Chicago Bears QB Jay Cutler Proves He Can Excel Without Top WR in Week 5 Win
Published by Matt Eurich on October 11, 2015
Article Source: Bleacher Report - Chicago Bears
Chicago Bears quarterback Jay Cutler was without wide receivers Alshon Jeffery and Eddie Royal against the Kansas City Chiefs, but he proved in Chicago’s 18-17 victory on Sunday he can excel without a top wide receiver.
According to the Daily Herald‘s Bob LeGere, both Jeffery and Royal missed practice all of last week, but they were listed as questionable to play on Sunday against Kansas City. Prior to the start of the game, the Bears announced neither Jeffery nor Royal would play against the Chiefs, per WGNRadio.com’s Adam Hoge:
With both Jeffery and Royal out of the lineup, Chicago began the game with Joshua Bellamy and Marquess Wilson as its starters on offense. In addition to not having its top two receivers, Chicago’s offense was also forced to start 2015 third-round pick Hroniss Grasu at center for the first time this season.
After Chicago’s offense stalled after picking up two first downs on its first drive of the game, Grasu‘s inexperience came into play on the team’s second drive.
On the first play of the second series on offense for the Bears, tight end Zach Miller was called for a false start, and the offense was forced to move back to its own 5-yard line.
Two plays later, Chiefs nose tackle Jaye Howard bull-rushed Grasu up the middle and pushed him into the backfield. Cutler tried to avoid the would-be tackler, but he was sacked in the end zone and fumbled the football. Kansas City linebacker Ramik Wilson then recovered the football in the end zone for a touchdown.
Grasu‘s play up front improved, and Cutler completed 10 of his 14 passing attempts in the first quarter for 81 yards. The Bears were only able to score three points in the first quarter, but the offense looked like it was starting to find a rhythm.
After a solid start in the first quarter, the offense struggled in both the running and passing game in the second quarter. It struggled to get into a rhythm, and Cutler failed to complete any of his three passing attempts.
On Chicago’s first possession in the second half, Cutler completed four of his six passing attempts for 50 yards, but the Bears were unable to find the end zone and settled for a Robbie Gould field goal. The team’s next two drives resulted in punts, but the offense clicked during Chicago’s fourth drive of the second half.
The Bears began the drive with the ball at the 12-yard line and gained 88 yards on 11 plays. Cutler completed four of his seven passing attempts for 57 yards and connected with Wilson in the end zone for a 22-yard touchdown.
Cutler was pressured up the middle, but he stood tall in the pocket and threw a perfect ball to Wilson near the sideline in the end zone, via BearReport.com’s Zack Pearson:
After the touchdown to Wilson, Cutler received praise from ESPN.com’s Matt Bowen and the Chicago Sun-Times‘ Adam Jahns for the throw:
“I don’t think I’ve ever seen something like that,” said Wilson about the touchdown throw from Cutler, per Patrick Finley of the Chicago Sun-Times. “He threw it before I even got out of my break.”
Cutler’s touchdown throw to Wilson helped the Bears get within five points of Kansas City, but they needed a big stop from their defense on the next drive. The defense forced Kansas City to punt after three plays, and Cutler and the offense got the football back at Chicago’s own 33-yard line with just over two minutes left on the clock.
The veteran quarterback completed two passes to rookie Cameron Meredith early in the drive, but one of the biggest moments of the game came when Kansas City cornerback Marcus Peters was called for a 24-yard pass interference penalty against Wilson.
Following a six-yard completion to tight end Martellus Bennett, Cutler dropped the shotgun snap from Grasu but recovered the football and hit running back Matt Forte in the end zone to put the Bears up 18-17 on the scoreboard.
Chicago’s defense did its part at the end of the game, and the Bears were able to come away with their second victory of the season. After the game, head coach John Fox had nothing but praise for Cutler’s performance.
“I couldn’t be more pleased or impressed at how he’s handled himself,” said Fox in his postgame press conference, per Kevin Fishbain of ChicagoFootball.com.
Cutler completed 26 of his 45 passing attempts for 252 yards on Sunday afternoon and finished the game with two touchdowns and an 88.4 quarterback rating. Despite not having two of his best receivers, he did not hesitate to spread the football around.
Wilson led the team with six catches for 85 yards with one touchdown, Meredith hauled in four catches for 52 yards, Forte had five catches for 38 yards with one touchdown, Bennett recorded four catches for 32 yards, Bellamy finished with six catches for 31 yards and rookie running back Jeremy Langford hauled in one catch for 14 yards.
In addition to completing passes to six different receivers, Cutler also targeted backup tight end Zach Miller, slot receiver Marc Mariani and third-string tight end Khari Lee in the passing game.
Cutler did a great job of stepping up in the pocket to avoid pressure all afternoon, and despite still being on the mend from a hamstring injury, he was able to gain 15 yards on the ground on four rushing attempts.
Even without Jeffery and Royal, Cutler proved he has the ability to make something out of nothing in coordinator Adam Gase’s offense. Coming into Sunday’s game, Wilson, Bellamy, Mariani and Meredith had combined for just 37 career catches, but Cutler was not afraid to look in their direction when the offense needed to push the football down the field.
After starting the season 0-3, the Bears have rallied to win back-to-back games with Cutler under center. If Jeffery and Royal can get back on the field soon, Chicago’s offense has a chance to put up big numbers, but if they continue to be hindered by their injuries, Cutler proved on Sunday he can be successful without them.
Statistical information courtesy of ESPN.com unless otherwise noted.
Matt Eurich is a Chicago Bears featured columnist for Bleacher Report and a member of the Pro Football Writers of America.
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