Bears vs. Lions: Will Jay Cutler Survive Detroit, Ndamukong Suh Onslaught?

It's no secret that Chicago Bears quarterback Jay Cutler has problems staying upright. Sacked a whopping 52 times in 2010, he's on pace to match or beat that rate this season, with 15 on the year thus far.

While the Bears knew about it's offensive line problems, they did next to nothing to address them in the offseason, which doesn't bode well for Cutler's chances tonight against the Detroit Lions and their bruising defensive line, anchored by Ndamukong Suh.

But Suh isn't Cutler's only worry. Cliff Avril, Kyle Vanden Bosch, Corey Williams, and now—for the first time this season—rookie Nick Fairley, will all be locked directly onto Cutler for the entire night. The Lions defense has nine sacks so far this season, and if they matched that number tonight I wouldn't be all that surprised.

The only way that Cutler will be able to shake the inevitable pressure is to rely on running back Matt Forte, and that shouldn't be too hard. Forte is practically the sole player responsible for the Bears' offensive production so far this season and likely will be carrying the ball more than Cutler passes it.

It won't be the incredibly run-heavy day of a week ago, when Forte carried the ball 25 times for 205 yards while Cutler attempted just 17 passes, but with the Bears offensive line unable to adequately protect Cutler it stands to reason that the team will try to keep the game out of his hands as much as possible.

Surely, the question isn't if Cutler will be sacked tonight, it is how many times. He will survive to sulk and deflect blame for yet another day, of course. But he will be battered and beaten yet again, as the leader of a 2-3 team quickly finding itself left behind in one of the NFL's toughest divisions.