Written by Ryan Wilson at CBSSports.com
Turns out, all Jay Cutler needs is six weeks between starts. After a thumb injury in Week 2 that kept him sidelined until Monday night, we were having the usual Jay Cutler conversations. Should the Bears dump him after the season? Try to trade him before the deadline? Bench him for whoever else is on the roster and begin in earnest the search for the organization’s next franchise quarterback?
If Cutler has taught us anything, it’s that it’s dangerous to put too much stock in one performance. But it’s also hard to ignore just how well he played against the Vikings defense, which ranks second in the league, according toFootball Outsiders. Put another way: Cutler looked like the guy who had a resurgence of sorts in 2015, when Adam Gase was the offensive coordinator. Gase is now the head coach in Miami and Dowell Loggains has assumed the play-calling duties — and, it’s worth noting, without much success until the Vikings came into town.
When it was over, Cutler was an efficient 20 of 31 for 252 yards and a touchdown. It was an impressive performance, particularly given that conventional wisdom had everybody giving up on Cutler one last time. It wasn’t nearly as bad as the conversation late in the 2014 season that he would have to battle Jimmy Clausen for the job, but when people are wondering if you’re Plan B behind journeyman Brian Hoyer, something has gone horribly wrong.
(We’re not one to make excuses for Cutler, but this is insane)
But Hoyer, who was racking up ridiculous passing-yardage totals during Cutler’s absence also wasn’t able to get the Bears into the end zone. But he was doing enough for people to argue that he should keep the job. Then Hoyer suffered a broken arm in Week 7 and his season is all but over. Cutler’s fate, meanwhile, remains undecided. No one would be surprised if he doesn’t return to Chicago after the season. But for one night, he was pretty good. Good enough, in fact, to put a good team in need of an above-average quarterback over the hump. You know, like the Vikings.
2. Hey, remember Sam Bradford!
Your experiences probably mirror ours when it comes to Sam Bradford. We thought the Vikings were crazy to give up a first- and fourth-round pick for Bradford less than two weeks before the season opener because, well, it’s Sam Bradford. He’s been a replacement-level, injury-prone quarterback for much of his six-year career, and there was no reason to think that one of the most cliched terms in sports — a change of scenery — would suddenly do Bradford some good.
But that’s exactly what happened. He made his Vikings debut in Week 2 against the Packers and completed 71 percent of his throws for 286 yards and two touchdowns. Bradford looked like a completely different quarterback, the one the Rams thought they were getting when they selected him with the No. 1 overall pick in 2010. But the Vikings’ offense has sputtered in recent weeks and it’s not because of Bradford.
Injuries have plagued the offensive line — it lost both starting tackles — and, oh by the way, the NFL’s leading rusher from a year ago, Adrian Peterson, is out indefinitely. Even the best offenses struggle when they’re one-dimensional, so you can understand why the Vikings might have trouble consistently moving the sticks, never mind getting into the end zone.
Again, this isn’t all on Bradford, but it also doesn’t change the fact that the Vikings gave up a first-rounder for him, presumably because they thought they could make a deep playoff run. And maybe that still happens, but after a 5-0 start, the Vikings have dropped two straight. Minnesota’s all-world defense isn’t able to do everything, and unless this offense can get back on track, the final two months could seem like an eternity.
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