The Bears will have their starting quarterback for Sunday’s NFC North showdown with the Lions.
Jay Cutler has been cleared by the team’s medical staff after missing Monday night’s game against the Packers with a groin injury, and the Bears announced on Thursday that they expect Cutler to start this week.
Cutler has missed just one game after suffering the injury against Washington. Although the initial reports suggested Cutler could miss up to four weeks, Cutler expressed optimism from the beginning that he would be cleared faster than that, and now he has been.
With Cutler out, backup Josh McCown played well, completing 59.0 percent of his passes and throwing three touchdowns and no interceptions. But now McCown will head back to the bench, and Cutler will lead the 5-3 Bears against the 5-3 Lions.