Chicago Bears quarterback Jay Cutler completed just 18 of his 36 passes for 225 yards, one touchdown and one interception in Sunday’s loss to the Green Bay Packers 31-23.
Now, according Mike Mulligan of The Chicago Tribune (h/t Brian Jones, 247Sports), the Bears want Cutler to shoulder a smaller offensive load.
Cutler’s 50-percent mark in the season opener was partially due to a limited receiving crew that was dealing with various injuries. While it’s reasonable to hold Cutler back for now, Mulligan believes the Bears won’t win in bigger games if the quarterback is simply managing the game.
As questionable as some of Cutler’s plays are at times, he does hold the franchise record for passing yards (18,950) and quarterback rating (84.1). Additionally, Cutler has completed 61.6 percent of his career attempts. For comparison’s sake, Cutler ranks No. 11 in career passing yards (27,974) among current starting NFL quarterbacks.
A reduction in passes per game could produce more efficient results by Cutler. Although, with the Bears relying more heavily on their ground game, they take the chance at burning out their 29-year-old workhorse running back Matt Forte, who already has compiled well over 11,000 combined yards in his career.
The Bears are certainly facing an interesting dilemma if they truly are going to cut Cutler’s attempts moving forward, as this report suggests.