Bears Blitz

Jay Cutler Out-Performs Ben Roethlisberger as Bears Defeat the Steelers

Published by Ryan Michael on September 20, 2009
Article Source: Bleacher Report - Chicago Bears

Chicago made a horrible decision to trade for disgruntled quarterback Jay Cutler.

At least, that’s what many people were saying after the Bears 21-15 loss to the Packers during last week’s Sunday Night Football match-up.

Cutler was 17 of 36 for 277 yards, 1 touchdown, and 4 interceptions.

That’s not exactly the performance you would expect out of a guy you traded so much for.

It was almost a foregone conclusion that the defending Super Bowl champion Pittsburgh Steelers would wipe the field with the Chicago Bears, right?

If Jay Cutler performed so poorly against the same Packers defense that couldn’t stop the Bengals this week, how on earth could Cutler expect to play well against the vaunted Steelers defense?

He did.

27 of 38 for 236 yards, 2 touchdowns, and zero interceptions.

And Ben Roethlisberger?

23 of 35 for 221 yards, 1 touchdown, and 1 interceptions.

Unfortunately for Ben, his performance, which was quite similar to that of last week, was not enough to get the victory this week.

As far as Mr. Cutler, he improved by leaps and bounds.

The same quarterback who posted a 43.2 quarterback rating against the Packers’ defense managed to post a 104.7 rating against the Steelers defense.

What made his performance all the more impressive is that he managed to pick up the victory despite being backed by only 43 team rushing yards.

The Steelers racked up 105 rushing yards, but even with the balanced support to aid Roethlisberger, it was Jay Cutler who ended up driving the Bears down the field for Robbie Gould to kick the game-winning 44-yard field goal.

If this was any sign of things to come for the Bears, the people of Chicago will have plenty of reason to smile this week.