Will improved Cutler mean Gase heads out?

After his all-time personal-best 151.0 passer rating against the Rams, Chicago Bears quarterback Jay Cutler has a 95.3 passer rating, which would be the highest of his 10-year career.

Although Cutler has been working with offensive coordinator Adam Gase for less than a year, it already appears, finally, to be the relationship that can propel the quarterback closer to the lofty potential he always has fallen short of in the past.

The problem is, that success may make the Cutler-Gase production a one-and-done show.

The better Cutler plays, the more attractive Gase becomes as a head-coaching candidate because of his effective tutelage. And Gase was a pretty hot commodity last off-season, when he interviewed for five head-coaching positions.

Cutler has never had a passer rating as high as 90 for a season. He does now partly as the result of the lowest interception rate of his career.

He has been picked off just three times in the past six games while throwing 11 touchdown passes. Not coincidentally, the Bears have won four of those games after an 0-3 start.

"We've tried to eliminate the turnovers, whether it be sack-fumbles or interceptions," coach John Fox said. "Getting us in the right play (has been important). (The Rams) gave you a variety of looks, a lot of pressure packages. And then to get us in and out of plays is very critical."

Cutler is making better decisions than ever before, a category that doesn't figure into passer rating but is critical to wins and losses.

On the first play of the fourth quarter Sunday, Cutler audibled to a run play - on third-and-10. Rookie running back Jeremy Langford picked up 11 yards. Six plays later, Robbie Gould's 37-yard field goal upped the Bears' lead to 27-13.

"Third-and-10, and he checks to run," said guard-turned-center Matt Slauson. "I love that. It's awesome."

Each of the four previous Bears offensive coordinators who have worked with Cutler have tried in their own way to coach mistakes out of him. Whether the message is the same under Gase, it's getting through better than before.

That much was clear against a St. Louis defense that had allowed just 33 points in its last three games but surrendered 37 to the Bears.

Getting his team into the right play doesn't depend on physical skills, which Cutler always has had in abundance. It's preparation.

"He studies extremely hard to get that done," Fox said. "Our offensive staff has done a terrific job of managing that, and he's done a great job responding to it."

Gase's play-calling has helped Cutler put up the most impressive numbers of his career.

That much was evident against the Rams, who came in with a top-five defense and the No. 2 sack attack. Gase dialed up a screen pass to Langford that went for an 83-yard touchdown.

"Great call by Adam to dial that up at the right time," Cutler said.

An earlier short flip to tight end Zach Miller picked up 87 yards.

"We knew coming in that this was an unbelievable defense," Cutler said of the Rams. "You try to just control the game with some formation stuff, try to get the ball out quick.

"We knew we were going to need to run the ball consistently and efficiently to be able to compete with these guys."

Sunday the Bears checked all the boxes. They easily outrushed the NFL's No. 4 rushing team 153-94. Cutler had his best statistical game ever, and the offense ran the right plays at the right time.

Though sacks don't figure in passer rating, Cutler has done a nice job of avoiding them and is on pace to be sacked just 21 times, the lowest rate of his seven years with the Bears.

Add it all up and the Cutler-Gase collaboration looks like a winner. Enjoy it now because it probably won't be around for long.

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