Chicago Bears' offense better, but starters can't find end zone
INDIANAPOLIS - Given the advantage of enviable field position, the Bears' offense showed that it could consistently move the ball - it just couldn't get it into the end zone.
Still, the Bears moved to 2-0 with a 23-11 victory over the Colts, who fell to 0-2.
Jay Cutler and the Bears' offense looked sharper than they had in the preseason opener. The quarterback completed 8 of 9 passes for 69 yards in 1 1/2 quarters of work for a 98.6 passer rating. He led three straight scoring drives, but all three ended with just 3 points.
Cutler was without No. 1 receiver Alshon Jeffery (calf), who didn't suit up, and No. 3 wideout Marquess Wilson suffered an injured hamstring on the Bears' second possession.
Asked if he was concerned about the rate of attrition, Cutler said: "Yeah, I mean, we're starting to run out of guys. We have guys stepping up for us, but still it would be nice to have 17 (Jeffery) out there and have 10 (Wilson) out there. Those are guys we're going to count on throughout the year."
Cutler and Co. would have had better numbers, but a 42-yard completion to Josh Bellamy on the first possession was nullified by an illegal hands-to-the-face penalty on right tackle Charles Leno.
Leno, the 2014 seventh-round pick, got an opportunity to start in place of Jordan Mills, but didn't do much to help his cause. He was also beaten on a run by Jacquizz Rodgers that lost 2 yards.
"No job's been won yet," coach John Fox said. "We're still figuring out who our 53 best players will be, and we'll continue to do that. I thought we made progress in all three phases, but by no means have we arrived. If we can keep that mindset, I think we'll continue to improve."
Return specialist Marc Mariani was responsible for much of the Bears' edge in field position. He broke two tackles on a 29-yard punt return that set the Bears up a yard shy of midfield for their second possession. After picking up a first down on a 12-yard Cutler-to-Matt Forte pass, the Bears stalled and settled for Robbie Gould's 50-yard field goal.
Mariani, looking to lock up the return job, brought back the Colts' next punt 22 yards. The Bears drove to the Colts' seven-yard line, but Cutler lost 6 yards on a sack.
On the next play, the Bears' quarterback scrambled down to the one-yard line where he was forced out of bounds, but not before he lowered his shoulder and knocked Colts cornerback Greg Toler into the end zone. Toler left the game with a neck strain.
"Instincts just take over at that point," Cutler said. "Just playing football. I got a few talks on the sideline, so just lucky to get out of there healthy."
Pro Bowl guard Kyle Long was flagged for holding on the play, and the Bears settled for Gould's second field goal, this one from 38 yards for a 6-0 lead.
The Colts retaliated immediately. The big play in their nine-play, 89-yard drive was a 45-yard Andrew Luck completion to T.Y. Hilton deep down the middle of the field. Cornerback Kyle Fuller, who has had a disappointing preseason, was beaten badly. Fuller made his poor play worse by picking up a 15-yard penalty for taunting.
Fuller did not receive any help from rookie safety Adrian Amos, the fifth-round pick from Penn State, who was promoted ahead of Brock Vereen last week.
With the first-team offense still in, the Bears responded with another drive that ended with Gould's third field goal, a 25-yarder, making him 7-for-7 on FG attempts.
The Bears' best defensive play of the game came late in the first half, shortly after the first team came off the field. Cornerback Terrance Mitchell, a second-year player from Oregon, who has impressed through training camp and the preseason, made his strongest move toward a spot on the 53-man roster.
The 5-foot-11, 190-pound Mitchell and the Colts' 6-foot-2, 222-pound Donte Moncrief both leaped for a long pass down the middle from Colts backup quarterback Matt Hasselbeck. But Mitchell made an impressive adjustment to the ball in mid-air and came away with it with 2:53 left in the first half.
For the second time in as many games, veteran outside linebacker Sam Acho proved worthy of some first-team reps. His third-quarter sack and forced fumble was recovered by nose tackle Eddie Goldman, the Bears' second-round pick.
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