Ben Johnson reacts to Bears' injury adversity vs. Steelers

The Chicago Bears overcame a laundry list of injuries to defeat the Pittsburgh Steelers, 31-28, winning their eighth game in the last nine to improve to 8-3.

The Bears have overcome adversity all season, finding ways to win games when the odds are stacked against them. And this was a big win against a division-leading Steelers team, where Chicago was without its three starting linebackers, down their top two cornerbacks once again and in-game injuries that tested their roster depth. Following the game, head coach Ben Johnson praised his team for continuing to battle amid injury struggles.

"Really proud of the guys," Johnson said. "Thought they did a phenomenal job just responding. I knew we were decimated in certain areas, and yet the easy thing is to say woe is me, and our guys didn't do that. They just stepped up and kept battling through. It happens to most teams each season too where your depth gets tested. It just so happens it was this week for us."

Johnson credited linebackers D'Marco Jackson, Ruben Hyppolite II (who exited with an injury) and Amen Ogbongbemiga for stepping up in place of the injured Tremaine Edmunds, T.J. Edwards and Noah Sewell, and they didn't really miss a beat.

Elsewhere, rookie Ozzy Trapilo started at left tackle in place of an injured Theo Benedet while cornerback Nick McCloud replaced Tyrique Stevenson during the game and rookie Luke Newman stepped in for right guard Jonah Jackson briefly.

"That was the type of game it was," Johnson said. "I just think that's the type of guys we have, the caliber of people we have. They just keep fighting away and plugging away."

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This article originally appeared on Bears Wire: Bears HC Ben Johnson reacts to Chicago's injury adversity vs. Steelers