QB Jay Cutler, Chicago Bears

HT: 6-4, WT: 225, Born: 4-29-1983, College: Vanderbilt, Drafted: Round 1, Pick 11

2013 Projections

Average draft position

Current as of June 11th. [Full ADP list]

Overall: P Rivers (141), J Gresham (142), Jay Cutler (143), L James (144), S Holmes (145)
Position: J Freeman (139-QB18), P Rivers (141-QB19), Jay Cutler (143 - QB20), M Schaub (150-QB21), S Bradford (166-QB22)
Click here for a comparison of these players.

Best Case

The offensive line comes together perfectly and Cutler stops running for his life on every play. New receiving threat Martellus Bennett and second year man Alshon Jeffery pull enough attention from Brandon Marshall to make all three of them solid receiving threats and Cutler returns to his all-pro form. The Bears return to the playoffs and Cutler lands a huge contract this off season.

Worst Case

The offensive line changes take too long to come together. Cutler continues to be sacked three times a game and he never has time to set up. With the line not opening up the holes, the Bears become one dimensional again this season with everything flowing through Brandon Marshall again. Defenses figure out how to contain Marshall and the Bears stumble even further off the pace. Cutler goes into free agency and Chicago either uses a franchise tag on him or he moves on to another team.

Outlook

This season is one of the most important of Jay Cutler's career. He is a free agent at the end of the season, and the new Chicago coaching staff will use this season to determine if Cutler is their franchise quarterback or if they have to look for other options next season. Cutler has the best group of receivers that he has ever had since coming to Chicago, with Brandon Marshall returning to lead the way after a franchise record season. With the new offensive line upgrades, a new coach and a strong incentive to light it up, look for Cutler to have one of his best seasons since coming to Chicago.

Latest News

Bears | Want Jay Cutler to get ball out quicker (Fri Jun 14, 05:14 PM) - Chicago Bears quarterbacks coach Matt Cavanaugh said the team wants QB Jay Cutler to throw the ball quicker in order to avoid some sacks. 'We've stressed that we want the ball out. There's a rhythm to what we do. He appreciates that, and he knows if he's getting the ball out he's not getting hit. We're all involved in it and everybody is responsible for it. Since we said Day 1 that's our No. 1 goal, we've got to live up to it and make sure we are not holding onto the ball forever,' Cavanaugh said.

Our View: Things are shaping up nicely for Cutler in 2013. The team added more weapons in the passing game like TE Martellus Bennett and also upgraded the offensive line this offseason. Cutler is going to be protected better and will have more options to throw to. Under new head coach Marc Trestman we could see Cutler perform like he did back in Denver. Cutler is a value QB and can be a target if you wait at the position. His current ADP is QB19 and he's coming off the board at 12.02.
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Bears | Jay Cutler confirms marriage (Tue Jun 11, 07:23 PM) - Chicago Bears QB Jay Cutler confirmed he recently married actress Kristin Cavallari. The quarterback said he feels much older after exchanging vows.

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Bears | Jay Cutler and Mike Tice had ugly relationship (Fri Jun 7, 01:20 PM) - Chicago Bears QB Jay Cutler and offensive coordinator Mike Tice were on such bad terms last season that QB Josh McCown had to act as a liason between the two. Tice is no longer with the team. 'I was just talking to McCown this morning and one of the things we said is it's so cool to come to work where it's not one of those things where it's dreadful,' WR Brandon Marshall said this week.

Our View: Cutler could have a better relationship with new head coach Marc Trestman. That could help Cutler play better in 2013 and better utilize the weapons around him. The Bears have done a good job upgrading their offense line and receiving weapons this offseason. Cutler is a nice value at QB18 and can be part of a quality rotation if you wait until the later rounds to draft a quarterback.
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2013 Schedule

2012 Game Summaries

Week 1 - Cutler had a terrible start to this game, being sacked on the opening play and starting out the game 1-10, including a short pass near the end zone where he completely missed the defender, and didn’t step into the throw before it was picked off and returned for a TD. Cutler looked off with his timing, and frequently threw from being flat footed, using more arm strength than proper mechanics. However, near the end of the first quarter, Cutler settled down and began to pick apart the defense. He focused on Brandon Marshall early and often, and any time he saw Marshall lined up one on one, he was looking to get him the ball. But to his credit, he also spread the ball around well, taking advantage of his numerous weapons and six different people involved in the passing game. He finished the game strong, and could have had several more TD passes, but Marshall drew two pass interference penalties in the end zone that turned into Michael Bush TDS. Cutler did hit Marshall on a short TD pass, and worked another bomb to rookie Alshon Jeffery after several consecutive running plays. Jeffery had beaten his man, and Cutler laid it out perfectly for him to make the catch. Cutler looked sharp in this game, and it will be interesting to see if he can duplicate it against Green Bay later this week.

Week 2 - Dom Capers was doing his own ‘Gangnam Style’ dance on the sideline as the Packers were all over Jay Cutler from the opening whistle. Much like last week against Indianapolis, Cutler was chased and sacked on the first play of the game. Unlike last week, he wasn’t able to recover. Cutler was sacked seven times in this game, including three and a half by Clay Matthews. On the final drive of the game, he was sacked on consecutive plays, resulting in a 3rd and 24 with only three minutes to play. When he wasn’t being sacked, he was eight being hit or under constant pressure. That led him to make several off-balance throws, many that were either off target or fell incomplete. He was picked off four times as well, including two passes that were poorly thrown into coverage. He also wasn’t helped by drops by Kellen Davis, Devin Hester and Brandon Marshall. Marshall’s drop was particularly costly because it would have been a touchdown that could have pulled Chicago to within six of Green Bay. At one point, Cutler lost his cool with Left tackle J’Marcus Webb and was seen cursing him out and may have shoulder checked him as well. Regardless of Cutler’s antics on the sideline, or his poor mechanics under pressure, he was not the QB that finished the Indianapolis game last week. He was clearly rattled and when he was under pressure, his tendency to rely on his arm strength got him in trouble. He frequently squared up to the line to throw the ball rather than step into the pass, and it resulted in a loss of velocity. The Packers took away his favorite target, Brandon Marshall and between that and the constant pressure, Cutler was unable to adjust. It didn’t help his case when he mouthed off at the press conference after the game. It will be interesting to see how he recovers this week when the Bears play at home against the Rams.

Week 3 - Cutler struggled again this week and his poor passing mechanics continue to plague a team that looks out of sync on offense. Cutler had several passes tipped, threw a couple in the dirt, a couple more over the heads of his receivers and even threw a pass or two behind his men. Yet a solid ground game and lack of implosion on Cutler’s part allowed the Bears to come away with an ugly win. Cutler’s longest pass of the day was in the 4th quarter with four minutes to go – a jump ball down the left side where Brandon Marshall made a great catch over Cortland Finnegan. It wasn’t even that great of a pass, but Marshall made the play. He also had two screens to Kahlil Bell and Michael Bush for 11 and 18 yards. Cutler’s line did a fair job protecting him, holding their own on certain plays, and then completely missing on others. Cutler actually had the longest run of the day for the Bears in the 4th quarter as well when the pocket collapsed and he stepped up and took off. He broke toward the daylight and had a great run before sliding to a big 21 yard gain to keep the clock rolling on 2nd and 9. His one interception was a crazy play, where Marshall came over the middle on a quick slant, but he was well defended. The ball deflected and was just about to hit the ground but Cortland Finnegan snatched it up for the pick. He took off up the field and returned it 32 yards before Cutler tripped him up. Finnegan fumbled the ball when he hit the ground and Hester picked it up and returned it the other way. Finnegan was eventually ruled down by contact and Cutler had another INT for the season. He had a couple other plays that were tipped and could have been picked off but overall he finished the day with very average stats and not TD passes.

Week 4 - For as bad as Jay Cutler has been over the last two weeks since the Green Bay game, this week he put it all aside and returned to top form. He made good decisions, threw smart passes and was able to go through his progressions better to find the open man. He had one bad incident on the sidelines just before half time – where he was upset because the plays were taking too long and when Mike Tice came over to sit next to him and talk about things, Cutler got up and stormed off, ignoring his coach. But to Cutler’s credit, he didn’t let it impact his play on the field this week. He didn’t self-destruct when Kellen Davis dropped a pass near the end of the first quarter, or on the next series when he went deep to Hester but Hester didn’t look back or even try to make a play on the ball. Instead, he showed good patience, scrambled when he was under pressure and found the open man again and again. On the opening drive of the second half, leading by just a field goal. Cutler marched his team down the field going three for three to Alshon Jeffery twice and Brandon Marshall once before hitting Devin Hester deep over the middle after Hester pulled a great double move and was wide open. Cutler placed the ball perfectly and Hester made the TD catch to put the Bears back up by 10. He opened the next series with a beautiful square in to Brandon Marshall, who turned the catch into a big 25 yard gain. However, three plays later, Cutler was under pressure and held on to the ball too long, was sacked and fumbled and Dallas recovered it. Chicago’s defense scored on the next play, putting them up by 17 at that point. On their next possession, Cutler again marched his team down the field with solid throws to Marshall, Jeffery and Kellen Davis. He led the team down to the four yard line and should have had first and goal on an apparent pass interference on Marshall before the play was reversed because the ball was tipped. It was a lucky break for Dallas, but the Bears still got a field goal out of it. Cutler was 2 for 2 on the next possession, including a great corner post to Kellen Davis where the ball was a bit under thrown, but the defender couldn’t come up with it and Davis showed good concentration to haul in the 25 yard gain. Two plays later, Cutler read the defense perfectly, dumping the ball to Marshall over the middle for a 31 yard catch and run to put the game away for good.

Week 5 - The stat sheet won’t show it, but Jay Cutler really struggled for much of this game before settling down after the Chicago defense come up with a few big plays. His first pass was actually intercepted when the snap was low and after he recovered it, he sort of side-armed the ball to Marshall instead of throwing a short, crisp pass. He also took a bit too long with his pre-snap read on the second series and was called for a delay of game. He finished the first half completing 10 of his 20 attempts for just 110 yards passing and the interception. In the second half though, he came out with much more focus. While the opening drive wasn’t a touchdown, it was a 17 play drive that took over nine minutes off the clock and ended in a score. Cutler was seven for 10 on that drive, including sever nice touch passes to Marshall over the middle for 18 and 12 yards. He even had a nine yard run on 3rd and 8 where he made the decision to pull the ball down when he saw that his receivers were covered. At the end of the Quarter, Cutler again led his team on an extended drive, taking the final 3:31 off the clock in the third and scoring a TD on the opening play of the 4th quarter – a quick 10 yard slant to Alshon Jeffery where he had perfect position and Cutler put the ball out in front of him for the touchdown. Cutler was 4-7 on that drive including a 21 yard slant to Marshall again and two catch and run passes to Michael Bush for 26 yards. Cutler’s last two passes of the day were daggers through the heart of the Jaguars. On second and six from their own 10, the Jags blitz from the safety position, and Cutler laid out a perfect pass for Devin Hester to make a diving grab for a big 39 yard gain. Five plays later when Cuter noticed the safeties cheating up, he hit Marshall on a streak to the end zone where he was working one-on-one and had beaten his man. The ball landed perfectly in Marshall’s arms for a 24 yard TD and it showed Jacksonville that they had no chance to come back. Cutler was pulled on the final series of the game, but Jason Campbell only handed off the ball to Armando Allen until Allen broke off a long TD run to end the game.

Week 7 - From the stats page, it doesn’t look like Jay Cutler had that great of a game. But in reality, this was one of his better outings as a QB this season. Cutler didn’t display his typical lack of focus, his throws were smart and he showed good pocket presence to scramble for two key first downs in the first quarter when the pocket collapses and the defense was covering his receivers well. The opening drive was pretty solid – even if Cutler’ sonly pass was for a TD to Marshall. On the third play of the game, on 3rd and 8, Cutler looked down field, then slipped a bit before taking off. He had an 11 yard run and got out of bounds for the first down and avoided the big hit. On the next play, he was ‘sacked’ after he rolled out but was under pressure and managed to just get back to the line before being brought down. Two plays later he and Marshall rolled out to the right and when Cutler saw an opening – he directed Marshall to the soft spot where Cutler flipped him the ball for a short catch and run for the TD. For the rest of the game, Cutler showed patience – avoiding the rush when possible, taking the sack when necessary rather than forcing the ball into coverage. Late in the second, Cutler took a hard sack when Ndamukong Suh broke through the line, chased Cutler, caught him by the arm and landed on Cutler as he was going down on his throwing arm. It was a nasty hit, but it was clean and Cutler had to take a play off just to catch his breath. He came back in after just one play, and hit Hester on a nice pass but it went right through his hands. Cutler went back to the locker room before the half for x-rays but returned in the third quarter. While at times, it appeared that some of his passes were not as forceful, and landed well before the receivers they were intended for, Cutler stayed in the game and finished it. He was 7 for 14 in the second half, and was sacked two more times, but hung on to lead his team to victory.

Week 8 - For three quarter Sunday, Jay Cutler looked bad. He was under constant pressure, held the ball too long, was inaccurate and generally just was off his game. Cutler’s one interception came early and because of a combination of both bad luck and an underthrown ball. Cutler made a beautiful playaction fake and had Brandon Marshall open long. There were three Panthers defenders trailing, defensive back Josh Norman right behind Marshall. Cutler underthrew the ball just a little and Norman made a great play to leap up and steal the ball as Marshall was busy slowing down to adjust for the short pass. As unfortunate as that was, not all of that was on Cutler. The next turnover was completely his fault though. At the end of the first quarter, Cutler was sacked twice in quick succession. Both times he held the ball too long, and on the second one Cutler wasn’t careful enough with the ball. It happened more than once as Cutler tried to do too much and did a poor job of protecting the ball for three quarters. The fourth quarter began much the same way a stalled drive and a missed field goal. However, down 19-7, the Bears got the ball back and Cutler led his team on a seven play, 3 minute, 16 second drive which culminated on a brilliant pass for a touchdown to tight end Kellen Davis. On the play, Cutler took the snap out of the shotgun and that, as well as some solid blocking by the offensive line, allowed him to wait for the play to develop. Even after that time, Davis wasn’t really open, with defenders in front and to his left. However Cutler delivered a laser high over Davis’ head and allowed his tight end to make the play with a leaping catch for the score. A little later, Cutler led his offense down the field (with the lead) to set up a Robbie Gould field goal which put the game away. Cutler didn’t have a great game, until he hit the fourth quarter. Then he took the game over and showed how good he can be. Like him or hate him, Cutler didn’t shrink from the spotlight in this game.

Week 9 - Jay Cutler didn’t really get going until the score was already 21-2. Cutler had a rough first quarter, as he took a sack, and wasn’t all that accurate with the ball. He also threw a ball right to Jason McCourty, but McCourty didn’t capitalize and dropped the sure INT. But in the final three quarters, Cutler was almost perfect. He only had four incompletions in the final three quarters, and he made it impossible for the Titans to get back into the game. Cutler looks very comfortable with Marshall and the staff makes a concerted effort to get the ball in his hands. Even so, Cutler doesn’t seem to force it to Marshall, even though the other receivers are an after-thought. Their chemistry is just so good, that he can get the ball in Marshall’s hands, even when the entire defense knows what’s coming. On Cutler’s first TD, he stepped into the pocket, threw it up over two Titan defenders, and right into the hands of a leaping Marshall. Then he threw a perfect fade route right over two more Titan defenders into the streaking Marshall for a 39 yard TD. Finally he hit a wide open Mashall for a TD in the middle of the field for an easy TD. Cutler wasn’t pressured in the final three quarters, he had great field position, and he took advantage by playing great and refusing to give Tennessee any chance of a comeback.

Week 10 - On a night where the rain and field conditions made things very difficult, Jay Cutler started out Ok, but fell apart as the first half progressed. He sustained a vicious helmet to helmet hit near the end of the second quarter and during half-time, was diagnosed with a concussion and did not return to the field. Cutler’s first pass was a nice roll-out check down to Kellen Davis. Davis made the catch, but was hit and fumbled the ball after just an eight yard gain. On the second drive of the game, Cutler completed both of his passes, and also ran for seven yards. But Devin Hester failed to get 1 yard on his 3rd and 1 catch, and on 4th and 1, Michael Bush had a nice run for the 1st down but fumbled the ball again and Houston recovered. Cutler’s 4th pass was off his back foot to Marshall down the right side of the field, but Marshall made a great one-handed catch, leaving Cutler 4-4 for 29 yards and a seven yard run. However, two plays later Cutler went deep down the middle of the field to Kellen Davis who was knocked off his route and the ball was intercepted. On the next series, Cutler only had one pass but it was a good throw to Marshall in the end zone. Unfortunately, Marshall dropped the TD pass and the Bears had to settle for a field goal. Cutler had just two complete passes after that, but the big play came just before the two minute warning. Cutler was under pressure on 3rd down, and looked like he was going to take off up the middle, but stopped and flipped the ball quickly to Devin Hester. Hester took off for a big 42 yard catch and run, but Cutler was just over the line of scrimmage making it an illegal forward pass. Cutler took a nasty helmet to helmet hit and was very slow to get up on the field. To his credit, when the defensive penalty nullified the play, Cutler took off again up the gut, ran and dove for 11 yards and the first down. Two plays later he tried to force the ball into Marshall on the right side and he was picked off for the second time in the first half. Cutler finished with seven completions, for just 40 yards, and he also had 37 yards rushing. He did not come out for the second half of the game, and was diagnosed with a concussion. His status for next week is unknown.

Week 12 - Perhaps the most noticeable thing about Jay Cutler being back from missing time with a concussion was that he was absolutely focused on getting the ball out sooner and avoiding the big seven step drops that would get him killed. The most obvious point to show this was that Cutler’s only sack was self-inflicted. On the second drive of the game, he was stepped on as he was about to snap the ball and fell down. Aside from that, although he was pressured and sometimes had to scramble for his life, Cutler was never sacked for a big loss. The second example of why this worked was the fact that although Cutler completed 23 passes on the day, none of them were for more than 20 yards. He completed 12 passes to Brandon Marshall and Marshall didn’t even have 100 yards receiving. Between these short range passes and grinding it out on the ground, the Bears dominated in time of possession by a full 15 minutes, they converted 11/19 of their third down opportunities and it resulted in fewer interceptions for Cutler as well. The only one that he gave up actually glanced off the hands of Marshall, right into the hands of a Viking defender. It didn’t produce massive fantasy stats – but it did keep Cutler on the field and it did give the Bears a huge win that they desperately needed. What didn’t make the stat sheet were the shots that Cutler did take though: he went to Marshall in the end zone a couple times – one that Marshall dropped and one resulted in a pass interference penalty that set up a Michael Bush TD. Cutler may have scrambled or rolled, but he only had 1 real run into the teeth of the defense and as soon as he learns to slide a little more, he will be even better off. It was a good game for Cutler, the Chicago offense and the Bears in general. Now if they can just survive the injuries to the offensive line moving forward….

Week 13 - For the second week in a row, the Bears focused on getting the ball out of Cutler’s hands as quickly as possible. It worked well and Cutler started the game strong, completing eight of his first 10 passes, including the 12 yard TD to Earl Bennett. On that play, Bennett came in motion and when the ball was snapped, Cutler rolled out to the side and dumped it to Bennett in the flat. Bennett made a nice move to the end zone, jumping into the air and being cartwheeled over the goal line for the opening score. He spread the ball around as well, targeting six different receivers in the opening quarter. In the second, he found Earl Bennett two steps behind the defense down the right side and Cutler threw him a perfect pass. So perfect that when Bennett tried to body catch it, the ball bounced off of his chest and fell incomplete. It was a missed opportunity for an easy six points. However, as the game wore on, it became clear that Cutler only had eyes for his favorite target – Brandon Marshall. Ten of Cutler’s 17 completions went to Marshall, including the 56 yard bomb with less than 20 seconds to go that gave Robbie Gould a chance to tie the game. On that play, Marshall just blew by the defense and Cutler uncorked a huge pass that Marshall was able to shield the defense from and come up with the grab. It was a perfect pitch and catch between the two. Cutler’s other TD pass went to Matt Forte. On that play, Forte lined up on the outside, then broke to the middle on a deep slant. Cutler hit him perfectly and Forte dove to make the catch, sliding into the end zone for the score. Cutler also used his legs a lot in this game, scrambling four times to avoid the pressure for 27 yards rushing and three first downs. His only sack was actually a fumble, where he tried to fake a handoff to Evan Rodriguez, but Rodriguez knocked the ball out of his hands and Cutler was forced to fall on it to avoid the turnover.

Week 14 - The Bears tried to duplicate their winning formula against the Vikings from two weeks ago by keeping the passing short and focused. However, after falling behind by 14 points in the first seven minutes of the game, the Bears quickly became a one dimensional team, focus on the pass first and pass often approach, even if there were just short passes. Despite missing the final drive of the game, Cutler finished with a season-high 44 attempts against a team with a relentless pass rush. He frequently had to roll out or step up to avoid the pressure, eventually taking a nasty hit on a roll out where he sustained a neck injury and had to leave the game. He wasn’t helped with Alshon Jeffery and Devin Hester dropping passes that would have both resulted in touchdowns and Kellen Davis again being unable to come up with the clutch receptions that they were hoping for from the big tight end. The offensive line struggled all day as well and although Cutler was only sacked twice, he was frequently chased and was hit more than 11 times in the game. He also had two interceptions. On the first, Alshon Jeffery ran a skinny post, but fell down and the pass was easily picked off and nearly run back for a touchdown. In the third quarter, Cutler went over the middle to Brandon Marshall on 3rd and 2. The pass was overthrown and picked off again, but this time the Vikings were able to run it all the way back for the score. The 14 points that the Vikings converted off of turnovers was the difference in the game. Cutler’s TD pass to Alshon Jeffery at the end of the second quarter was a nice play though, where Jeffery was working one on one down the right side and Cutler floated him the ball in the end zone for the easy score. It was Cutler’s best pass of the day. For the game, both Cutler and the Bears looked like they were going through the motions at times. Cutler frequently stood in shotgun formation, looking as if he had better things to do. He didn’t display his characteristic frustration with the dropped passes from Devin Hester, Alshon Jeffery and Kellen Davis though, almost as if he’s come to expect it. He continued to feed the ball to Brandon Marshall, a scene that is becoming all too familiar with Chicago as of late. But with no running game, and a relentless pass rush, throwing the ball 44 times was certain to come up short for the Bears in this game.

Week 15 - Stop us if you’ve heard this before: Jay Cutler found himself under pressure almost all day as the offensive line failed to protect him long enough to deliver the ball on a consistent basis. Cutler did have some success scrambling for yards more than once, but most of the time he was merely running for his life. When he has time, he delivers a really nice ball, as he did to Matt Forte on a go route down the right sideline. The ball was beautifully thrown and had it been one of his receivers (the guys with a little more reach), could have been caught for a big gain. As it was, the ball was just out of Forte’s reach. Even under pressure, he threw the ball well most of the day. Unfortunately, the one time he didn’t turned into an ugly interception. On that play, the pocket collapsed around him and Cutler stepped up, looking for a receiver. The Packers had tight coverage, but Cutler must have seen something he liked about Devin Hester matched up with Casey Hayward. Devin Hester was in the slot and, at least appeared to me after the fact, well covered by cornerback Casey Heyward. It looked as if Cutler expected Hester to either turn upfield on the pattern or stop. Instead, Hester continued his pattern into the middle of the field. Cutler threw the ball before that though, and Hayward saw it. Hester continued and the ball sailed well behind him, an easy interception for the Packers’ defensive back. Even if Hester was supposed to stop his route, it was a badly thrown ball that never should have been released. Hayward has perfect position and likely would have at best deflected the pass even in the best of scenarios. It was a rough day for Cutler, as the Packers’ pass rush did an excellent job penetrating into the backfield and making sure he rarely had a moment’s peace.

Week 16 - Cutler started off the game in rough fashion with seven straight incompletions and a sack. Then he missed the next four. For the first half, it went like that for Cutler, until with just over two minutes left in the second quarter, Cutler put together a nice 80 yard drive which ended with a 11 yard Brandon Marshall touchdown. On the play, Cutler dropped back and saw Marshall lose cornerback Patrick Peterson with a nice double move and threw an easy lob to the wide open receiver for a touchdown. Cutler was just 6 for 16 in the first half and then threw just ten passes the rest of the game, though he completed six of those. While he started out slow, once he got going and into a rhythm, Cutler played well and did a good job protecting the ball and making smart throws. The slow start would have been a concern against a better team but it didn’t hurt Cutler and the Bears against the Cardinals.

Week 17 - Cutler had a solid, if unspectacular game for the Bears and did just enough to get them the win that they needed. The Lions double teamed Brandon Marshall, taking away Cutler’s main weapon in the passing game. He responded by spreading the ball around to five different receivers, and Marshall wasn’t really involved in the office until the second half. Cutler opened the game with a nice lob to Alshon Jeffery down the right side of the field. Jeffery was open and made a nice catch for a 55 yard gain to start things off right. The TD pass to Earl Bennett later in the quarter was a designed bubble screen that caught the Lions napping and Bennett was able to get to the outside and take advantage of the poor positioning and pursuit that the Lions took to get to him. He turned on the jets in the secondary and scampered 60 yards for the TD. It gave Cutler 125 passing yards in the first quarter alone. After that though, Cutler looked very average. He made a few short throws and tried to get everyone involved, but the office had clearly stalled and settled for field goals despite having great position after the defense got them the ball deep in Detroit territory. As the Lions began to close the gap, Cutler’s vision narrowed to Marshall, and seven of his last nine throws were to Marshall. Cutler’s biggest play of the day came on the final drive though – when the Bears were clinging to a two point lead with four minutes to go. On 3rd and 3, Cutler recognized that the pocket was collapsing and took off running. He broke into the open field and ran for a huge 19 yard gain and a 1st down, sliding well before contact and basically putting the game away.