The news just keeps getting worse in regards to Jay Cutler’s broken thumb.
Vaughn McClure of the Chicago Tribune reports that Cutler will miss 6-8 weeks after he undergoes surgery on the thumb.
That timetable would allow Cutler to possibly return for the first week of the playoffs. The Bears would be lucky to get that far without him.
The Bears are 7-3 and have the following schedule: at Oakland, vs. KC, at Denver, vs. Seattle, at Green Bay, and at Minnesota.
It is a huge drop-off to backup quarterback Caleb Hanie. The Bears would need to win three of those games without Cutler. That’s possible, but hardly guaranteed.
The improvement of Chicago’s pass protection has been overstated. So much of the Bears passing game revolves around: “Let’s watch Cutler make throws no one else can.”
It looks like Cutler won’t be making any throws for a while.
Lovie Smith told the FOX crew this week he thought this was his best Bears team. We agree. They looked like legitimate Super Bowl contenders with Cutler.
It would be a shame if Cutler doesn’t get a chance to lead this team into the playoffs.