If Cutler is unable to play, journeyman Brian Hoyer would start Sunday’s road game against the Dallas Cowboys.
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The Bears had a very hard night on Monday against the Philadelphia Eagles, not only on the scoreboard but also in the medical tent.
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Pace instead chose to sign veteran quarterback Brian Hoyer, an eight-year veteran of 26 National Football League starts.
Through two games, the effectiveness of the Eagles’ ground game can not adequately be measured by the mediocre numbers that fail in every which way to define it.
The Eagles’ defeat proved costly on both sides of the ball for the Bears, who have also lost linebackers Danny Trevathan and Lamarr Houston to injury. Nose tackle Eddie Goldman was carted off with an ankle injury, and safety Adrian Amos and cornerback Bryce Callahan left with concussions.
Jay Cutler completed 12 of 17 passes for 157 yards, no touchdowns and an interception before exiting Monday. It was his first action as a Bear since the preseason finale, and he said he can benefit from that time. “It’s just up to us to make plays behind them”. Out of the running backs (and fullbacks), for a team to have a designated primary back, he should be the guy doing the lifting on more than half of runs by a running back.
For Hoyer, there will be adjustments. On the upside, he was pleased by how new center Cody Whitehair and new left guard Josh Sitton communicated during their second game together. Alshon Jeffery was able to make big plays as a deep target.
“Yeah, not there yet, because really these are the first reps that I’ve taken with Alshon, whether it’s one-on-ones, anything, really he’s been exclusively with Jay”, Hoyer said. “He’s been exclusively with Jay. Each game is its own game, and I think you just got to keep taking those steps every week”. His range of motion is so big, he’s a big body guy who uses his strength. We never really got back into a rhythm until the end of the half, kick the field goal. The Bears wanted a steady backup like Hoyer – and to draft defensive players in the middle rounds – instead of investing in a developmental prospect in Prescott.
“I think the way our games have gone, you always want more and better and all that, if you look at per rush it’s not that bad, but we’ve been in two games where we’ve been trailing and your run numbers usually drop”, Fox said.
That said, Cutler’s swift recovery from his most recent injury-a torn adductor muscle in his groin in 2013 from which he returned after missing only two weeks-means that a quick comeback might not be out of the question here.
“In fact, per carry, really our stats aren’t bad”, Fox said. But an offside penalty on the Bears gave them another chance, and Mathews made good on the second one for his second TD of the game.
The Bears will be trying to avoid a second straight 0-3 start under Fox.
According to NFL.com’s Ian Rappaport, starting quarterback Jay Cutler will miss two to three weeks with a thumb injury on his throwing hand sustained in their season opener against the Houston Texans.
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Of course, it must be noted their wins have come against teams ranked 29th (Bears) and 32nd (Browns) in DVOA. He’s the first rookie quarterback since the merger to start 2-0 without an interception. Hoyer throws picks on 2.6 percent of his throws and once he’s thrown one more are likely to follow, as in Houston’s 2015 playoff loss.
