The Chicago Bears certainly left a lot to be desired in their loss to the Philadelphia Eagles on Sunday night. Their defense was suspect as was their quarterback play. As the team prepares for a must-win game against the Green Bay Packers in Week 17, head coach Marc Trestman is stressing there is still no quarterback controversy in Chicago.
Jay Cutler finished the night going 20 for 35 for 222 yards and one touchdown. He was also sacked five times throughout the game. It was not pretty. The Bears failed to get any kind of run game game while Cutler never looked comfortable in the pocket. The will play the Packers next week in an NFC winner-goes-home game and Trestman is already naming Cutler the starter over backup Josh McCown.
"We lost the line of scrimmage," Trestman said, via Michael Wright of ESPN.com. "We didn't do as good a job as obviously we've done at protecting Jay. He got hit probably more in this game than he's been hit at any time during the season."
Trestman is dismissing the notion there is a quarterback controversy in Chicago. The head coach is stressing that the veteran will remain under center no matter in the crucial matchup next week. No matter how many times Cutler was sacked, Trestman refused to take him out. With everything on the line next week, it will be interesting to see if he sticks to his words.
There is certainly an argument for playing McCown. The backup stepped in for the injured Cutler and kept the Bears in the playoff mix. He proved to be more than a backup. As a starter this season, McCown has put up 1,829 yards and 13 touchdowns on a 66.5 completion percentage.
It is safe to say that Cutler never had a chance on Sunday. The Eagles' defense was causing havoc on the Bears' offensive line. However, the Packers are expected to do the same.
Cutler stresses that a week of practice will do the team some good. He stressed that the team had a strong game plan going into the game, but failed to execute. If Cutler struggles next week, his future in Chicago will be looking even more grim that before. With McCown a player to watch for. Cutler must preform to earn that highly publicized contract extension.
