The Chicago Bears are playing the Cleveland Browns on the schedule in Week 15 of the season and with their playoff hopes still alive, the team is planning on starting Jay Cutler at quarterback over Josh McCown, with Marc Trestman making the call after Cutler healed up from his injuries.
McCown has played very well for the Bears, winning three of his past four starts and in the past three games he has gone over 330 yards passing and he has been excellent in place of Cutler, passing for 13 touchdowns and just one interception. According to ESPN.com, Trestman said that with Cutler healthy, the team decided to start him over McCown and comes after Cutler missed the last four games with an ankle injury he sustained against the Detroit Lions.
Trestman said that despite media reports, he was ready to start Cutler once he was healthy and now that he is, Cutler is back into the starting lineup. The move comes at an interesting time for Cutler and the Bears, as the team is looking to make the playoffs and Cutler is coming into free agency in the offseason. McCown has been great since taking over, going 3-2 on the season overall with nearly 70 percent completions and he has also passed for as many touchdowns with seven less picks than Cutler.
"We have a very close quarterback room. Everybody knows our situation. There was never a doubt that this the direction we were gonna go. We said that from the beginning," Trestman said. "Josh did a tremendous job filling in as the backup. Jay's healthy and ready to go, and will play on Sunday."
Here is a look back at the game on Monday night from Reuters.com:
McCown made a strong case to become the team's permanent starter after he dominated Dallas in a 45-28 win on Monday that vaulted the Bears into joint first place in the NFC North.
Making his fourth straight start in place of the injured Jay Cutler, McCown warmed up the home crowd in freezing conditions by passing for 348 yards, four touchdowns and running for another score.
The 34-year-old McCown has been stellar all season and now has 13 touchdown passes and just one interception. His latest output helped Chicago (7-6) tie with Detroit (7-6) in the divisional race.
But despite McCown's strong form, Cutler is expected to return from injury soon and regain his place.
"There's no change in the plan. We'll see where Jay is this week," Bears coach Marc Trestman told reporters of the stated plan to start Cutler when he's cleared medically.
"I thought (McCown) played an excellent game."
Matt Forte rushed for 99 yards and added 73 receiving yards and a score for the Bears in a shootout victory that did not include a turnover by either team.
Dallas (7-6) fell one game behind first-place Philadelphia (8-5) in the NFC East with the loss.
The Cowboys managed to keep pace early and tied the game 14-14 late in the second quarter, but McCown caught fire and never looked back.
Chicago's backup quarterback led two quick drives just before halftime, resulting in a field goal and a 25-yard touchdown pass to Alshon Jeffery as the Bears scored 28 points without reply to put the game out of reach.
McCown's pass to Jeffery featured a spectacular grab in the back corner of the end zone where the receiver leaped above a defender.
"You want to put a ball where a guy can catch it but not put the ball in jeopardy, so to speak," McCown said. "My part was relatively easy. His part was unreal."
Dallas tallied two fourth-quarter touchdowns to trim the final deficit.
Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo threw for three scores but only 104 yards while running back DeMarco Murray picked up 146 yards on the ground.
(Reuters)