Tied at 3-3 midway through the second quarter, this game tried to disguise itself as a defensive struggle as the Bears stumbled over themselves on several drives. But then the scoring came in bunches as the Chicago Bears held off the San Diego Chargers on Sunday afternoon, increasing their winning streak to five games despite numerous comeback attempts.
(7-3) Chicago Bears 31
(4-6) San Diego Chargers 20
Coming to the rescue, Jay Cutler had an absolutely monstrous second half. After a first down conversion on a throw to Roy Williams as he’s falling to the ground, Cutler got kneed in the back of the head. He got up slow and a mite woozy, but then he turned it on. Two more first down throws to Williams were followed by a 42 yard throw to Johnny Knox at the one yard line. Finishing the drive was Jay himself, leaping over the pile at the goal line for the score. Getting the ball back quickly off a Charles Tillman force and recovery, Cutler went for the jugular on a 24-yard bomb to Knox at the back of the endzone. That put the Bears up 31-17 and all but shut the door on the Chargers’ hopes of getting to .500. Jay was on his game and clearly one-upped Philip Rivers, who looked downright awful. We should all write Philip a thank you letter, by the way. He gift-wrapped this one.
Cutler got plenty of help from his receivers today, with Knox, Williams (I know) and Earl Bennett all coming up with huge grabs at key moments. After a maddening drop in the first quarter, Williams came back to have his best game as a Bear against shoddy Charger coverage. Bennett was targeted nine times but only came up with three grabs. A possible touchdown catch in the second was reversed when it was revealed that Bennett didn’t complete the catch, but an illegal hands penalty kept the drive going, allowing Cutler to hit Kellen Davis.
Defensively you have to admire the effort Chicago put forth in the fourth quarter. After giving up yardage in buckets to Antonio Gates and Vincent Jackson, Chicago’s defense clamped down in the final frame. Philip Rivers definitely helped out with two horribly thrown balls. The first went to Major Wright on a series where the Chargers looked primed to get back in it. Rivers decided to throw it deep into triple coverage in the endzone, but Wright stepped in front for his third pick in his last three games.
Even in an exciting win, there was plenty to criticize from Lovie Smith’s squad. Defensively, I can’t believe it took them four quarters to figure out how to cover Vincent Jackson. A week after he deactivated Megatron, Charles Tillman was burned deep by Jackson on multiple occasions as the Charger wide-out racked up 165 yards on only 7 receptions. Though he did force and recover the fumble from Ryan Matthews, so he made up for it. What surprised me was the complete lack of a pass rush from Chicago’s defensive line. Against the recovery ward of scrubs that the Chargers put on the field, Julius Peppers should have eaten Rivers alive. To his credit though, Rivers made it a point to get rid of the ball quickly.
Other Notes of Note:-WTF was up with that fake punt? Whoever called it needs to get their head examined and their junk shotted. Up 11 you only have to punt that ball deep and close their offense down. Thankfully, Philip Rivers gave it right back.
-Cutler chasing and slowing down Cason on his interceptions could have been Jay’s best play of the day.
-Chicago’s special teams were electric again, but this week they were held down by holding calls. Devin Hester had two lengthy returns and Knox brought back a kick-off 53 yards to set up Chicago’s score late in the second quarter.
At 7-3, the Bears are one of the best teams in the league and on their way to a Wild Card spot in the playoffs. Credit Lovie Smith for getting his players ready every week and avoiding any costly slip-ups while tweaking their offensive and defensive gameplans. Hard not to overly enjoy these wins, so have at it Bear fans!
Bear Down and Happy Jay Cutler Day!
