Bears QB Jay Cutler meets expectations after rough start, but running game is struggling

Cutler delivers for Bears with ground game stalled

LAKE FOREST, Ill. — The audio in his helmet went out and the roar from the crowd was deafening — not that it stopped Jay Cutler.

The Pro Bowl quarterback led the Chicago Bears to a 25-19 win at Seattle last week and again delivered the sort of performance fans expected following the blockbuster trade with Denver in the offseason. He completed more than 70 percent of his passes for the second straight week since that awful debut at Green Bay.

The difference?

“Four interceptions,” Cutler said with a grin, referring to the number of times the Packers picked him off.

The past two weeks, Cutler has just one interception and five touchdowns. He leads the league with a 73.8 percent completion rate in that span, and he’s getting help from a group of wide receivers that has taken as many hits as an unprotected quarterback.

Now, the Bears (2-1) would like to get their running game going when they host Detroit (1-2), which snapped its 19-game losing streak by beating Washington last Sunday.

Chicago ranks 28th in rushing, with Matt Forte struggling behind a retooled offensive line.

He ran for 66 yards last week against the injury-depleted Seahawks and is averaging just 2.5 yards per carry after running for 1,238 as a rookie last season. It’s a sharp contrast from a year ago, when he ran for 304 yards over his first three games.

He’s still running hard, yet he’s also running behind a line with three new starters. Right tackle Chris Williams and left guard Frank Omiyale are more natural left tackles, but that spot belongs to Orlando Pace, who signed with Chicago in the offseason but has yet to play up to the level that could land him in the Hall of Fame.

Forte said he saw some positive signs and he insisted the hamstring injury he suffered in the offseason is healed.

Forte ran for 126 yards against Detroit at Soldier Field last year, when the Lions were on their way to an 0-16 mark. They’re a different team now, with 31 new players.

“This is the NFL,” Forte said. “It’s hard to run the ball, and that’s not an excuse, but we have to go out there and I have to make some plays, whether it’s making somebody miss or breaking a tackle here or there. It’s that close to breaking a long run.”

Offensive coordinator Ron Turner said give it time.

“We have a very good offensive line,” he said. “It’s just a matter of us getting everything going. It’ll come. It’ll come, and we’re not going to panic.”

If there was an area of concern heading into the season, it was an unproven group of receivers, but they seem to be in tune with Cutler the past two games. Drops haven’t been a big issue, as they were last season, and they’re a big reason why Chicago ranks eighth in the league with 411 yards after the catch.

Against Seattle, rookie Johnny Knox juked linebacker Aaron Curry on a 7-yard touchdown that gave Chicago a 14-13 lead early in the third quarter, and Devin Hester ran to the end zone for the winning TD reception after he avoided a big hit while making the catch.

“I try to get the ball in their hands as quickly as possible and let them do their thing,” Cutler said. “They’ve done a great job of breaking tackles, making people miss, but they know when to get down. They’re not out there sacrificing their body. They’re doing a good job for us.”