Patriots vs Bears preview: Jay Cutler comes to town after weak performance in Week 7

October 25th, 2014
Dakota Antelman

Coming off their third straight win since their Week Four loss to the Chiefs, the Patriots will conclude the first half of their season Sunday against the Bears.  

At 5-2, the Patriots sit in first place in the AFC East, two weeks after moving past the Bills with a pivotal win. New England has seemingly, rescued at least part of a season that was looking increasingly worrisome as the first four games played out. They have done so mainly as a result of the play of Brady.

The Patriots quarterback struggled to start the season but has turned his year around since week four. He has thrown for 9 touchdowns and 914 yards in the past three games possibly regaining the respect of Patriots fans who only a few weeks ago were calling for his head. 

Still, despite his work of late, Brady remains a mediocre quarterback in the eyes of NFL experts this season. That is shown by the fact that this week’s quarterback matchup between Brady and Chicago Bear Jay Cutler which tells of a statistical inferiority on the part of Brady.

Firing back against that numerical favoring of Cutler however, former NFL’er and current analyst Brian Urlacher, said, "You look at the guys ... the Bradys, the Mannings, the Rodgerses, the Breeses ... those guys win every year. Even with no one around them. (Aaron) Rodgers has no offensive line, he wins. (Tom) Brady has no receivers, he wins. You look at Jay, he's got Brandon (Marshall), Alshon (Jeffery), Matt (Forte) and a great offensive line ... Martellus Bennett ... and they can't seem to put it together for some reason."

Last week, Cutler threw an interception and fumbled the ball twice.

Going into this week’s matchup, major speculation has been made in regards to how the Patriots defense will work to deal with Cutler and the Bears offence. Earlier this week, Bill BIlichick spoke on how the team will need to play and aggressive game at the line of scrimmage while also throwing Revis into tight coverage against either Brandon Marshall or Alshon Jeffery.

In the past, Revis has exercised a superiority over Marshall in particular. In four games against the heralded receiver, Revis has allowed just 120 yards in receptions intercepting at least one pass thrown at Marshall.

The Patriots recognize the threat he poses.

“Great receiver, man. This week, we got our hands full with two big wide receivers, with him and (Alshon) Jeffery, and we’re looking forward to it,”

Marshall and Jeffery have combined for 853 yards. Their danger is appreciated by the Patriots. But their teammate, Matt Forte is, logically, even more dangerous. Sitting as the third best running back in the league this year Forte has rushed for 448 yards and a trifecta of touchdowns. He will likely draw the attention of middle D-linemen, Vince Wilfork.

"He [Forte] does an excellent job of burst and explosion through the line of scrimmage," Patriots defensive coordinator Matt Patricia said. "He has incredibly quick feet and some good quickness to get to the edge.”

The Bears and Patriots will hit the field a 1PM Sunday for a key midseason matchup. The 3-4 Bears need a win to save their season while the 5-2 Patriots need a win to keep on the track they are on.