Cutler leads Bears over Vikings, 36-30 in OT

Maybe the Bears' future isn't as bleak as it has been made out to be in the past 10 weeks, while they were losing eight times and getting embarrassed in half those losses.

Monday night's 36-30 overtime victory on national TV against playoff-bound Minnesota salvaged some pride and provided some encouragement for the future, while lifting the Bears to 6-9 and dropping the Vikings to 11-4.

It also kept a Soldier Field crowd from noticing the frigid conditions as it spent the final half-hour or so on its feet.

"We haven't been proud of our play at times this season," coach Lovie Smith said, "but we were tonight."

Whether an eleventh-hour win that came about a month too late to turn around a lost season will be enough to save jobs remains to be seen.

But it did provide some encouragement for next season, considering the contributions made by some of the youngest Bears who will have to play key roles if next year is to be better than this third straight nonplayoff season.

"I think this game made a statement about our football team and what we can be in the future," Smith said. "It's about the future now. We know what's happened in the past."

Jay Cutler again looked like the franchise quarterback who flashed Pro Bowl talent early in the season but has had just two games in the past 10 with a passer rating above 80.

Cutler completed 20 of 35 passes for 273 yards and a season-high 4 touchdowns, including a beautifully thrown 39-yard toss to Devin Aromashodu with 9:15 left in overtime for the win.

Cutler's 108.4 passer rating was his second-best of the season and his best since Week 3's 126.4 at Seattle

"We all needed a game like this," Smith said. "Of course Jay needed this, but our whole team needed it."

This is how it was supposed to go for the Bears and for Cutler all season.

And maybe this is how it will go in the future, considering the supporting cast that helped Cutler regain his touch coming off the worst game of his career that included a 7.9 passer rating in last week's loss at Baltimore.

Aromashodu, whom Cutler started talking up way back in training camp, had a breakout game with 7 catches for 150 yards.

Chris Williams, the Bears' first-round draft pick in 2008, missed most of that year following back surgery and then played unimpressively at right tackle for most of this season.

But Monday night he neutralized Jared Allen, the NFL's most prolific sack artist, who had just 2 tackles and didn't come close to a sack.

"He did a great job," Cutler said of his blindside protector. "We gave him a little help at times, but he was on his own a lot. He's going to be good because he works at it, and he cares about it."

The Bears' 363 total yards represented their biggest output in seven weeks, but it may not be enough to save the jobs of coaches on the offensive side of the ball, where the Bears have struggled mightily in most games since the bye in Week 5.

"I'm not even focused on that," offensive coordinator Ron Turner said of his job security. "We'll go in (today) and get ready for Detroit. We'll enjoy this one for about two hours and then focus on Detroit. I'm not even going to think about it."

Penalties have stunted the offense at various times all season, but Monday night the Bears had just 3 penalties for 31 yards as a team.

"It's what I've been saying all year," Turner said. "We've played well, and we've done a lot of good things all year when we didn't hurt ourselves. We have some guys who can make plays, and they made plays."

The Bears jumped out to a 16-0 lead at halftime but couldn't hold on, allowing the Vikings to tie the game at 30-30 and send it into overtime on a 6-yard Brett Favre TD pass to Sidney Rice on fourth-and-goal with 16 seconds left in regulation.

The Bears had a chance to win on the opening possession of overtime, but Robbie Gould missed a 45-yard field-goal attempt that was wide right by inches. It was just his fourth miss of the season in 25 attempts.

But on the Vikings' second overtime possession, Hunter Hillenmeyer stripped Adrian Peterson and Nick Roach recovered at the Vikings' 39. Cutler found Aromashodu on the next play for a win that restored some pride to a team that could have quit but didn't.

"It was an opportunity to show what we can be in the future," Smith said. "That was enough.

"Guys know when everyone's watching, you want to play your best. It was pride, too, for guys who wear the Chicago Bears uniform."

<div class="infoBox"> <h1>More Coverage</h1> <div class="infoBoxContent"> <div class="infoArea"> <h2>Photo Galleries</h2> <ul class="gallery"> <li><a href="/story/?id=347190">Images of the Bears vs. Vikings </a></li> </ul> <h2>Stories</h2> <ul class="links"> <li><a href="/story/?id=347203">Imrem: No, this win doesn't change my mind at all <span class="date">[12/29/09]</span></a></li> <li><a href="/story/?id=347202">Rozner: Where were these guys all season? <span class="date">[12/29/09]</span></a></li> <li><a href="/story/?id=347194">Bears 'D' gets steamed up<span class="date"> [12/29/09]</span></a></li> <li><a href="/story/?id=347206&src=148">Kreutz tries to set the record straight <span class="date">[12/29/09]</span></a></li> </ul> </div> </div> </div>