Week Nine: Chicago Bears (5-3) at Buffalo Bills (0-8)
Crucial. Must-win. Team-defining.
All adjectives to describe Sunday’s fifth win of the season over Buffalo.
Chicago lived up to expectations, barely, as a mere confidence builder was rewarded to the shaky Bears on Sunday.
Many fans, however, conclude that Chicago should’ve inflicted more damage than what was done throughout the tussle in Toronto.
While not spectacular, Cutler and company displayed signs of execution and awareness throughout their 31 minutes and 13 seconds of possession. Growing pains are still in effect, but the Monsters of the Midway certainly sustained lengthy drives.
Defensively, Rod Marinelli has some cleaning up to do.
Tackling seemed to be the only problem during Buffalo’s drives, as it took Ryan Fitzpatrick 51 attempts to eclipse 250 yards. Throwing for 299, Fitzpatrick had 20 incompletions; which was two more than the Bills’ rushing attempts.
Lovie Smith’s trademark of forcing turnovers clutched and sealed a Bears W as Tim Jennings and Chris Harris came up with a pick each late in the game. Pressure was also abundant as former All-Pro Tommie Harris racked up his first pressure of the season, tallying half-a-sack to split with Israel Idonije.
The Chicago Bears have adopted the ability to win ugly, but any win is a good one in my book.
| Passing | CP/AT | YDS | TD | INT |
| J. Cutler | 17/30 | 188 | 2 | 0 |
| Rushing | ATT | YDS | TD | LG |
| M. Forte | 14 | 49 | 0 | 22 |
| J. Cutler | 5 | 39 | 0 | 18 |
| C. Taylor | 10 | 13 | 1 | 4 |
| E. Bennett | 1 | 5 | 0 | 5 |
| D. Hester | 1 | -1 | 0 | -1 |
| Receiving | REC | YDS | TD | LG |
| E. Bennett | 4 | 52 | 1 | 26 |
| J. Knox | 3 | 49 | 0 | 24 |
| G. Olsen | 3 | 29 | 1 | 18 |
| D. Hester | 2 | 23 | 0 | 16 |
| C. Taylor | 1 | 14 | 0 | 14 |
| M. Forte | 3 | 12 | 0 | 6 |
| B. Manumaleuna | 1 | 9 | 0 | 9 |
| Fumbles | FUM | LOST | REC | YDS |
| J. Cutler | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| C. Tillman | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Kicking | FG | LG | XP | PTS |
| R. Gould | 0/1 | 0 | 2/2 | 2 |
| Punting | NO | AVG | I20 | LG |
| B. Maynard | 4 | 40.0 | 1 | 46 |
| Kickoff Returns | NO | AVG | TD | LG |
| J. Knox | 3 | 23 | 0 | 27 |
| D. Manning | 1 | 15 | 0 | 15 |
| Punt Returns | NO | AVG | TD | LG |
| D. Hester | 1 | 3 | 0 | 3 |
| Defense | T-A | SCK | INT | FF |
| T. Jennings | 7-2 | 0.0 | 1 | 0 |
| L. Briggs | 6-0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 |
| D. Manning | 6-2 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 |
| B. Urlacher | 6-3 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 |
| C. Tillman | 5-2 | 0.0 | 0 | 1 |
| D. Moore | 4-0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 |
| C. Harris | 3-0 | 0.0 | 1 | 0 |
| J. Peppers | 3-1 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 |
| H. Melton | 2-0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 |
| P. Tinoisamoa | 1-0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 |
| A. Adams | 0-2 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 |
| T. Harris | 0-2 | 0.5 | 0 | 0 |
| I. Idonije | 0-3 | 0.5 | 0 | 0 |
| M. Toeaina | 0-1 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 |
Jay Cutler Mic’d Up vs Buffalo Bills
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