The frustrating thing about the Bears loss on Sunday is that it was not a total calamity. In fact, some of the times that Jay Cutler connected with his receivers were downright beautiful. How else could he have gained 246 yards on just 17 completions? The problem was that after those huge yardage gains, the Bears were unable to capatilize.
This fact is clearly on display during a drive in the second quarter. Seattle was in the lead, 14-7, and the Bears were on their own 19-yard line after a 21-yard kickoff return by Danieal Manning.
Cutler incomplete pass to the right: With plenty of time to pass, Cutler overthrew Greg Olsen on a short slant pass to the right. The 6-foot-5 Olsen got his hands on the ball, but it was too high for him to bring down.
Cutler passed to Devin Aromashodu to the right for 34 yard gain: Again, Cutler had plenty of protection, giving him time to make a short completion to the rarely-called-upon Aromashodu, who turned and brought the Bears into Seattle territory.
Cutler passed to Earl Bennett down the middle for 36 yard gain: Scrambling, Cutler connected with Bennett, who was 10 yards out. Bennett beat Seahawk Lawyer Milloy to bring the Bears into the red zone.
Cutler incomplete pass to the left: Taking his time to pass, Cutler was hit and unable to complete the pass to a wide-open Bennett.
Matt Forte rushed to the left for no gain: In one of the few times he was called upon, Forte was unable to gain any yardage. He had little protection to break through for a score. Still, the Bears had one last shot to get in the end zone.
Cutler sacked by Aaron Curry: Cutler eluded Seattle defenders at first, but then was brought down after Curry broke through unfettered by Bears blockers. This was the first of the six times that Cutler was sacked, and the Bears were pushed back to the Seattle 16-yard line. Almost out of downs, they had to salvage the drive with a field goal.
Chicago Bears
Robbie Gould kicked a 34-yard field goal: As he is so often called upon to do, Gould kicked a 34-yard field goal with to cut Seattle's lead to four.
Hopefully, the Bears spent plenty of time studying this drive during Monday's film session, because it showed everything that the Bears can do right -- like big gains after catches and how good Cutler can be with some protection -- while also placing a magnifying glass on everything that the Bears offense is doing wrong.
