but the Bengals outrushed them. So now the defense is at fault too.
Q. Haven’t they allowed 100-yard rushers two weeks in a row?
A Yes, but Thomas Jones has to watch out. After Edgerrin James broke the Steelers’ 22-game streak of not allowing a 100-yard rusher and Rudi Johnson followed, linebacker Larry Foote said, “We have to nip that in the butt.”
Q. Is there more wind in Pittsburgh than in Chicago?
A “It changes a lot,” Cowher said. “I have had to sit and wait to see if we win or lose a coin toss to make a decision. I know people coming in here are not going to be able to figure it out because we still haven’t figured it out yet.”
Q. Haven’t the Steelers lost to some pretty good quarterbacks?
A Sure. The last three weeks they have lost to Carson Palmer, Peyton Manning and Kyle Boller.
Q. Kyle Boller?
A Obviously, they have trouble with quarterbacks named Kyle.
