The Bears were perfect on Sunday. Before the noon kickoff in Detroit against the Lions, that is.
The Bears fell to 3-1 on the year after the 40-32 defeat at the hands of the Lions, who improved to 3-1 and earned a tie with the Bears for the lead in the NFC North playoff race.
Things looked good to start the game. Detroit took the opening kickoff and was pinned inside their own 20-yard line. Then the aging Bears defense forced a punt.
Devin Hester, whose only job is to return kicks, took that punt 11 yards to the 30-yard line of the Bears to set up their first offensive drive. Hester running forward after receiving a kick is a rare sight to see these days, and it was one of the few times he would do so during the game.
The Bears drove down to the Lions’ 16-yard line before the Lions stopped them and forced a 34-yard Robbie Gould field goal. They would only hold one other lead before the game ended.
Quarterback Jay Cutler had his worst game of the season to this point. On the second offensive series, Cutler threw a pass in the direction of Alshon Jeffrey, but safety Louis Delmas stepped in front and picked the ball off.
Cutler then found a way to throw two more interceptions before the end of the game. In the third quarter, Cutler intended to throw to Jeffrey again, but again Delmas had better position and intercepted the ball. The other interception was intended for Brandon Marshall in the second quarter but was actually caught by Delmas’s fellow safety, Glover Quin.
Coach Marc Trestman attributed Cutler’s interceptions to poor fundamentals, especially not getting his feet set. But Cutler needs to be better all the way around, including decision-making.
He does not throw those three interceptions without making some bad choices on who to pass to or whether he should even pass it at all. If there is so much pressure that he cannot get his feet set and make an accurate throw, then he has to throw the ball away.
The offensive line did a serviceable job at keeping Cutler clean, but he was still sacked three times. That matches the total number of times he had been sacked in the previous three games.
One was a sack-fumble in the third quarter caused by defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh, who played effectively against rookie right guard Kyle Long. Defensive tackle Nick Fairley returned the fumble four yards for a touchdown.
Suh has been widely talked about as one of the dirtiest players in the National Football League. He was slapped with a $100K fine earlier this year for going low to block Minnesota center John Sullivan.
During his first sack of the game, Suh went low to tackle Cutler. Suh grabbed Cutler around the knee area and twisted him to the ground. The play may not have been illegal by NFL standards, but at best it was a dangerous way to tackle a player, the type of tackle that ruins players’ knees.
The Bears’ defense that so often frustrated teams last year did not show up on Sunday. They forced four fumbles, but the Lions scooped two of them right back up.
The hardest one to swallow was a quarterback keeper on the goal line by Matthew Stafford, who had the ball knocked out of his hands by Lance Briggs before regaining control in the end zone for a second-quarter touchdown.
The defense also let running back Reggie Bush run all over them. He carried the ball 18 times and racked up 139 yards, including a missed-tackle-filled 37-yard touchdown run.
In order to be better this Sunday against New Orleans, the Bears need to protect the football because it is unlikely that they will be able to create any takeaways from the Drew Brees led Saints.
The Bears are averaging nearly 32 points per game, so if the Bears’ defense can just keep the Saints to 35 points or fewer, that should give the revamped offense a chance to win the game.
Protect the football and limit points for the Saints. That is what it will take for the Bears to be perfect again, even if that perfection lasts for just the three hours between the opening kickoff and the final whistle.
Tim Carroll
Senior Sports Editor
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