Lucky for Bears, Cutler survives to fight another day
Lovie Smith is hardly the gambling type.
In fact, NFL head coaches don't come any more conservative than Smith — generally speaking — on either side of the ball.
So it was a bit shocking that in a meaningless game Smith took such a big risk Sunday playing his regulars all the way to the end, but fortunately for Bears fans Smith got lucky and Jay Cutler was able to walk off the field.
The Packers' 10-3 victory meant nothing in terms of the Bears' search for a Super Bowl title, and the only number that really mattered was 11, which was the number of times Cutler was hit.
There was no logical reason for Smith to have played Cutler at all Sunday, and certainly no good reason to continue playing Cutler to the very end.
The notion that it would have somehow meant something if the Bears had defeated Green Bay is absurd, since the game didn't affect the Bears' playoff seed in any way.
That's the only way it could have been relevant, but with Atlanta winning the Bears were locked in at No. 2.
Playing hard Sunday, something that will be universally cheered, in no way furthered the Bears' attempt to reach the final game in Dallas.
“No, the game didn't mean anything. We weren't playing for anything,” said Brian Urlacher. “I can't wait for the next game. I can't wait to play a game that counts.”
But all the starters played Sunday, and they all played hard — and Cutler took another pounding.
Adding up all the shots he's taken this season, including short gains that avoided sacks, incomplete passes, scrambles and sacks, Cutler wound up the regular season getting hit a ridiculous 117 times in 14½ games.
He also took 6 sacks Sunday and ran his season total to 52, with the team finishing at an NFL-worst 56 sacks for all Bears QBs combined.
The good news is Cutler got back to Chicago in one piece Sunday night, so Smith's decision didn't cost the Bears a shot at the Super Bowl.
And they have a real shot.
Atlanta defeated Carolina to grab the No. 1 seed, but the Falcons hardly looked unbeatable against a terrible Panthers team while playing their starters most of the game.
The Bears already have beaten the Eagles and Packers this season, and both teams have holes just like the Bears.
The defending champion Saints were atrocious Sunday while doing all they could to beat Tampa at home, but they lost both the game and a couple more starters in the process.
The best news Sunday is that the Packers' victory means the Giants are out, and if there was a team to fear it was certainly the Giants and what they could have done to the Bears' offensive line again.
So, fortunately, nothing horrible happened, and the upside to Smith's decision is that the Bears will be a tad less rusty when they play again in two weeks.
The defense was terrific, a nice change from the last month, and that probably makes them feel a little better going into the postseason.
The offense didn't do much, so that probably doesn't make them feel any better heading into the playoffs.
Cutler threw 2 more picks, giving him 16 for the season against 23 TDs, one costing the Bears points and one ending the game, but it's an improvement over last season's 26 INTs vs. 27 TDs.
Other than Chris Harris getting a stinger late in the game, and assuming Harris is ready in two weeks, not much that happened Sunday has any bearing on what occurs a couple of weeks from now.
The only thing that absolutely couldn't happen was an injury to Cutler, because the Bears don't have another QB and that would have ended their season and their Super Bowl aspirations.
Now they have to find a way to keep him off his back. That's the way the season started and that's the way the season ended.
But now it's playoff time.
And it's still the biggest thing standing between the Bears and a title.