The Bears were inspired last night. By Jay Cutler, of course.
The quarterback with the reputation for bad body langauge and perhaps questionable motivation apparently called his team together before the game and gave a rousing speech, one which led his troops to victory over the Vikings.
“I think it was more fun just to watch my teammates and see how hard they played and how well they played,” Cutler said, via the Associated Press. “One win coming into this one, they had a lot of outside noise.”
Wide receiver Alshon Jeffery said Cutler told his teammates to “keep our pedal to the metal” at halftime, further underscoring his newfound inspirational abilities.
“Everyone in there is from different backgrounds and different cultures, societies,” Cutler said. “Whatever it takes to find the inspiration — because motivation usually wears off at some point during the game. Those guys played inspired football.”
They also played well, beginning with Cutler. He threw for 252 yards and a touchdown, and didn’t turn it over after missing five games with a thumb injury. Coupled with a running game and a defense that played at a higher level than we’ve seen from them.
Maybe all it took was the fiery leadership of Cutler, who began last week acknowledging that his coach had no choice to love him since he was the only option available. Flush with self-awareness, he then became the kind of emotional leader he’s never particularly been known for.
