Cutler goes from hero to goat in Chicago Bears' loss
In the opinion of Chicago Bears fans, quarterback Jay Cutler went from the toast of the town after leading the upset of the Minnesota Vikings to just toast for his 4-turnover performance in Sunday's loss at Tampa Bay.
From a 100.5 passer rating against Minnesota, Cutler plummeted to 55.1 in Tampa, and that doesn't factor in his 2 fumbles.
"The quarterback position is unique," coach John Fox said a day after the 36-10 defeat. "I don't think how it's viewed by fans or by the media or all the people on the outside (is correct). All our signatures are on that. It was a poor performance, and we all take responsibility for it.
"The whole offense has to play better in (the passing game), and that's something that was addressed with the team, and they watch it for the second time, which is hard to do. We'll move on and start getting ready for the New York Giants."
The Giants are No. 23 in total yards allowed per game (371.3), 27th in passing yards allowed (277.4) and last in sacks per pass attempt by a wide margin, but 11th in points per game allowed (20.5).
Out of the running:
One of the few bright spots for the Bears against the Bucs was rookie running back Jordan Howard's fourth 100-yard game.
The fifth-round pick got exactly 100 on just 15 carries for a 6.7-yard average, leading many to wonder why he didn't get the ball more often.
"You can't get one-dimensional in this league," coach John Fox said. "Each one of these games is different matchups, and I thought we ran it efficiently.
"Unfortunately the second half ended up like it did. When you fall behind (by) 17, and in the third quarter you're down 14, that affects how much you run the ball."
Howard had 89 yards on 13 carries in the first half, but the Bears went down 24-10 just 1:55 into the third quarter, and he had just 2 more rushes (for 11 yards) the rest of the game.
The blame game:
Coach John Fox said no one should be singled out for Sunday's 36-10 loss, which was by far the most lopsided of the season.
"There's a lot of blame to spread around," he said. "Not just one entity (and not) just players, it's coaches, too."
By the numbers:
In 22 games, including 13 starts, safety Harold Jones-Quartey has 2 interceptions - both against the Tampa Bay Bucs, including 1 last December.
His interception Sunday gave the Bears the ball at the Bucs' 24-yard line late in the first quarter, and they moved 20 yards before quarterback Jay Cutler lost a fumble. … Cam Meredith's 50-yard Hail Mary touchdown reception was his first NFL score. … Connor Barth's 54-yard field goal was his longest since 2012, when he played for the Bucs.
Injury non-update:
Coach John Fox did not have new information on the Sunday injury to guard Kyle Long (ankle), who left the field on the back of a cart and could be finished for the season.
There also were no updates on offensive tackle Bobby Massie (concussion protocol), defensive lineman Will Sutton (ankle), running back Jordan Howard (ankle/Achilles) and nose tackle Eddie Goldman (ankle).
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