Once again, Cutler fails to deliver

How was this night different from all other nights?

Well, for starters, Jay Cutler threw it more to his own team than the other.

That's unusual for a night game.

The Bears actually played a respectable game, showing up on defense and creating some turnovers.

And they played hard.

This time, you have to give them that much.

But in the end, the result was the same as it's been of late, with Philadelphia rallying for a 24-20 victory at Soldier Field Sunday night.

It's the Bears' fourth defeat in four night games this season, an issue they won't have to deal with next year as prime time games go only to competitive NFL squads.

That's something the Bears (4-6) haven't been lately, losing five of six after a 3-1 start, their lone victory in this dreadful streak coming against the lowly Cleveland Browns, a win in which they should take little pride.

The Bears can only pretend now that they're not finished for 2009, but pretend they did.

"We're running out of time,'' Cutler said. "Our window is getting smaller and smaller.''

Cutler had 15 interceptions in 5 defeats entering Sunday's contest, and only 2 picks in 4 wins, and that math figured to work in his favor against the Eagles, who kept handing the ball to the Bears and tried their best to keep the locals in the game.

But Cutler just couldn't find the magic he had early in the season, overthrowing his receivers four times on sure TDs, and generally looking sluggish.

"What do you want me to say?'' Cutler said. "I missed some throws I should make.''

Trailing by 4 with 1:51 remaining in the game, Cutler needed to take the Bears 79 yards with no timeouts, but their offense being what it is, they moved a whole 16 yards in 59 seconds.

With a long way to go and little time left, Cutler then did what he's become famous for of late, forcing a ball to Greg Olsen with five defenders around him.

That was tipped into his first interception of the night, and that was the ballgame.

Cutler has 18 picks on the year and only 15 TDs, posting another ugly QB rating Sunday (63.2), as opposed to Eagles QB Donovan McNabb, who put up a 101.6 and picked up a couple TD passes vs. 1 interception.

Immediately after the game, McNabb - a Chicago native - stood at midfield for nearly a minute with his arm around Cutler, counseling the Bears QB on his future and imploring him to hang in there.

"He's a first-class guy,'' Cutler said. "I've admired him from afar for a long time.''

No doubt McNabb knows what it's like to be the big name on a team, to hear the boos with all the pressure on the QB and all the expectations resting squarely on his shoulders.

McNabb also knows what it's like to deliver, something Cutler has not been able to do in his career. But at least on this night there was blame to go around, and Cutler wasn't the only one unable to finish.

The problem is, this season has slipped away from the Bears and if they don't come up with a spectacular finish, most of the blame will be focused on the franchise QB.

And Cutler knows what he's facing.

"Anything can happen in the NFL in November and December,'' Cutler said. "We've seen it. We've seen crazy things happen.

"But the window is closing on us.''

Any Bears fan will tell you it's already shut tight.