Chargers vs. Bears: 8 Things We Learned from Bears' 31-20 Win

The Bears beat the Chargers at Soldier Field on Sunday and with the victory, Chicago moves to 7-3 on the season. They kept pace with the Lions and Packers, who also won.

Meanwhile, the Chargers have now lost five consecutive games and may be falling out of the race in a weak AFC West.

But the arrow is pointing in the opposite direction for the Bears, who have won five straight games.

Philip Rivers did not have a bad game, but once again was hit by interceptions, as the Bears picked him off twice. He added to his league-leading total of 17.

Jay Cutler, meanwhile, put on an impressive and gutty performance. Despite being kicked in the head, he looked in control throughout the game.

Even his one interception was not his fault.

But what else did we learn? Let's take a look at eight things that jumped out at me.

Bears Have Trouble Running Against a 3-4 Defense

The last time the Bears faced a 3-4 base defense was against the Packers in Week 3, and Matt Forte rushed nine times for only two yards.

In the first half against the Chargers and their 3-4, the Bears rushed 11 times for 28 yards. Forte was very ineffective with eight rushes for only 13 yards.

Marion Barber was the only good rusher in the first half.

Then in the fourth quarter, they began to get on track a bit, and Forte ended up with 59 yards on 21 carries for a 2.8-yard average.

Barber finished with 23 yards on six carries, a 3.8-yard average.

But for much of the game, the Bears' running game was ineffective.  On the day, they averaged just 2.9 yards per carry, including Cutler's five sneaks for 11 yards, all coming on one play.

Of course, San Diego wasn't much better. Ryan Matthews averaged just 2.8 yards per carry and on the day, he finished with just 52 yards rushing.

Tight Ends Continue to Give the Bears Trouble

In the opening game of the season, Falcons TE Tony Gonzalez caught five passes for 72 yards.

Then in Week 2 vs. the Saints, Jimmy Graham caught six receptions for 79 yards

And the tight end performance got even better, with the Packers and TE Jermichael Finley, who caught seven passes for 85 yards and three touchdowns.

In Week 4, former Bear Greg Olsen got into the act with five catches for 50 yards and a TD. Jeremy Shockey added two catches for 41 yards, so on the day, Carolina had 91 yards from their tight ends. 

The Lions had six catches and a TD from their TEs, but the Vikings game in Week 6 was the first game that a TE didn't factor in the game, and that just happened to be a blowout win for the Bears.

The Bears also did a decent job against Kellen Winslow in London, though, Tampa's TEs did combine for six catches and a TD.

After the bye week, Eagles TE Brent Celek had seven receptions. Even in the blowout vs. the Lions in their second meeting, Detroit's TEs combined for eight catches and a TD.

On Sunday, Antonio Gates caught four balls for 63 yards and a TD.

Chargers Were Daring the Bears to Throw the Ball

The Bolts were daring the Bears to throw the ball with some of those eight-man fronts. So, offensively, the question early was if Cutler could take advantage of the man coverage.

Well, he did, and what a tough performance by Cutler.

He survived a nasty shot to the head and still came up firing at every opportunity.

On a day when the running game wasn't working, and the Chargers were basically saying, "Let's see Cutler beat us"—well, he did.

On the afternoon, Cutler was 18-of-31 for 286 yards and two TDs. He also threw an interception, but it wasn't his fault, as Knox slipped on the play.

This Chargers' defense is different from the one that Ron Rivera ran when he was their defensive coordinator. They did not sack Cutler, though, give credit to Jay as he evaded the rush very well.

Former Bear Tommie Harris, who has been playing well for the Chargers, did have a hit on Cutler, and Antwan Barnes, who came into the game with the most sacks (six) of any Charger, added two hits on the Bears QB.

Bears Much Improved in Red Zone This Season

In their last 25 red-zone possessions, the Bears have converted 14 for TDs this season, with 10 field goals and only one turnover.

On Sunday, the Bears were a perfect three-for-three in the red zone.  

One reason is that Cutler has largely avoided the mistakes that he used to make in the red zone. He has cut down on the interceptions and the Bears have used a more balanced play-calling scheme.

In fact, I thought the game plan by Mike Martz was very solid on Sunday. The Bears ran the ball 32 times, even though they weren't having much success.

They also threw the ball 32 times, if you count that stupid decision to fake punt and have Adam Podlesh pass the ball. 

Now that's balance.

Charles Tillman Was a Roasted Peanut vs. Vincent Jackson

Bears safety Charles Tillman didn't help his Pro Bowl cause, as he was burned time and again by Chargers wideout Vincent Jackson.

Tillman wasn't getting much help from his safeties, however. On a 47-yard completion to Jackson on the first offensive series after halftime, Tillman was burned, but Chris Conte never turned his head and was late coming across.

Then, Jackson got in front of Tillman on the five-yard TD.

Of course, this is what you get when you don't have a pass rush.

On the day, Jackson caught seven balls for 165 yards and a TD. Of course, Tillman did punch the ball out and forced a turnover, which he recovered, so he did have that going for him.

Tillman also led the team with seven tackles.

Turnovers Again a Key

Chargers QB Philip Rivers came into this game with the most interceptions (15) in the NFL, facing a Bears defense that intercepted Lions QB Matthew Stafford four times last Sunday.

Add those four fumbles to Rivers' resume, and this should have been a recipe for disaster for the Chargers.

Yet Rivers waited until the fourth quarter to throw a pick, but it was awful timing for the Chargers, who were knocking on the door with a chance to get right back in the game.

Add to that the punch out by Tillman that caused a fumble by Ryan Matthews, who had fumbled earlier but recovered it, and this was yet another game that San Diego had two or more turnovers.

Tillman did not play a good game from a coverage standpoint, but he continues to wreak havoc with his unique ability to strip the ball.

Cutler threw a pick in the fourth quarter, but it wasn't his fault, as Johnny Knox slipped. But the Bears returned the favor, with Major Wright intercepting Rivers in the end zone on the next series.

Late in the game it appeared that Forte may have fumbled. The ruling on the field was that his knee was down, and Norv Turner burned a timeout before losing their last timeout by challenging the ruling.

Then, Rivers threw another interception after getting a gift by the Bears' incredibly stupid decision to fake a punt late in the game. Corey Graham effectively ended the game with that pick.

Tyler Clutts Is a Football Player

Clutts will never get the glory, nor will anyone ever select him to a Pro Bowl. But to me, he is a vital cog in the Bears' machine this season.

He just does a lot of things really well.

He even took over for long-snapper Patrick Mannelly, who left the game with a knee injury in the second quarter.

Clutts' main role is as a blocker, and he does that extremely well. He has to be given some credit for the outstanding season that Matt Forte is having so far.

On Sunday, in addition to snapping, Clutts had a nine-yard catch.

But perhaps his biggest contribution is on special teams, where he excels.

No, there will never be a "Cash for Clutts" campaign like the "Pay Forte" one, but he is just a good football player.

Johnny Knox and Roy Williams Make Contributions

After what has seemed to be forever, a couple of Bears wideouts came back from the dead on Sunday.

Johnny Knox, who the Bears have been trying to get more involved in the offense, made some nice adjustments during the game.

One of the criticisms on Knox is that he doesn't go get the ball, but on Sunday, he certainly did.

He only caught three balls but had 97 yards, including a 42-yard gain when he adjusted to a poorly-thrown ball by Cutler.

Knox also made a sensational catch, barely keeping his feet inbounds on a TD in the third quarter.

Williams, meanwhile, started his afternoon by dropping the first pass thrown to him, but he recovered nicely with five catches for 62 yards.

Earl Bennett did not catch as many balls as he did the last two games, but he did have 75 yards despite catching only three of the nine passes thrown his way.