CUTLER STRUGGLES AS PACKERS BEAT BEARS

Jay Cutler looked great in the preseason, giving Chicago Bears’ fans premature hopes for another Superbowl run.  They quickly found out that the regular season is a different animal, as Cutler looked awful in his regular season debut with his new team.  His yardage output wasn’t bad, as he threw for 277 yards with a touchdown but that was more than offset by a career high four interceptions.  His Packers’ counterpart Aaron Rodgers was steady, throwing for 184 yards with a touchdown—and no interceptions.  The sum total of the game saw the Packers defeating their arch rivals from Chicago 21-15.

The Packers barely managed to cover as a -5 home favorite.  The Packers have been a moneymaking machine over the past three years, improving to 21-15 ATS overall and 7-3 as a -3 to -6 home favorite.  The Bears dropped to 14-18 in the same timeframe and 6-9 as an underdog.  The 36 combined points went UNDER the posted total of 46’.  The Packers have gone OVER in 22 of their last 33 lined contests, while the Bears have a 16-17 O/U record in that span.

Cutler sounded a philosophical note as he tried not to take his horrible opening game performance to heart:

"There were a lot of failures. We've got to go back and look at it. I think we're still going to be a good football team, there's no need to panic."

Despite Cutler’s struggles, the Packers needed 11 fourth quarter points to pull out the victory.  Green Bay QB Rodgers said his team was ‘due’ for a good game ending drive:

"I was thinking, 'We're due. We're due for one good drive. I told the guys, just give me one drive."

Greg Jennings answered the call, catching Rodgers’ go ahead touchdown pass and the subsequent two point conversion:

"This was our chance to show that we can finish ballgames, we can win the close games, and we got it done.We didn't get it done all game, but when it came down to it, when it counts and when it counted, we got it done."

The Bears suffered a bigger loss after the game, as defensive stalwart Brian Urlacher required season ending surgery on a dislocated wrist.  While Cutler wasn’t about to accept blame for the loss, Bears’ coach Lovie Smith all but called him out by name:

"It's pretty simple what happened tonight. Any time that you have four turnovers, you're normally not going to win the football game, especially against a good Packers team."

The Bears will try to regroup at home next Sunday, but the opposition of the Superbowl champion Pittsburgh Steelers won’t make it easy.  The Steelers have been installed as a -3 road favorite for that game, with the total set at 38.  The Bears will take the long trip to the Pacific Northwest the following Sunday to face the Seattle Seahawks.  Green Bay will host the Cincinnati Bengals this weekend, with the Packers a -9 home favorite and the total set at 42.  The Packers will play a road game against the St. Louis Rams the following weekend.