Cutler not afraid to do what it takes

Air Cutler took the Bears for a helicopter ride Sunday afternoon.

"That was nuts, man," offensive tackle Chris Williams said.

When a team scores 48 points, 1 touchdown might not seem like much and one play might not seem like anything.

However, Jay Cutler's scramble in the first quarter of a 48-24 victory over the Lions was a signature moment.

Quarterbacks endure the image of dandies - getting the money, the girl, the glory - but a human being has to be more than that to stand in the pocket and take hits.

Then there are the really tough ones who stray from their bodyguards, across the line of scrimmage and into the line of fire.

You know, like Cutler did with the Bears trailing 7-0 six minutes into the game.

"Nice," running back Matt Forte said of the play. "He showed a lot of guts."

So far we have words like nuts and guts in reference to Cutler's 5-yard TD run. Let's see, what else rhymes with them? How about what's - as in WHAT'S HE DOING?"

What Cutler did was chug toward the left sideline, veer upfield and approach the goal line with abandon.

The Lions caught up. It was difficult to read their license plates, but a couple looked like No. 59 Julian Peterson from behind and No. 54 DeAndre Levy from the side.

Anyway, Cutler went airborne upon contact in whirlybird fashion with blades flapping and motor churning.

Cutler's splattered landing pad was across the sideline and more important across the goal line.

"He knew he was going to get hit but wanted to score," Forte said. "It was a great play by him."

Leaders come in all sorts of packages. They can lead by production, by language or by election.

Cutler led in the first quarter by sacrificing his body for a score in what was beginning to project as a high-scoring game.

Defensive players venture into harm's way on a regular basis. Offensive linemen do so after every snap of the ball. Wide receivers and running backs are assaulted nearly every time they touch the ball.

My goodness, what must it mean to those guys when a quarterback hurls himself into the air and allows himself to be spun around like a spinner atop a beanie.

"(Cutler) always plays that way," offensive guard Roberto Garza said in matter-of-fact admiration.

By the way, Cutler's quarterback rating for the game was a proficient 100.4 even while passing for a relatively meager 141 yards.

But statistics don't matter much. Victories do. Throwing for 300 yards while losing isn't cool. Throwing your body around like a 233-pound feather in the wind and winning is red-hot.

Maybe it's a Denver thing. John Elway made a similar play to help the Broncos win a Super Bowl and Cutler played for them until this season.

"I was just trying to get in - if I could have gone in nice and quietly I would have done that," Cutler said of the end zone but could have meant Chicago.

No chance of that on either count.

Bugles blared in April when Cutler arrived here by plane and again Sunday when he crossed the goal line by chopper.