The Bears are no fans of Sunday Night Football.
Chicago dropped to 0-2 on NBC this regular season after a 21-14 loss in Atlanta in a game that could have a lasting impact when the NFC playoff picture comes into clearer focus later this season.
Jay Cutler moved the ball well through the air -- his 41-yard touch pass to Greg Olsen on a game-tying fourth quarter drive was a thing of a beauty -- but the Bears made too many costly mistakes in the red zone throughout the game.
A penalty by Orlando Pace set up a Cutler incompletion on fourth-and-six from inside Atlanta’s ten-yard line with under a minute to go in the game. Chicago previously turned the ball over twice in the red zone on a first quarter Cutler interception and a fumble by Matt Forte on the goal line.
Chicago now trails Minnesota by two in the loss column in the NFC North, while Atlanta is 4-1 with two huge games still on tap with the undefeated Saints.
It’s still very early, but the top-heavy quality of the NFC makes it appear unlikely that any team will sneak into a Wild Card spot with only nine wins like Philadelphia did last year.
That’s why Atlanta’s victory, on a night where Michael Turner was held to 30 yards and Matt Ryan threw two interceptions of his own, could prove invaluable come January.
