Cutler's late TD pass rallies Bears past Seattle

[September 28, 2009]  SEATTLE (AP) -- Jay Cutler pumped his fists. He hugged his linemen. And he raised both arms triumphantly -- all inside the final 2 minutes.

Exactly the scenes the Bears envisioned when they traded a king's ransom to Denver to get him.

Cutler's miserable Chicago debut two weeks ago became further forgotten when he completed all three of his passes on Sunday's decisive drive. The third was for 36 yards to Devin Hester with 1:52 remaining, rallying the Bears to a 25-19 victory over the depleted Seattle Seahawks.

Seattle (1-2), playing without seven injured starters, drove to the Bears 29 with 30 seconds left. But Seneca Wallace, starting because quarterback Matt Hasselbeck was out with a broken rib, threw high and incomplete to Julius Jones on fourth-and-2 to seal the win for the Bears (2-1).

Cutler finished 21 of 27 for 247 yards and three touchdowns, with one interception.

"Any time you can get Devin Hester one-on-one, it works," a confident Cutler said on the field seconds after the game ended.

Cutler completed more than 70 percent of his throws last week against the Super Bowl champion Pittsburgh Steelers -- a strong response to the career-high four interceptions he threw in a loss on opening night at Green Bay.

Chicago was up 17-16 with 8 minutes left when Seahawks rookie linebacker Aaron Curry sped into Cutler's passing arm and knocked the ball loose. Cory Redding recovered the fumble at the Bears 39.

Olindo Mare, who was just 4 of 6 on field goals, converted the turnover into a 46-yard field goal. The Seahawks led 19-17 with 5:17 remaining.

The Bears answered by driving to the Seattle 36 by the 2-minute warning. Matt Forte was bent back awkwardly at the end of an 11-yard run. Adrian Peterson replaced him and ran twice for 12 yards.

Then Hester ran a slant route inside Travis Fisher, who was playing because Seattle was without starting cornerbacks Marcus Trufant and Josh Wilson. Safety Deon Grant tried to level Hester but nailed Fisher instead. With both Seahawks on the turf, Hester trotted in for the go-ahead score.

Seattle's T.J. Houshmandzadeh lost a fumble after a catch on the second play of the third quarter. Danieal Manning knocked the ball out from behind, and Adewale Ogunleye recovered at the Seahawks 42. Cutler then found Johnny Knox on third down over the middle. The rookie juked Curry and dived in for a 7-yard touchdown. Chicago had its first lead, 14-13.

Seattle would have answered by taking the lead if oft-injured Deion Branch, making his season debut, hadn't allowed a third-down pass to go through his hands at the Bears 11, or if Mare hadn't missed his second field goal of the day on the next play.

On Seattle's next offensive play, Wallace -- who set career highs with 26 completions in 44 attempts and 261 yards -- threw a slingshot-like toss across his body while pressured in his end zone. Lance Briggs made a diving interception at the Seahawks 14.

Robbie Gould turned that into a 37-yard field goal and the Bears led 17-13.

The Seahawks debuted blinding, nuclear green jerseys. They should have been wearing ones with a red cross on them.

Hasselbeck, nine-time Pro Bowl left tackle Walter Jones and three-time Pro Bowl linebacker Lofa Tatupu were among the starters missing for Seattle. Six others played while banged up, leaving Seahawks coach Jim Mora saying he just hoped to have 45 healthy bodies dress for the game.

Yet Seattle jumped out to a 13-0 lead after 18 minutes.

Cutler threw his fifth interception of the season in the first quarter, after Chicago had reached the Seahawks 17. David Hawthorne, who also had 16 tackles in his first career start while replacing Tatupu, got the tipped pass. Seattle converted that into the first of two field goals by Mare in the half.

The Bears scored just before halftime thanks to a replay review. Forte caught a short pass and ran until hit at the 2. As he reached the ball forward for the goal line, Jordan Babineaux knocked it free and recovered the fumble.

Forte slammed his helmet into the turf as Mora did a dance on the opposite sideline. But after a review, referee Don Carey ruled Forte was "down by contact." Two plays later, on fourth-and-goal, Cutler threw a 1-yard touchdown pass to Greg Olsen to get Chicago within 13-7 at the break.

[Associated Press; By GREGG BELL]

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