The Chicago Bears (4-5) lost a very ugly game to the San Francisco 49ers (4-5) on Thursday night.  Going into this contest I thought both offenses would finally wake up against two defenses that had been struggling, but it was the opposite.  The Bears offense was awful, and it was mostly due to Jay Cutler who gave this game to the 49ers.  He threw the ball all over the place, trying to force it into places where there were two and sometimes three 49ers defenders waiting.  Cutler threw a career high 5 interceptions, including two in the red zone.  His second red-zone interception ended the game, as it came after he drove the Bears to the 49ers 12-yard line with 13 seconds left.  Cutler finished the game with 307 yards with 0 touchdowns and 5 interceptions on 29/52 attempts.  Most of those passing yards were racked up by Matt Forte, catching and running.  Forte was the most effective receiver, catching 8 passes for 120 yards.  He sucked in the running game once again though, getting only 41 yards on 20 carries.

The Bears defense did what they could to keep the Bears in the game, but the 5 turnovers by Cutler and the offense made it a tough task.  They did a great job shutting down the passing game.  The 49ers’ quarterback Alex Smith had no touchdowns and Bears’ cornerback Zack Bowman intercepted Smith before leaving the game with an abdominal injury.  Smith only had 118 yards on 16/23 attempts. 49ers’ running back Frank Gore got too much though, and the Bears could not contain him.  He bulled through Bears’ defenders all game and finished with 104 yards and a touchdown on 25 carries.  The Bears’ playoff chances are pretty much done and I put more of the blame on Cutler than Lovie Smith.  I must admit, I was a victim to the Jay Cutler hype going into this season.  It’s now pretty evident that he is not the Bear’s savior like many thought.  I don’t know if Cutler has trouble reading defenses or just doesn’t prepare well enough, but it seems to me that he is nothing more than a cocky guy with a strong arm and not a true quarterback.