The Chicago Bears didn’t have to face veteran quarterback Aaron Rodgers in their 31-28 win over the Pittsburgh Steelers in Week 12, but it doesn’t seem like they spent much time dwelling on his availability leading up to the matchup.
Whether Rodgers would play against the Bears dominated headlines last week after the four-time NFL MVP fractured his wrist in the Steelers‘ win over the Cincinnati Bengals.
According to NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport, Rodgers had been “pushing to play” in the matchup, but the Steelers ultimately decided the turnaround was “too quick” for him and left him inactive, starting backup Mason Rudolph for the first time this season.
When asked about his “message” to his team when he found out Rodgers would not play, though, Bears head coach Ben Johnson got brutally honest about the situation.
“Nothing,” Johnson said with a smile in Sunday’s postgame. “We just keep playing. Doesn’t matter who is out there.”
Aaron Rodgers Still Took Time to Renew Bears Rivalry
Rodgers may have missed his final opportunity to play the Bears in what is likely one of his last seasons playing in the NFL, but he didn’t miss his chance to make the rounds at Soldier Field and renew his rivalry with the fans, according to ESPN’s Dan Graziano.
“Aaron Rodgers arrived at Soldier Field about 20 minutes ago, walked one lap around the field, flipped off a couple of the cameras that were filming and went back inside,” Graziano wrote roughly three hours before kickoff. “Used his right hand to flip the bird, so unclear if he could do it with his left. Status for today’s game still up in the air.”
Much to the chagrin of the fans in Chicago, Rodgers had a dominant career against the Bears when he played for the Green Bay Packers, winning 24 of his 29 matchups with the franchise and tallying 6,965 passing yards and 66 total touchdowns in the series.
The past was not the present for Rodgers on his new team, however, as the Bears seized a narrow victory over the Steelers to capture their eighth win in their last nine games — and their fourth in a row. Rudolph completed 24 of his 31 passes against the Bears and kept the Steelers in the game, but his opening-drive interception helped tip the scales.
Bears Cruising Into Tougher Part of 2025 Schedule
The Bears are one of the hottest teams in the NFL heading into Week 13’s games, but it will only get tougher for the inconsistent NFC North leaders after beating the Steelers.
The Steelers — now 6-5 — are the first team the Bears have defeated in 2025 that had a winning record coming into the matchup. While the Bears can only play who they have on the schedule, they will have plenty of opportunities to truly test their mettle in the next several weeks, with matchups against the Philadelphia Eagles (8-3), Packers (7-3-1), San Francisco 49ers (7-4) and Detroit Lions (7-4) left on the docket.
According to Playoff Status, the Bears have only a 22% chance of being left out of the NFC playoff picture at this point in the season, but a stretch of losses against stronger competition could begin to deflate their efforts. Wins over their division rivals, however — especially the Lions, who stomped them 52-21 in Week 2 — would go a long way.
The Bears will visit the Eagles for a Black Friday game at 3 p.m. ET on November 28.
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