Injuries take luster off Bears’ victory
Sun-Times Media November 25, 2012 6:57PM
Devin Hester leaves the game with a concussion in the first quarter of the Bears’ game on Sunday. | Tom Cruze~Sun-Times Media
NFL SCOREBOARD
STANDINGS NFC EAST W L T
Washington 5 6 0
Dallas 5 6 0
Philadelphia 3 7 0
NFC NORTH W L T
Chicago 8 3 0
Green Bay 7 3 0
Minnesota 6 5 0
Detroit 4 7 0
NFC SOUTH W L T
Atlanta 10 1 0
Tampa Bay 6 5 0
New Orleans 5 6 0
Carolina 2 8 0
NFC WEST W L T
San Francisco 8 2 1
Seattle 6 5 0
Arizona 5 6 0
St. Louis 3 7 1
AFC EAST W L T
New England 8 3 0
Miami 5 6 0
Buffalo 4 7 0
NY Jets 4 7 0
AFC NORTH W L T
Baltimore 9 2 0
Pittsburgh 6 5 0
Cincinnati 6 5 0
Cleveland 3 8 0
AFC SOUTH W L T
Houston 10 1 0
Indianapolis 7 4 0
Tennessee 4 7 0
Jacksonville 2 9 0
AFC WEST W L T
Denver 8 3 0
San Diego 4 7 0
Oakland 3 8 0
Kansas City 1 10 0
WEEK 12
Thursday’s Results
Houston 34, Detroit 31
Washington 38, Dallas 31
New England 49, NY Jets 19
Sunday’s Results
Bears 28, Minnesota 10
Cincinnati 34, Oakland 10
Cleveland 20, Pittsburgh 14
Indianapolis 20, Buffalo 13
Denver 17, Kansas City 9
Miami 24, Seattle 21
Atlanta 24, Tampa Bay 23
Jacksonville 24, Tennessee 19
Baltimore 16, San Diego 13 (ot)
Arizona 31, St. Louis 17
San Fran. 31, New Orleans, 21
Green Bay at NY Giants, late
Monday’s Game
Carolina at Philadelphia, 7:30
WEEK 13 Thursday’s Game
Sunday, Dec. 2
Jacksonville at Buffalo, noon
Seattle at Chicago, noon
San Fran. at St. Louis, noon
New England at Miami, noon
Arizona at NY Jets, noon
Indianapolis at Detroit, noon
Minnesota at Green Bay, noon
Houston at Tennessee, noon
Carolina at Kansas City, noon
Tampa Bay at Denver, 3:05
Cleveland at Oakland, 3:25
Cincinnati at San Diego, 3:25
Pittsburgh at Baltimore, 3:25
Philadelphia at Dallas, 7:20
Monday, Dec. 3
NY Giants at Washington, 7:30
Updated: January 25, 2013 1:38AM
Jay Cutler returned from a concussion to lead Chicago to a win, while the Bears now have to deal with injuries to Devin Hester and a slew of teammates.
Cutler threw for 188 yards and a touchdown after sitting out a game because of a concussion, and the Bears broke it open early for a 28-10 victory over the Minnesota Vikings on Sunday in a game that saw Hester, Matt Forte, Charles Tillman and both starting guards sidelined.
The Bears (8-3) grabbed a 25-3 halftime lead with Cutler connecting on just about every pass. The defense held Adrian Peterson in check early on, although he finished with 108 yards rushing.
Chicago also came away with three more takeaways to increase its league-leading total to 30.
The rather easy win came after back-to-back losses to Houston and San Francisco, but came with a heavy price.
Hester was lost early on to a concussion; Forte hobbled off midway through the third quarter with an ankle injury, and coach Lovie Smith said Tillman hurt his ankle.
Guards Lance Louis and Chris Spencer went out with knee injuries in the third quarter, with Louis’ injury forcing Chicago to go with Gabe Carimi -- who lost the right tackle job to Jonathan Scott.
As for Cutler, he looked sharp after missing Monday’s blowout loss at San Francisco.
He got off to a scorching start and completed 23 of 31 passes with an interception to go with the touchdown.
Brandon Marshall caught 12 passes for 92 yards and became the first Bears receiver since Marty Booker in 2002 to go over 1,000 yards.
Forte fumbled on Chicago’s first play from scrimmage, leading to a 40-yard field goal by Blair Walsh -- all the scoring the Vikings did in the half.
