Matt Forte Injury: Chicago Bears Should Turn to Donovan McNabb Without Star RB

The injury bug takes its toll on many NFL teams throughout the course of a season. Chicago is going through one right now.

Not only did Bears quarterback Jay Cutler get put on the shelf for the season, now Matt Forte, their do-it-all running back, was injured on Sunday in a 10-3 loss to the Kansas City Chiefs at Chicago.

With Forte on the shelf and Caleb Hanie struggling, it’s time for one last-ditch effort to save the season. The Bears should acquire Donovan McNabb.

It’s honestly a reach at this point, but the Bears have no other options.

I understand that he hasn’t been up to his normal standards, or even anything close, but he is a much better option than Hanie.

Hanie just orchestrated an offense that grabbed 181 total yards of offense against an average defense, at best.

Pathetic.

I expected a little more out of Hanie even if Forte wasn’t available. He didn’t even come close.

They have to look in another direction at 7-5. McNabb is the best quarterback available.

He’s an NFC guy, he’s played in the NFC North division, he would command the respect of the locker room and he is from Chicago. He fits perfectly.

But what about his performance as a Viking this year? He played very poorly in Minnesota, and for the most part it was extremely difficult to watch. McNabb didn’t have wide receivers that could assist him. Percy Harvin is the Vikings' best receiver, but he’s consistently battling health issues.

McNabb racked up 1,026 yards, four touchdowns and two interceptions in six games played. He did complete 60 percent of his passes.

One thing McNabb has done throughout his career is protect the football. He has 117 more touchdowns than interceptions in his career.

He proved that he could do the same in 2011.

That’s more than you can say about Hanie. The 26-year-old has thrown three interceptions in back-to-back games. Regardless of how well their defense is playing, turning the ball over multiple times won’t win football games.

McNabb has shown that he can protect the football.

With the Bears' inability to protect the quarterback (seven sacks allowed on Sunday), McNabb would be able to use his legs to escape the pocket. His legs aren’t like they used to be, but he would be formidable under center.

Although McNabb is a shade of his former self, bringing him in to play quarterback would be the ideal decision for the Bears organization if they planned on returning to the postseason.

He is from Chicago, he has the experience, he would command respect in the locker room and he protects the football—sounds like a much better option than Hanie.