Cutler, Gould leads Bears over Raiders 22-20

Raiders cornerback David Amerson (29) breaks up a pass intended for Chicago Bears wide receiver Marc Mariani in the second half Sunday, October 4, 2015, in Chicago.

Oakland created a significant opportunity for themselves on a fumbled snap by Chicago, which the Raiders recovered at the Bears’ 25 yard line. He was cool as a cucumber, bringing Chicago its first win since November.

Leno was filling in for starting left tackle Jermon Bushrod, who missed his first start of the season after suffering a concussion and shoulder injury last week in Seattle. Remember that silly narrative that Cutler isn’t tough?

“I thought we were going to get the Cutler of old”, Tuck said.

Gase, who was calling just the second two-minute drive of his career as a coordinator, had acknowledged that he’d needed to open the game up a little more in Oakland with Jimmy Clausen and he did so against the Raiders but within the context of a balanced game plan.

Sebastian Janikowski made both of his field goals and PATs and Marquette King averaged 45.0 net yards per punt, downing the Bears at 6-yard line once and the 10 another time. The rebuilding Bears are desperate for a win, but this Raiders team is too confident for a let down. “The guys are excited, coaching staff is excited”. One negative success can take this dvd from “As Good as It Gets” to “Wild Hogs”. On the other hand, he also had made the game-winning scoring drive necessary with yet another big mistake at a crucial time – throwing an interception to longtime antagonist Charles Woodson to ignite a 91-yard Oakland go-ahead drive. But this time, he came through. The Bears were in business, with Gould in position to close it.

“It’s a big win”, Cutler said. But the quarterback led his team to a win. Additionally, the Bears showed many sings of weaknesses in the first three weeks, but the Raiders did not take advantage of them while not fixing their own problems. “I could have gotten there quicker, just looking at the film”.

Moving forward may be hard as the Raiders will travel to Mile High Stadium to play the Denver Broncos and their tenth ranked rush defense this weekend. They allowed Cutler to pass for 281 yards and two scores on 28 of 43 passing for the day. Adam Gase works well with the quarterback, and the schemes are built for his success. Of course, those mistakes were costly.

“It’s a tribute to Jay”, Bears head coach John Fox said. A limited Jay Cutler is better than no Cutler at all.

“You can always second-guess the call whether it’s run or pass, it was definitely there if we executed the play”, Del Rio said. “Guys are depending on me to go out there and get it done”. Cutler returned to the field with 2:05 left and loads of pressure on his shoulders. Who knows? Two drives taken off the board with a first-down turnover and just add that in right there …

“That was another potential game-ending situation”, Del Rio said.

It’s unlikely the win will give the 1-3 Bears even a faint reason to believe in a playoff run, though perhaps it does mean that what’s left after the fire sale isn’t as bad as a few feared.

Hats off to Cutler for a gutsy, victorious performance.