Jay Cutler came up huge for the Chicago Bears Sunday, tossing a touchdown pass to Matt Forte with just 18 seconds remaining to give his team an 18-17 victory over the Kansas City Chiefs.
The Bears picked up a couple of first downs on their opening possession thanks to some good footwork and throws from Jay Cutler, but they were forced to punt the ball away near midfield. The team’s defense came up big on the Chiefs’ first drive however, forcing a three and out as Shea McClellin broke up a pass to Jamaal Charles on a third and short play.
Unfortunately for the Bears, two costly penalties ended up resulting in a Chiefs touchdown. After a penalty on the punt return and a false start penalty, Cutler was sacked in the end zone by Jaye Howard, and after he fumbled the ball away, Ramik Wilson fell on it to give the Chiefs a 7-0 lead just six minutes into the game.
After the Bears got the ball back, they slowly churned their way down the field. Cutler picked up a first down on a beautiful rollout pass, and then Matt Forte did some excellent work as he caught a pass and weaved his way through traffic and across the first down line. The Bears drive ultimately did stall out deep in Chiefs territory, but Robbie Gould blasted through a field goal to make it a 7-3 game late in the first quarter.
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Early in the second quarter, the Chiefs had their first long possession of the game, and it ultimately resulted in a touchdown. Smith made a huge play near midfield as he rushed for a first down, and later in the drive he found De’Anthony Thomas on a short completion. Thomas found the outside edge, rounded it, and ran the ball into the end zone to make it a 14-3 game.
After Cutler and the Bears went three-and-out for the third consecutive time late in the half, the Chiefs notched three more points before the half. The Bears were able to keep Kansas City out of the end zone, but Cairo Santos notched a field goal to make it a 17-3 contest at halftime.
The early minutes of the third quarter didn’t see any points scored, but there were two significant injuries that occurred. First the Bears found themselves without McClellin after the linebacker was hit in the left leg by Jarvis Jenkins. He was quickly ruled out of the game for the Bears, and LaRoy Reynolds came in to replace him.
The Chiefs’ injury news was even worse however, as Charles left the game with a right knee injury. The team immediately ruled him out for the remainder of the contest, and according to reports he is being evaluated for a possible ACL injury.
On the field, the Bears did manage to tack on another three points, as Gould set a new team record for career points with a field goal to make it a 17-6 game.
In the fourth quarter, the Bears’ defense made a couple of key stops, and their offense eventually came through in a big way. Cutler found Cameron Meredith and Martellus Bennett for key first down conversions, and then he lofted a high pass over Marquess Wilson’s shoulder that the receiver was able to corral for a touchdown to make it 17-12 late in the game.
After the Bears forced a three and out, Cutler made a couple of incredible throws downfield for first downs, and with 18 seconds remaining, he made the play of the game. After he bobbled the snap from Hroniss Grasu, Cutler picked the ball up, found Forte in the end zone, and lofted a pass up that his running back came down with to give the Bears an 18-17 lead.
The Chiefs did get an opportunity for a field goal attempt thanks to a facemasking penalty from Reynolds, but it wasn't enough as Santos' 66-yard field goal attempt fell short, giving the Bears a 2-3 record on the season.
