Caleb Williams earns game ball with dominant Week 12 win over Steelers

In the NFL, there are victories and then there are statement victories. For the Chicago Bears, their 31-28 victory over the Pittsburgh Steelers falls among the latter. The Bears entered this game with a worst-case scenario on defense, missing five of their eleven starters, including all three linebackers. Then, before the first quarter even ended, cornerback Tyrique Stevenson left the game with an injury and did not return.

In the end, however, the Bears overcame this Mount Everest of adversity and beat the Steelers to advance to 8-3 on the season and maintain their hold on first place in the NFC North.

There's a lot to take away from this game, including a brutal mistake by Caleb Williams, but for now let's hand out some game balls.

1. Caleb Williams

As aforementioned, Williams made a catastrophic mistake early in this game. T.J. Watt beat Darnell Wright quickly as Williams dropped back to pass in the shadow of his own goalposts. Williams tried to work some magic, but all he mustered up was a disappearing act of his hold on the ball. Watt came up with it in the endzone, giving the Steelers a touchdown and a 14-7 lead.

However, no quarterback is perfect. They all make mistakes, but what makes the great quarterbacks great is how they recover from those mistakes. For Williams, that meant throwing for three touchdowns, 239 yards, and picking up the win in crunch time. For his fearless performance, Williams gets the first game ball.

Lovely day in Chicago ☀️

📺: CBS pic.twitter.com/nmr3z8qfvJ
— Chicago Bears (@ChicagoBears) November 23, 2025

2. Montez Sweat

It's time to stop giving Sweat the "yeah, but..." treatment. Since the bye, he's been playing excellent football, period. On Sunday, he came up with two sacks, including a strip-sack in Chicago territory that stopped what looked like a promising drive for Pittsburgh. He's up to 7.5 sacks on the season and appears to be turning a corner just as Chicago needed him most.

🚨 Sweat strip sack 🚨

📺: CBS pic.twitter.com/yjXGuWEbA3
— Chicago Bears (@ChicagoBears) November 23, 2025

3. DJ Moore

The DJ Moore that Bears fans had come to know and love has been shockingly quiet in 2025, but he showed up with a vintage performance on Sunday, reeling in five of his seven targets for 68 yards and a pair of gorgeous touchdowns. Before the trade deadline, Bears mock drafts that included DJ Moore were popular, but he's making a case to remain a focal point for this offense in 2026 and beyond.

.@CALEBcsw with a strike to @idjmoore for 6 🙌

📺: CBS pic.twitter.com/DP5AZkkOot
— Chicago Bears (@ChicagoBears) November 23, 2025

Honorable Mention: The backups

Chicago's backups got no love heading into this game. With all three linebackers out and Jaylon Johnson and Kyler Gordon still not active, many fans and analysts wrote Chicago off. But the backups stepped up big time, especially late in the game when the stakes were highest. Credit where credit is due.