Cutler Takes Beating, Bears Lose To Saints, 30-13
NEW ORLEANS (AP) -- Jay Cutler crouched down on his knees, his head resting on the turf with his hands on both sides of his helmet as if his ears were ringing.
That was after a blindside hit from Saints safety Malcolm Jenkins that was only the beginning of his misery in a 30-13 loss to New Orleans on Sunday.
"It was a long day out there," said Cutler, who was sacked six times and hit much more than that. "I had to throw a lot of balls before I wanted to. ... The Saints were the better team today. They rushed me hard and forced our offense to do things we didn't want to do."
Photo Gallery: Saints 30, Bears 13
Facing heavy blitzing and without injured receiver Roy Williams, Cutler passed for 244 yards and a score, but completed only 42 percent of his passes (19 of 45) and fumbled once on a sack and by Turk McBride. Jonathan Vilma recovered on the Bears 29, setting up a Saints touchdown on Robert Meachem's 4-yard reception, which gave New Orleans a 23-13 lead in the third quarter.
Running back Matt Forte had 117 yards receiving to go with 49 yards rushing for Chicago (1-1), which lost guard Gabe Carimi and safety Major Wright to injuries after entering the game without several other injured starters.
Saints defenders had talked all week of bouncing back from their last outing at Green Bay, where they yielded five touchdowns and missed a slew of tackles in a 42-34 season-opening loss.
They brought relentless pressure against a Bears offensive line that started the game without injured guard Lance Louis and then lost Carimi, their other starting guard, to a right knee injury.
Roman Harper and Junior Gallette each had two sacks.
When Cutler did have success throwing, it was usually on dump-offs to Forte, a New Orleans-area native who played home games in the Louisiana Superdome when he starred for Tulane.
"On a lot of the passes I caught, I wasn't the primary receiver," Forte said. "But I did make the best of what was in front of me after catching the ball."
The Saints (1-1) also allowed only 60 yards rushing, with 12 of those yards on Cutler's scramble.
Drew Brees completed passes to eight targets, including a 79-yard scoring strike to Devery Henderson on a third-and-12 play.
Henderson finished with three catches for 103 yards. Tight end Jimmy Graham had six catches for 79 yards, ending one reception with a forceful head-on collision that shook up Wright.
Darren Sproles caught eight passes for 43 yards, including a 12-yard TD. The Saints also had 118 yards rushing, with rookie Mark Ingram gaining a team-leading 51.
"Today, we knew the formula ourselves for winning this game. That was establishing the run, being patient, but also calling some shots, and hey, if it's there, we need to take full advantage," Brees said.
Bears linebacker Brian Urlacher, who spent part of the past week away from his team following the sudden death of his mother, said returning to the field was an emotional struggle, but added that was not to blame for his unit's inability to sustain its dominance of a week ago against Atlanta.
"This was a real tough game to play today, but I went out there and gave it my all," Urlacher said. "That's a high-powered offense we were playing against. We were on a real high last week after winning against Atlanta. We don't have the same feeling now."
The Bears scored first on Dane Sanzenbacher's 8-yard catch, capping a drive highlighted by Forte's 42-yard run.
New Orleans cut it to 7-3 on John Kasay's 31-yard field goal, then vaulted into the lead on Brees' deep heave to Henderson.
Kasay added field goals of 29 and 53 yards in the first half.
Robbie Gould pulled Chicago to 16-10 with a 42-yard field goal in the final seconds of the first half, then added a 38-yarder in the third quarter for Chicago's final points.
Notes: Chicago was the only NFC team Saints coach Sean Payton had not beaten since becoming New Orleans' head coach in 2006. Payton, who grew up in suburban Chicago, had been 0-3 against the Bears, including the NFC title game to end his 2006 season. ... After opening the season scoring one TD on their first seven trips inside an opponents' 20, the Saints converted on two straight trips against the Bears in the second half. ... The Bears have allowed 10 sacks through two games. ... Of Chicago's 246 yards from scrimmage, Forte had 166. ... Bears receiver Earl Bennett left with a chest injury in the first half.
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