The Chicago Bears up until last Sunday were arguably the most scrutinized 7-3 team in the NFL. Now at 8-3, most of us who questioned the Bears have to shut the fuck up, for this week anyway.
The knock on the Bears was that they weren’t for real, that they were beating up of sub par teams, and that they got lucky to face a beat up Dolphins team. Cutler hadn’t exactly been impressive, but somehow the Bears were winning games. It wasn’t until they knocked off one of the hottest teams and players in the NFL that Bears are finally getting their respect.
Heading into the games as 3.5 point underdogs the Bears and Jay Cutler handled the Philadelphia Eagles proving to the rest of the NFL and their division that they are for real at 8-3, one would think that should go without saying, but it doesn’t. The Bears had to win that game to silence their haters. The Eagles are legit team, Michael Vick was playing as well as any QB can possibly play and the Bears shut them down. Cutler stepped up and matched a career high with four touchdown passes to lead Chicago to a 31-26 victory and the lead in the division.
Now, Vick played well, but the Chicago defense was stingy as usual and even managed to become the first team, in some four years to record an interception off Mike Vick…Of course, that four year mark has a puppy sized aster-ix beside it.
Okay, so maybe the Bears are for real. So what’s the verdict? Do they hold off the Packers and win the division? It appears the Bears have found a balance to Mike Martz’s play-calling with their run game, and if Cutler is going to register performances like he did on Sunday with a 146.2 passer rating, factor in their stingy defense, this team could be a sleeper pick.
