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Bears Fri Dec 06 2013
Bears Season Basically Over After Injury Report
No Jay Cutler. No Lance Briggs. No last chance.
Needing to go 4-0 against the Cowboys, Browns, Eagles, and Packers coupled with the Lions going 2-2 or worse against the Eagles, Ravens, Giants and Vikings, the Bears needed the injury report to be free and clear going into Monday's showdown against Tony Romo and the Cowboys. Instead, nothing but gut wrenching news from Marc Trestman after teasing photos of Cutler practicing leaked out from beat writers at Halas Hall.
The game was going to difficult even with two of their best players, but it slips to near impossible without them. Briggs' presence was a necessity to stabilize a defense that has been butchered on a weekly basis, and Cutler's arm strength would've come in handy to burn some passes through in the red zone to get some much needed touchdowns on the board through the air.
Neither will play on Monday, and their status for weeks following is up in the air as well. The Bears won't hesitate to bring Cutler back when he's fully cleared because they want to take as much time as they can to evaluate his performance before deciding what to do with him in the offseason.
Briggs, on the other hand, is under contract for next year, and it may make more sense to leave him on the sidelines and let youngsters Jon Bostic and Khaseem Greene work through their issues and get as many reps as possible the rest of the year. Both have the physical skills to play their respective positions, but both have struggled shedding blocks, over-pursuing, and filling proper gaps.
Romo, DeMarco Murray, Dez Bryant and Jason Witten will more than likely feast on the Bears defense on national TV, and it's doubtful that Josh McCown will be able to keep pace on offense. Injuries have been a problem all season long, and now it appears they'll be the proverbial nail in the coffin. The Blackhawks are doing well, right?