Have We Seen The Last of Cutler In Chicago?

Zack Miller (86) celebrates touchdown in the third quarter
against the Lions, Sunday Oct. 2, 2016.
 (Credit: AP Charles Rex Arbogast)

      The Chicago Bears (1-3) finally got their first win on Sunday against the Detroit Lions (1-3) by a score of 17-14. It was a breath of fresh air for the Bears who hadn't beaten the Lions in their last 6 attempts.

      My praise goes out to the defense. They played like a complete unit coming up with huge stops almost every time we needed them to. They held the Lions to 263 yards, 7 points (special teams gave up the other touchdown), and a 33% success rate on third downs (all of which are below their season averages). This great performance might have come against a Lions team struggling to find a way to do much of anything, but we can't look past what this defense did. Coming into this game, the Bears defense seemed unable to stop any team in the National Football League, but that defense was nowhere to be found in this game. John Timu came up with a huge stop on a third and goal, forcing the Lions to settle for a field goal. Hicks and Washington both contributed sacks while Glenn and Hall had one interception each. The defense looked like a top ten unit in a game that absolutely needed to be won. The Bears defense will have to keep up their intensity after this win if they have any hope of making a push towards the playoffs (I know that's a long shot).

      Turning to the offensive side it is obvious that Brian Hoyer played a good game. With his performance comes the good ol QB controversy. Will Cutler start once healthy? Has Hoyer shown he can get it done just as much, or even better than Jay? John Fox might think so. Fox has not given any straight answers whether Jay gets his job back once he is healthy which isn't a good sign for Cutler. Then again Fox is as far from straight forward with answers as it gets when it comes to coaches in this league. Remember when Rex Grossman was our QB? Lovie Smith always said "Rex is our quarterback". But Hoyer has given Fox something to think about.

      On Sunday, Hoyer was 28-36 for 302 yards, 2 touchdowns, and no interceptions. He has thrown for more than 300 yards in two straight weeks and has not thrown an interception in both of his starts so far. I don't want to take away from his performance. He played really well with the plays that were called and produced just what we needed to win. But, let's not forget Jordan Howard. Howard rushed for 111 yards on 23 attempts (that's 4.8 yards/rush). The Bears haven't had a 100 yard rusher since Matt Forte the first game of the season in 2015. This simply cannot be overlooked. Loggains was able to call the game in a very productive way. He used the running game consistently and it worked well. That opened a lot of play action opportunities for Hoyer and the Bears. Hoyer was sacked twice in the game, but the line held up pretty well throughout (something Cutler hadn't seen prior to his injury). One play, Hoyer was able to hit Royal in stride in the middle of the field because the line held up perfectly (best throw I saw all game). But with the good also comes the things we need to work on.

      Like I said earlier, the Bears won 17-14. Despite Hoyer's numbers, I think this game goes to the defense. Although the Bears offense out-gained the Lions by 145 yards, their 38% success rate on third down will not cut it. If you gain 500 yards in a game but can't produce points, you will not win much. We also can't expect the defense to play so well against teams that have high octane offenses or simply better offenses than the Lions. This is where I believe Jay gives us a better chance to win. We have seen, even when Jay throws interceptions, we have the ability to to come out on top. Do we win a lot when he throws interceptions? Of course not (depending on the amount of course). I don't see Hoyer not making mistakes down the line. But if the line can play how they have been and the rushing game can be consistent, Jay most definitely gives the Bears a better chance to win. First of all, Cutler is more athletic than Hoyer. This might be completely opinion, but when you judge mobility, I believe Cutler has way more elusiveness. When he wants and when he needs to be, Jay can be really physical. Another thing that we don't get from Hoyer are big plays. As we saw in this last game, Loggains kept the plays very conservative which can explain why Jeffery ended the game with 3 receptions for 46 yards. The Bears weren't going to take many chances. I am not saying that they won't try big plays with Hoyer, but I do believe that the ability for those plays comes more naturally with Jay. The Bears are going to have to throw in the long pass in order to keep the defense on their toes. Sure, check downs and short passes are definitely a huge part of the game and Cutler has his fair share of those plays. But Cutler definitely gives the offense a little more power. You guys might be reading this thinking "wow, he really just can't let Cutler go" or "where is he getting these ideas". You wouldn't be wrong about my love for Jay, but that doesn't make what I'm saying any less true. I simply watch the games and call them how I seem them (most of the time).

      Hoyer did a wonderful job and in no way do I think he isn't a good QB. But we have a lot of people that are putting all their marbles on this guy and I just don't think that is wise. We saw what happened with McCown who thrived for a few games and has been nowhere to be seen lately (due to injury and average quarterback play). Remember when everyone was calling for Hanie? How'd that work out? Hoyer is a backup. That is just the reality. Yes, he is a VERY capable backup, but second string nonetheless.

      Once Cutler gets healthy I have no idea what Fox is going to do. I think a lot of it depends on how Hoyer plays while Cutler watches. It also comes down to whether or not Hoyer can lead the offense and get points when the defense doesn't play as well as they did this last game. Hoyer has started two games so far and has played better than we could have hoped for. Although against the Cowboys we were playing from behind the entire game allowing the Boys defense to simply fall back into zone and Hoyer also threw the ball 49 times. I think the game against the Lions plays more into whether or not he keeps the starting job. But then again..... it was the Lions.

UP NEXT: Chicago Bears (1-3) at Indianapolis Colts (1-3)