page_title: History of the Chicago Bears
section_title: Jay Cutler trade
hierarchical_section_title: History of the Chicago Bears / The Lovie Smith era (2004–2012) / Jay Cutler trade
caption_attribution_description: English: Jay Cutler of the Chicago Bears warming up before a game.
context_page_description: The Chicago Bears American football franchise is a charter member of the National Football League and have played in all of the league's 100 seasons. The Bears have captured nine NFL championships – eight NFL championships and one Super Bowl – second most all time behind the Green Bay Packers. The franchise has also recorded more victories than any other franchise with 739, retired the most uniform numbers with 14, and have the most members in the Pro Football Hall of Fame with 27.
  The club has played in over a thousand games since becoming a charter member of the NFL in 1920 through the 2019 season.
context_section_description: During the 2009 off-season, Rex Grossman achieved free-agent status and left the team, signing with the Houston Texans. The Bears then traded Kyle Orton to the Broncos in exchange for QB Jay Cutler. The regular season began on a not-so-promising note, as Cutler threw 4 picks against the Packers in Week 1. However, the Bears bounced back to go 3–1, including a victory in Week 2 over the defending Super Bowl champion Steelers, but things fell apart quickly after the bye week, with the Bears losing eight of the next ten games, including a loss to the San Francisco 49ers where Cutler threw a career-high five interceptions, including a game-ending pick in the red-zone with less than a minute left in the game. A 31–7 loss to the Ravens in Week 15 mathematically eliminated them from the playoffs, but the team managed to close out the year by winning the last two matches against the Vikings (a 36–30 overtime win) and Lions (37–23) to finish 7–9.
  In the following offseason, the Bears signed Pro Bowler Julius Peppers, Chester Taylor, and Brandon Manumaleuna. In Week 1, they hosted the Lions and won 19–14 after a controversial call. Next, the Bears traveled to Dallas and beat the Cowboys 27–20. On Monday Night Football in Week 3, the Packers came to town and lost 20–17 after a mass of penalties (18 total), putting the Bears up at 3–0. However, that ended in Week 4 when the team suffered a 17–3 loss to the Giants on the road.  Jay Cutler was sacked multiple times and suffered a concussion. Veteran free agent quarterback Todd Collins replaced Cutler, but was also quickly injured. Third-string quarterback Caleb Hanie played the remainder of the game.
  After this loss, the Bears had an easy road win over the 0–5 Carolina Panthers before another 23–20 loss to the Seattle Seahawks. Continued difficulties with the offense and O-line led to a second straight home loss when the Redskins won 17–14 in Week 7. After the bye week, offensive coordinator Mike Martz worked to revamp the offense to compensate for Jay Cutler's lack of O-line protection. After this, they easily beat the struggling Vikings at home 27–13, followed by a 16–0 shutout of the Dolphins in Miami, handing Chicago their 700th win, a league first.
  In Week 12, the Bears hosted Philadelphia for the second season in a row and won 31–27, while also preserving the franchise's perfect record against Eagles QB Michael Vick (who after the game had a 0–5 all-time record playing them). After beating the Lions in Detroit on more questionable officiating, Chicago next suffered a total collapse at home against New England in a blowing snowstorm (the Patriots won 36–7).
  The next week saw the Bears drawn into the turmoil of the Vikings' 2010 season. As the Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome's inflatable roof had collapsed the week before, the two teams had to play at TCF Bank Stadium at the University of Minnesota campus in frigid winter weather. Despite being a nominal home game for the Vikings, they were not a team prepared for outdoor play and Chicago overwhelmed them 40–14. It was here that Brett Favre took his final snap in the NFL after he was knocked into the frozen ground and suffered a concussion, ending a 20-year career that included 297 consecutive starts.
  Afterwards, the Bears returned home and beat the Jets 38–34 in a shootout before traveling to the "Frozen Tundra" of Lambeau Field for Week 17. Their arch-rival only needed to lose this game to be removed from playoff contention, and so Lovie Smith decided to play Chicago's starters. He also apparently ran generic plays to avoid giving anything away to the Packers for the playoffs, but the offense again sputtered and Green Bay won a 10–3 defensive struggle to secure a wild card playoff berth.
  Throughout the season, the Bears' offense and O-line were rated in the NFL's bottom ten and the team mainly depended on special teams (especially Devin Hester's duties as a punt returner) and an aging, but still effective defense led by DE Julius Peppers (acquired from Carolina during the off-season) and LB Brian Urlacher.
  Although the Bears' own p
caption: The Bears traded Kyle Orton and a first round pick to the Denver Broncos for Jay Cutler.
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