BEARS USE LATE CHARGE TO GET PAST SEAHAWKS

Jay Cutler is quickly leaving his miserable debut as Chicago Bears starting QB in the past.  After opening his tenure under center for the Bears with a dreadful four interception performance, Cutler was solid throughout the game with 247 yards and three touchdowns against one interception.  None of these were more important than the final drive of the game, which Cutler handled masterfully as the Bears came from behind to beat the Seattle Seahawks 25-19.  Seneca Wallace played well for Seattle in his fill in role for injured starter Matt Hasselbeck, throwing for 261 yards and a touchdown against one interception.  The Bears improved to 2-1 on the NFL season, while Seattle fell to 1-2.

Chicago also covered the poinspread as -3 point road favorites.  The Bears are now 2-1 against the spread, while Seattle dropped to 1-2 versus the money.  The 44 points scored went OVER the total of 37’.   For both teams, it was the first OVER of the year against two under verdicts.  Despite the 1-2 start, the Seahawks are still in the thick of the race in the NFL West, trailing first place San Francisco by a single game.

Devin Hester caught the game winning touchdown, and in his postgame comments Cutler gave props to the converted defensive end and said that as a quarterback he relishes late game pressure situations:

"I pride myself in that. I want the ball in those situations and I think this offense is starting to get a feel for it. Any time you can get Devin Hester one-on-one, it works."

Bears coach Lovie Smith concurred:

"To me, you judge good quarterbacks based on what they can do late in the game, and Jay wants the ball in his hands. He had a good look about him knowing that we had to go down and score. We all had confidence that he would lead us."

Hester also praised Cutler’s leadership ability.  Asked what the quarterback had shown the team so far, he responded:

"A lot of poise. There are situations when the game's not going to go our way, and he continues to be confident and telling us 'Stay in the game!'. That's what this team is counting on."

Seahawks coach Jim Mora singled out field goal kicker Orlando Mare, after he missed two short field goal attempts:

"You've got to make those kicks, especially in a game like this when you're in a game like this kicking and fighting and scratching and playing your tail off and you miss those kicks. Not acceptable. Not acceptable. Absolutely not acceptable. We'll look at making a change everywhere. We're not going to play our rears off and have a field goal kicker go out there and miss two field goals and lose a game."

The Bears host the Detroit Lions on Sunday, with Chicago a -10’ home favorite.  The total for the game has been set at 39’.  The team will then enjoy a bye week before back-to-back road games against Cincinnati and Atlanta.  The Seahawks will face the tough task of playing the Colts at Indianapolis this week.  Seattle is a +10’ road underdog with the total posted at 44.  They’ll return home for the next two
games, hosting Jacksonville and Arizona.