CHICAGO—Few expected the Chicago Bears to get off to a 3-0 start but they stand as the only remaining unbeaten in the NFC after toppling the rival Green Bay Packers 20-17 Monday night on a 19-yard field goal by Robbie Gould with four seconds remaining at Soldier Field.
Lovie Smith’s resurgent bunch, which has not reached the postseason since making it to Super Bowk XLI following the 2006 season, is now one of the hot stories in the league with quarterback Jay Cutler quickly adapting to Mike Martz’s offensive scheme and the defense playing with spirit again.
Five key points stuck out in the victory and are worth monitoring moving forward:
1. Cutler continued to operate at a high level while taking a bit of a pounding. The Bears’ offensive line is a work in progress, putting it nicely, and Cutler is going to endure his share of punishment throughout the season. Yes, he made some risky throws in the face of pressure, but he’s doing better than last season and making smarter decision. He’s throwing the ball away from time to time. He’s pulling it down and running on occasion, and that proved to be the Bears’ best ground game Monday night. Cutler is maturing into the quarterback the Bears thought they were getting last season.
2. Julius Peppers is paying dividends quickly. It’s hard to find him in the stat sheets after the game, but his impact was unmistakable. The Packers were flustered into a dizzying 18 penalties and eight of them were committed by the offensive line. Many of those were the result of Green Bay struggling with Peppers or even the threat of Peppers when it came to four false start penalties. He’s changing the way the defense plays.
3. When he’s got time, Cutler is dangerous because his unheralded wide receivers are making plays for him downfield. Last week it was Devin Hester’s turn. This week, Johnny Knox came up with big plays, catching four passes for a career-high 94 yards. His 31-yard reception set up a touchdown just before halftime that got the Bears back in the game after they had fallen behind 10-0. Hester and Knox fit the mold of what Martz seeks and they’re only going to get better.
4. Hester still has it in the return game. It took a tackle by Packers’ punter Tim Masthay to prevent a touchdown in the second quarter and then given a wide open field after Masthay outkicked his coverage with a 57-yard punt in the fourth quarter, Hester went right and raced to the end zone on a 62-yard return, hurdling the punter near the goalline. There’s been much debate in Chicago about what the Bears did to ruin Hester as a return man. He’d gone 30 regular-season games without a punt return for a score, but he got back in his groove. Hester now has 12 kick return touchdowns for his career (eight punt and four kickoff), tied for second most in NFL history with Dante Hall and Eric Metcalf, trailing Brian Mitchell’s 13. Hester’s eight punt return touchdowns are tied for third most in NFL history with Jack Christiansen, Desmond Howard and Rick Upchurch, trailing Metcalf (10) and Mitchell (nine). That wasn’t the only standout performance on special teams. Julius Peppers blocked a Mason Crosby field goal attempt in the third quarter that proved critical.
5. Showing a sense or urgency like we haven’t seen before, Smith pulled starting cornerback Zack Bowman in the second quarter, replacing him with Tim Jennings, a free-agent addition this offseason. It was a surprising move, especially considering the high praise the staff has had for Bowman, praise that began when they switched him to the marquee left side during the offseason. Jennings came up big, too, making a fumble recovery to set up the winning score. It wasn’t the only bold coaching decision. Smith also de-activated three-time Pro Bowl defensive tackle Tommie Harris, putting his long-term future with the organization in serious question.
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