Week 11: San Diego Chargers

The Bears entered the game against the Chargers on a four game winning streak and were playing some of their best football of the year. However, this was not the same case for the Chargers who had lost four games previous and were looking to change that. The game started off with the Chargers marching right down the field on the Bear and scoring a field goal. The Bears returned the favor and scored shortly after and which capped off a pretty boring first quarter. In the second quarter, the Bears began to utilize their far superior special teams. Whether it was Johnny Knox or Devin Hester, the Bears seemed to be able to gain favorable field position from their special teams. In the second half, the Bears offense and defense seemed to pick things up with the offense scoring twice within the last five minutes of the quarter and the defense stiffened and held the Chargers to only touchdown in the first half. The game truely turned around in the third quarter when the Bears dominated the time of position, 14:30 out of 15 minutes. It was truly amazing to watch the Bears just milk the clock while continuously marching it down field for scores. From the second quarter to the third, the Bears scored on four consecutive drives and showed fans what potential this offense has. However, things took a turn for the worse in the fourth quarter when Johnny Knox slipped on a route and Jay Cutler threw an interception. On the return, Cutler pursued the play and ended up slowing down the runner so Matt Forte could get him out of bounds. No one knew at the time, but the tackle caused Jay Cutler to fracture his thumb which will ultimately keep him out for the remainder of the season. Cutler did however finish the game and did not mention after the game. Ultimately, that play will have an undeniable effect on the Bears for the rest of the season. They are loosing the quarterback that they gave so much for just three seasons ago and he was finally starting to come into his own. He was beginning to make the right reads along with favorable play calling that allowed the Bears to put up 30 points in three consecutive game for the first time since 2005. However, I don't the injury to Cutler is going to be the end to the Bears playoff hopes simply because they are playing too well right now. They have established that they are willing to run the ball no matter what the circumstances and have a running back in Matt Forte that can shoulder the load until Cutler returns. Another thing that is going well for the Bears right now is that the offensive line is starting to jell. I understand they still have trouble at times protecting the quarterback, but all in all they have be progressively better and should give Caleb Hanie ample time in the pocket to make plays down field. One final thing that gives me hope that the Bears can continue to score on offense is the play makers they have on the parameter. Just this week, Jay Cutler was able to spread the ball to seven different receivers and someone besides Earl Bennett finally stepped up to make plays. It finally seems like Roy Williams is getting in sync with the offense and Johnny Knox is showing up again. I am not saying that Caleb Hanie is going to win games on his own like Jay Cutler is able to, but as we all saw in the NFC title game last year, he does have the ability to make plays. With a full week of reps with the first string offense, Hanie should be a viable replacement for Jay Cutler for the few weeks he is going to be gone. Hanie has the athleticism to throw on the run as we saw last year and has the ability to make the right play. As long as the Bears can find their running game and lean on it, get contributions from special teams and have their defense play like it has in the last few weeks, the Bears should be able to at least win three out of the next six, if not four out of their next six to make it into the playoff. By that time, Cutler should be back and the Bears will have the pieces in place to make a run. So until next time fans, Bear Down Chicago!