Jay Cutler Ruled Out for Week 12 vs. Rams
The Chicago Bears were hopeful quarterback Jay Cutler would return from his high ankle sprain to face the St. Louis Rams in week 12, but alas, the Bears will be without their leader for a second straight week.
On Monday, Bears head coach Marc Trestman made the official announcement, ruling Cutler out for this Sunday’s game, which means Josh McCown will get the nod for the second week in a row after leading the Bears to an overtime win against the Baltimore Ravens. McCown played well in the win – throwing for 216 yards with a passer rating of 92.9 – and improved to 2-0 on the season as the Bears’ starter, but Trestman stressed that the job is still Cutler’s whenever he is healthy enough to reclaim it.
“Jay is the quarterback of our football team, and Josh is our backup quarterback,” Trestman said, according to ESPN.com. “The three of us all know that. That hasn’t changed, and it’s not gonna change.”
Trestman added that the team will continue to evaluate the situation and Cutler’s condition on a week-to-week basis, so it’s possible that Cutler could be back as soon as next week, but considering the high ankle sprain is a nagging injury for many players, the Bears might not see Cutler suit up for several weeks.
Of course, the silver lining regarding Cutler’s injury for Bears fans is that McCown has proven to be a capable replacement. In filling in for Cutler this season, McCown has thrown five touchdowns and no interceptions with a 100.0 QB rating, giving fans and bettors reason to believe that Chicago can keep on trucking – especially in the next two weeks against the Rams (4-6) and Minnesota Vikings (2-8).
“Josh is a talented player, and he plays within himself,” Trestman said. “He knows what his strengths are, and he plays to his strengths. He tries to keep things simple in terms of how he does things. He’s got great work ethic. He’s detail-oriented, just like Jay is — and quarterbacks who are efficient playing the game, they’re very detail-oriented. Josh is one of those guys.”
With a 6-4 record (tied for 1st in NFC North) and a strong backup quarterback, we should still consider the Bears to be in good playoff shape and a favorite to knock off the Rams this week – even though most odds makers like the home team. Go with Chicago to cover +1 this Sunday against St. Louis – who is also on its second QB – and keep things rolling without Cutler.
