Another good article by an informed writer.
Brian Hoyer leads Bears to 1st win, but backup role still suits him best.
Nothing during Sunday's 17-14 victory over the Lions at Soldier Field demonstrated Bears quarterback Brian Hoyer's savvy more than the smile he suppressed answering a question after it.
After completing 28 of 36 passes for 302 yards and two touchdowns, Hoyer knew to expect speculation over who should play once starter Jay Cutler returns from a thumb injury. Even if some people in Chicago now consider Hoy Ball more than just the way to describe the Bulls offense under coach Fred Hoiberg, experience helps Hoyer avoid getting too carried away.
"I'll do whatever is asked of me,'' Hoyer answered when asked about his role. "Whatever they say to me tomorrow, that's what I'll prepare to do. I'll be a professional about it. That's one thing I've learned through the tough situations I've been through.''
The Bears asked Hoyer to do little more than protect the ball and move the chains against a bad Lions defense, and he complied. He took what the defense gave him, and the Lions were generous.
"It's not something I haven't done before,'' said Hoyer, on his fifth team.
Exuding confidence, Hoyer made the Lions pay for playing more zone coverage than man by dinking them to death with underneath passes spread among seven receivers. He showed accuracy on the run, as when he hit emerging threat Eddie Royal for a 4-yard touchdown pass. And he was efficient, posting passer rating of 120.1 that Cutler surpassed only once last season.
10 thoughts on the Bears' 17-14 win over the Lions
10 thoughts on the Bears' 17-14 win over the Lions
Hoyer impressed so many observers that Fox analyst Jimmy Johnson predicted at halftime that Cutler had "taken his last snap" as a Bear, an outrageous notion in Week 4 for a starter forced to watch because of injury. So I wondered aloud how difficult the decision will be for Bears coach John Fox once Cutler feels healthy. He sounded like he would have preferred discussing injuries.
"We'll cross that bridge when we get there,'' Fox said. "I'd like to enjoy this for a couple hours.''
When Fox's buzz wears off from the Bears winning at home for the first time since Oct. 4, 2015, he should realize that Cutler still gives his team its best chance of beating quality opponents this season. That isn't referring to Cutler's future with the Bears — moving on next year likely will benefit everybody. But if winning as many games as possible in 2016 remains the organization's primary goal, starting Cutler when healthy brings them closer to that.
With due respect to the professionalism Hoyer offers and the precision he showed, Cutler makes more sense for a unit lacking explosiveness. That Hoyer's success stood out so much on a day the Bears offense scored 17 points only underscored how badly the Bears lack playmakers.
Hoyer forces offensive coordinator Dowell Loggains to coach smarter. For the second straight week under Hoyer, the game plan showed an awareness of the quarterback's limitations, but where was that caution with Cutler? This looked like a differently designed offense, one emphasizing painting-by-numbers over taking bold strokes, providing further proof that Loggains fell into the same trap with Cutler as so many other play-callers not named Adam Gase.
Eddie Royal's big gain, big day help lift Bears to first victory
Eddie Royal's big gain, big day help lift Bears to first victory
For a refreshing change against the Lions, Loggains finally stuck with the run enough for rookie Jordan Howard to grind out 111 yards on 23 carries.
"It opens up a lot of things,'' Hoyer said. "Being balanced keeps the defense guessing.''
It also helped Hoyer that the Bears defense guessed right so often against Lions quarterback Matthew Stafford, Detroit's Cutler. The Bears held the NFL's fourth-ranked offense to 263 total yards — 151 below its average — and intercepted Stafford twice. And they did it with guys only an NFL scout could love.
A pass rusher from Georgia registered a huge sack, but it was obscure veteran Cornelius Washington, not first-rounder Leonard Floyd. A big stop on the Lions third-and-goal from the 1 came courtesy of linebacker John Timu, elevated from the practice squad six days ago. The interception that sealed the victory with 4 minutes, 10 seconds left ended up in the hands of rookie cornerback Deiondre' Hall, whose last pick came for Northern Iowa.
"I thought it was lights out,'' Fox said of the defense.
True, but nobody in the league learned much from watching this taffy pull between two NFC North cellar-dwellers who proved, more than anything, how capable they are of drafting in the top 10 next April. The relief Bears players felt from snapping a six-game losing streak at home, and against the Lions, spilled out postgame when one could be overheard in the tunnel shouting: "I (expletive) love it!"
But an 85-yard punt return for a touchdown by Andre Roberts with 1:52 left reminded the crowd — missing an alarming number of no-shows (4,816) — how big the rebuilding job is. Or it just took one glance at Sunday's game ticket after Connor Barth missed a 50-yard field-goal attempt to sum up the Bears' awkward transition phase. A picture on each stub of Robbie Gould, inexplicably cut in preseason, served as a reminder that not every decision will make sense.
At least not as much as the one to sign Hoyer, the consummate pro who has done everything the Bears have asked.
And again Sunday, the less the Bears asked, the more they received.
