Bears QB Cutler carves up Eagles, silences critics

CHICAGO - Jay Cutler has pretty much silenced the boo-birds.

After yesterday's performance, Cutler is once again the toast of Chicago as he matched a career-high with four touchdown passes in a 31-26 victory over the Eagles.

"Jay Cutler was outstanding throughout," said Bears coach Lovie Smith. "Whether he was throwing the football or taking off running the ball, it just felt like he was in total control of our offense."

Cutler was 14-for-21 for 247 yards and had touchdown strikes of 10, 20, 6 and 9 yards. He wasn't picked off and recorded a quarterback rating of 146.2, the highest single-game figure of his career.

Cutler's line gave him plenty of time to throw, opened lanes to run and generally kept the Eagles' defense off his back.

Just last month, Cutler was the target of some derision after a three-game stretch in which he was sacked 19 times - including nine against the Giants - and was picked off five times.

Then came a bye week and a revival as Cutler and the offense started to grow increasingly comfortable with coordinator Mike Martz' approach.

A four-game winning streak has been the result.

"It's a new system and it takes time for everyone to learn it and time for me to learn it," Cutler said. "It takes time for Mike to get used to his guys and what we feel comfortable calling and what he can and can't call."

Cutler engineered several quick strikes yesterday, with the Bears' longest first-half scoring drive taking just six plays.

For the game, Cutler combined with wide receiver and former Vanderbilt teammate Earl Bennett on four passes for 56 yards and two touchdowns, and hit Johnny Knox three times for 68 yards and a score. Devin Hester was also a top target with three catches for 86 yards.

Running back Matt Forte, meanwhile, rushed 14 times for 117 yards, the most yardage the Eagles have given up to any back this season.

Perhaps Cutler's most impressive effort was a drive that stalled in the red zone as the Bears settled for a third-quarter field goal.

Cutler guided a 17-play drive to the Eagles' 5 that took more than 10 minutes off the clock, and Robbie Gould's 23-yard field goal gave Chicago a 31-13 lead.

"I think that was kind of a signature moment in the game for us; to grind out the clock, get the running game going, pick up some tough first downs on third downs," Cutler said. "Even though we only got three [points] out of it, to burn off that much time and really let our defense rest and get some momentum going was huge."

Yesterday's game was billed as a showdown between Cutler and Michael Vick, the Eagles' quarterback who had won three straight starts.

Vick was 29-for-44 for 333 yards and two touchdowns, with one coming in the final 2 minutes. But he was generally outplayed by Cutler.

"We wanted to keep [Vick] in the pocket and and make him become a drop-back passer and try to beat us that way," Smith said. "We wanted to keep him pinned in, just keep pressure on him."

Vick, meanwhile, was impressed with Cutler's ability to move out of the pocket.

"Jay did a great job with his feet - moving - and made plays down the field, kept his eyes down the field and kept us off the field," Vick said. "If you do that, then you really give yourself a good opportunity to win the footballgame."

Now the challenge for Cutler and the Bears is stay on a roll.

"We've got to keep going and put this one behind us," Cutler said. "The true test in this league is consistency, especially in November and December, whether it's third downs, red zone, turnovers or winning ballgames."