Jay Cutler Injury Proves How Crucial QB Is to Chicago Bears’ Success
Published by Matt Eurich on September 20, 2015
Article Source: Bleacher Report - Chicago Bears
The Chicago Bears fell to 0-2 on the season following a 48-23 loss at home to the Arizona Cardinals, and quarterback Jay Cutler‘s game-ending injury in the first half proved just how crucial he is to the team’s success on offense.
The Bears allowed a 108-yard kick return for a touchdown to Cardinals rookie David Johnson to start the game, and Chicago’s offense had to take the field down 7-0 on its first possession.
Cutler completed his first pass of the afternoon for nine yards to tight end Zach Miller, but following a couple of modest runs by running back Matt Forte, the Bears were forced to punt the football. Chicago’s defense held up well on the next drive and forced Arizona to punt.
The Bears started their next drive on the 11-yard line, and after a one-yard gain by Forte on the ground, Cutler hit Miller for a five-yard completion. On third down, Cutler hit Forte for a 27-yard gain, and three plays later, he found a wide-open Joshua Bellamy for a 48-yard touchdown.
After flashing his ability with his arm on the team’s second drive, Cutler showed off his athleticism on Chicago’s third offensive possession.
The Bears ran some read-option plays late in the first quarter, and Cutler carried the football three times for 24 yards. A couple of plays were read-option looks that gave Cutler the option to hand the football off to the running back or keep it based off what the defender was doing on the edge, and WGN Radio’s Adam Hoge thought one play was a designed quarterback keeper:
In addition to running the football for 24 yards on that drive, Cutler completed two passes for 30 yards—including a 21-yard strike to tight end Martellus Bennett that helped set up a one-yard touchdown run by rookie running back Jeremy Langford.
The Bears were able to tie the game at 14 following their third possession on offense, but following a nine play, 80-yard touchdown drive by the Cardinals in the second quarter, the wheels began to fall off for Chicago’s offense.
Chicago began its fourth possession on offense on the 20-yard line, and following a one-yard run by Forte, Cutler threw behind Bennett in the middle of the field and was intercepted by Arizona’s Tony Jefferson. The former Oklahoma Sooner ran the football back 26 yards for a touchdown to put Arizona up 28-14.
Cutler chased after Jefferson to try to prevent the touchdown, but he was stiff-armed by the Arizona defensive back and tumbled to the ground. He was later seen walking to the locker room following Arizona’s touchdown, per ESPN.com’s Jeff Dickerson:
Veteran Jimmy Clausen replaced Cutler at quarterback, and following a handful of running plays on the team’s ensuing possession, Clausen completed his first pass of the game to Bennett for one yard. The Bears were forced to punt two plays later, but they recovered a fumble after Cardinals return man J.J. Nelson muffed the punt return.
Clausen threw three straight incompletions on the next possession, and the Bears were forced to kick a 40-yard field goal. With the Bears trailing 28-17 late in the second quarter, outside linebacker Jared Allen tipped a ball thrown by Cardinals quarterback Carson Palmer at the line of scrimmage, and the veteran pass-rusher came away with an interception.
The Bears once again stalled on offense on their next drive, and they were forced to kick a field goal.
The Bears went into halftime down 28-20, but just before the start of the second half, the team announced Cutler would miss the rest of the game with a hamstring injury, according to Chicago Bears radio network sideline reporter Zach Zaidman:
Clausen was intercepted by All-Pro cornerback Patrick Peterson on Chicago’s third play of the second half, and the Cardinals never looked back.
The former Notre Dame quarterback completed 14 of his 23 passing attempts on the day for 121 yards with one interception. He was also sacked twice and finished the game with a 56.6 quarterback rating.
After the game, Bears head coach John Fox would not speculate on the severity of Cutler’s injury, per Dickerson:
In just under a half of work on Sunday, Cutler completed eight of his nine passing attempts for 120 yards with one touchdown and one interception and finished with a 116.2 quarterback rating.
The former Vanderbilt Commodore looked comfortable in coordinator Adam Gase’s offense for the second week in a row on Sunday, and he was still able to produce without his best receiver on the field.
Pro Bowl receiver Alshon Jeffery missed Sunday’s game due to an injury, per the team’s official Twitter account, but Cutler was not afraid to look for Miller, Bennett and Forte in the passing game.
The veteran quarterback did a good job of using his legs to pick up first downs in the running game, and he also stepped up in the pocket when he felt pressure around him. Cutler has proven over the years that he will make mistakes in the passing game, but Clausen‘s struggles in the second half proved just how important Cutler is to Chicago’s success on offense.
Cutler’s interception was costly in more ways than one for the Bears on Sunday, and if he is unable to get back onto the field soon, Chicago’s offense will struggle in his absence.
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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