Eagles – 24

Bears – 20

The Bears failed to close out a winnable game last night at home against the Eagles.  Ahead 20-17 late in the game, the Bears defense allowed the Eagles to march down the field for a go ahead touchdown drive.  With the offense given one final chance to lead the Bears to a win, a second down throw by Jay Cutler was tipped by a defender and picked out of the air by another Eagle for his only interception of the game.

The Best thing about Cutler’s performance last night was that he only threw one interception.  Other than that, he was awful.  He finished 24/43, with 171 yards, one touchdown and one interception.  Hidden in the stats however is the fact that Cutler horribly missed three wide open receivers throughout the game.  One of those misses came on what could have been a go ahead touchdown pass to Johnny Knox, who had sped past the defender and into the open field only to see the pass from Cutler sail over his head.  Cutler’s confidence appears to have disappeared.  Hopefully it can return in the near future, especially after some staff changes such as an offensive coordinator change.  With Turner gone next season, Jay would be under his third coordinator in 3 years and it’s a possibility that his development may suffer.

Matt Forte continued to struggle while Kahlil Bell, the recently promoted practice squad player, ran for 81 yards on 4 carries.  Bells first career carry came early in the second quarter and he broke through the line and raced for 72 yards before being tackled deep in Eagle territory.  He continued to run hard in limited action after that and raised questions as to whether Matt Forte is a featured back like previously thought.

The defense gave up 24 points while creating three turnovers.  They allowed the Eagles to take a lead late in the game but redeemed themselves when they got the ball back for one more offensive drive.  Briggs continued his pro bowl level season as he recorded 11 tackles and a sack.  Also, Zack Bowman is developing into quite the ballhawk, recording an interception in his third straight game.  Unfortunately, he is still a below average cornerback and gets beat too much.

Lovie Smith continued to spew his typical optimism after the game and reiterated to the media that there is still plenty of football to play.  Someone needs to tell Lovie that there are only 6 games left and the Bears essentially finished in what turned out to be a pathetic season.  On the bright side, Lovie only has two years left on his contract and Ron Turner is almost certain to be gone after this season.  The Bears need to bring in a competent staff quickly and get this team playing at a high level.  Right now, the current regime is not getting the job done.

Bears – 25

Seahawks – 19

A week after beating the defending Superbowl champion Steelers, the Bears looked to get on a roll with a tough match up in Seattle.  After falling behind 13-0 early in the game, the Bears got on track and battled back for a victory.

With the running game struggling again, Jay Cutler stepped up and threw 3 touchdown passes while completing 21 of 27 passes for 247 yards.  He finished with an excellent quarterback rating of 126.4 after overcoming an early interception off a tipped ball.  He saved his best for last however, as Cutler completed 5 of 5 passes for 60 yards and a game winning touchdown to Devin Hester during the 4th quarter.  Seattle got the ball back and had enough time to move the ball into Bears territory, but the Bears defense made the necessary plays to force a turnover on downs, sealing the victory for the Bears.

The Bears got good play from their receivers again today as Devin Hester and Earl Bennett both had productive games.  Hester took a throw from Cutler late in the 4th, broke through two defenders, and sprinted to the end zone for the 36 yard game winning score.  Greg Olsen as well was able to find the end zone to record his first touchdown of the year.  Johnny Knox also found the end zone again.  Hopefully both Knox and Olsen can continue their success throughout the season.

On defense, the Bears still have some room for improvement.  Seneca Wallace was consistently able to find wide open receivers with ease on third downs, allowing for easy conversions.  The Bears pass D needs to step up their game a bit if they want to become a force this season.  In addition, the defense needs to learn to wrap up the ball carriers.  Too many times Bears players were trying to strip the ball as the runner ran right through the tackles for extra yards.  Turnovers are great to have, but sure tackling is a necessity.  On that note, the Bears did force 2 turnovers via a Daniel Manning strip and a Lance Briggs interception.  Manning’s forced fumble came at a crucial point early in the third quarter as the Seahawks looked to expand their 13-7 lead.

Offensively, the line is simply not getting the Job done as they fail to open holes for Forte to run though.  They shouldn’t take all the blame though.  Matt Forte has not looked like the same back as he did in his rookie year.  In the limited times where he found some brief daylight, he seemed sluggish to accelerate and make progress.  Although he struggled to run the ball, he quietly finished with 106 total yards.

After a tough start to the season, the Bears should be very happy to come out 2-1 since things could have been a lot worse at this point.  Next week the Bears take on the Lions in Chicago as they look to improve to 3-1.

Bears – 17

Steelers – 14

This week 2 match up against the Steelers definitely proved to be a good test for the Bears after a disappointing week 1 loss to the Packers.  After a sluggish first quarter on offense, Jay Cutler and the Bears stepped up their game and got the ball moving a bit.  Timely offensive production and solid defense paved the way for an important Bears victory.

Cutler did exactly what he needed to do today to have a nice bounce back game.  He made safe throws to open receivers as he completed 27 of 38 passes for 236 yards, two touchdowns, and zero interceptions.  Cutler’s accuracy and his elusiveness in the pocket today were key factors in today’s victory over the Superbowl champs.  The receivers and tight ends struggled with some drops early on, but after the first quarter the hands became reliable.

The Bears defense looked shaky on the Steelers’ opening drive.  Big Ben Roethlisberger led the offense right down the field for a opening drive touchdown as the Bears secondary seemed unable to stop the pass.  However, the D improved greatly as the game went on.  They got pressure on Ben at the right times and forced timely 4th downs.  Certainly two missed field goals by Steelers kicker Jeff Reed in the 4th quarter helped, but overall the Defense kept the Bears in the game all day.

On the offensive side, rookie receiver Johnny Knox showed he is a reliable target in the passing game, hauling in 6 passes for 70 yards and a touchdown.  He made some really good grabs and showed he has the hands to make an impact this year.  Cutler will undoubtedly look his way more and more as the season progresses.  This may become an important connection since running the ball again proved difficult for Matt Forte and the offensive line.  The line again failed to open any holes for Forte to run through as he finished up with 29 yards on 13 carries.

Finally, the game was put away by a late Robbie Gould field goal.  After a field goal miss by Jeff Reed, Cutler and the Bears quickly moved into position to setup Gould for a 44 yard attempt.  Surprising no one, Gould drilled the kick, leaving the Steelers with only a few seconds remaining.  On the subsequent kickoff return, the Bears forced a fumble and Craig Steltz dove on the ball, sealing the victory for the Bears.

As always, there is room for improvement.  The offensive line really needs to do a better job opening holes for Forte.  The Bears can’t rely on the passing attack all season long and become one dimensional.  They need to establish an effective running game to make that passing attack even better.  Also, Tommie Harris was again a non-factor.  He made a great play as he burst through the line to record a tackle for loss, bringing his season tackle total to two.  He simply isn’t effective right now and should be on the bench.

The Bears were in need of a win today and they got it.  Starting 0-2 would not have been the end, but it would be a tough hole to climb out of.  Fortunately the Bears played a well rounded game and improved to 1-1 on the year.  The Bears need to carry this momentum into Seattle next week and get rolling with some wins.