Durkin: It Wasn't Pretty, But Cutler Delivers
By Dan Durkin-
(CBS) There are no style points in the NFL. Games are reconciled by points and seasons by wins and losses.
For the fifth straight week, the Bears offense was shut out in the first quarter Sunday, and they fell behind 10-0, giving the frigid faithful a sense of, "Here we go again."
All the elements that have plagued the Bears during their three-game losing streak were on display: costly penalties, shoddy special teams, curious coaching decisions and clock management.
Despite all that, the Bears persevered.
They needed all 60 minutes -- perhaps even more considering the malfunctioning clocks at Soldier Field -- to do it, but in the end, they did enough to eke out a 21-13 win against the Minnesota Vikings at Soldier Field.
In many ways, the win wasn't convincing. But it ended a forgettable month for the Bears during which nothing went right on or off the field. They picked up their first divisional win and moved the Vikings to where they belong, at the bottom of the NFC North.
On Thursday, a contrite Jay Cutler put the onus on himself to pull his team out of the rut they had fallen into. On Sunday, save for a few poor throws -- in particular his second interception of the game -- Cutler delivered, finishing 31-for-43 for 330 yards, three touchdowns, two interceptions with a passer efficiency rating of 98.
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The Vikings defense frequently moved an eighth defender into the box to both help slow down Bears running back Matt Forte as well as aid in their pressure packages, which were frequent. Blitzing in the NFL is a double-edged sword, as it exposes your secondary in man coverage.
The Vikings were able to consistently get Cutler off his mark and force him to make plays on the move. They hit him five times but never sacked him. While he was under duress, Cutler extended plays with his feet and kept his eyes fixed down field to find the Bears' basketball team in cleats that dominated the Vikings' secondary.
Cutler doesn't get enough credit for his mobility, which was incorporated into Sunday's game plan to counter the Vikings' pressure packages.
"We got to move the pocket," Cutler said. "We got to help the offensive line. Keep teams off-balance, make us less predictable."
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A by-product of Cutler's movement in the pocket was explosive plays in the passing game, which have been missing since the win against the Falcons in Week 6. On Sunday, the Bears had five pass plays of 20-plus yards, two of which went for touchdowns. Alshon Jeffery was targeted a team-high 17 times, corralling 11 passes for 135 yards and a touchdown with a long of 34 yards, while Brandon Marshall caught seven passes for 90 yards, two touchdowns and a long of 44.
The unfortunate reality for a team led by Cutler is negative plays are going to happen. The hope is that they aren't catastrophic and the dynamic plays he can make that few other quarterbacks can will win out in the end, which was the case against Minnesota.
If the Bears have any hope of turning around their dismal season, their coaches must find the best ways to maximize the talent they have available to them, while minimizing the collateral damage.
Few questions were answered by beating a bad Vikings team. With an even worse Buccaneers squad next on the docket, the Bears must avoid the temptation to look ahead to their Thanksgiving matchup against the Lions.
But for at least one day, they can enjoy a win, their first at home in 11 months.
"The questions get a little bit easier after a win," Cutler said. "Everyone can relax a little bit. We have a long season. We realized we have a better team in that locker room than we are playing with. We had a good week of practice. We've had good weeks of practice before, we just had to play better, make some plays, overcome some things.
"We did all that today."
Dan Durkin covers the Bears for CBSChicago.com and is a frequent contributor to 670 The Score. Follow him on Twitter at @djdurkin.
