Bears Lose Cutler, Lions Stafford Pummeled by Minnesota

Two of the four teams in the NFC North were victorious in Week 2 of the NFL. The Minnesota Vikings and Green Bay Packers won, while the Detroit Lions and Chicago Bears were beaten.

Not only were the Bears and Lions beaten, but also their starting quarterbacks were injured in the games and could be out for next week’s games.

The Bears are not anywhere near prepared for life without starting quarterback Jay Cutler. That was very obvious the moment his replacement Jimmy Clausen took the field in Sunday’s loss to Arizona 48-23.

Clausen came on after Cutler sustained an injured hamstring while trying to make a tackle on an interception he threw late on quarter number two.

Between Cutler and Clausen the drop off is huge. Cutler’s history might not be the best in Chicago, but he was flourishing in the new offense the Bears were running.

His mobility was taken advantage of by the new coaching staff, as things were set up to his strengths.

Culter ran the offense to near perfection against the Cardinals defense for two quarters.

He was headed for huge numbers when he was hurt after an inexcusable turnover.

Now Chicago must figure out what they will do now. Clausen clearly is no solution over the long term. David Fales the sixth round pick from last year will be elevated to the active roster but most consider him just a full time backup for his career.

Regardless of how bad Cutler’s injury is, Chicago needs to address the problem of finding a solid backup.

How long Cutler will be sidelined is unknown.

The Lions did not lose quarterback Matthew Stafford to injury but he was beaten up during the course of the game against Minnesota, in which the Lions lost 26-16.

He was pummeled throughout the game, hit after almost every throw, hit on the run and suffered an injury for the second straight week that needed x-rays following the game.

Stafford had both his ribs and chest x-rayed, while last week he hurt his arm in San Diego.

The Lions must find a way to keep Stafford standing or their season will be long and full of losses.

Stafford’s status for next week is still unknown, as the Lions did not release any information about the x-rays of his chest and ribs.

Regardless, of whether he can play or not the bigger questions is how the Lions protect him so he can help them win games with his arm.