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LAKE FOREST, Ill. -- Alshon Jeffery is staying healthy during a season in which he was designated the Chicago Bears' franchise free agent because of an inability to avoid injuries. Jeffery is holding up his end so far, but he doesn't have a touchdown catch in seven games. He never previously went this many games without one.
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Someone has to get Jeffery the football, and that person is starting for the first time since Week 2 when the Bears host the Minnesota Vikings on Monday (8:30 p.m. ET, ESPN.
It is Jay Cutler, America's scapegoat.
"We'll be on the same page most of the time," Jeffery said. "I just told him just throw it up and give me a chance.
"That's how he is with most of our receivers."
Too often that is true, and it can work well or it can be a disaster for the Bears (1-6). With Brian Hoyer on the field before breaking his left arm last week against the Green Bay Packers, the Bears had no interceptions in 5 1/2 games. Cutler had three in the first 1 1/2 games before spraining his right thumb.
However, the red zone was like quicksand to the Bears' offense under Hoyer.
Can it hurt at this point having Cutler make throws that most consider risks with the intent of scoring touchdowns?
"We've had some penalties down there, some execution errors," Cutler said of the red zone. "It goes across the board. Everyone's got to play better.
"Red zone's hard. It's a shorter area. Things happen a little bit faster, and guys have got to be ready for that. Minnesota, they've done a tremendous job in the red zone, tremendous job on third down. So it's going to be challenging this week."
The Bears are 26th in red-zone touchdown percentage at 47.4 percent, but over the past three games, they were the worst in the league at 28.6 percent.
"You get in the red zone, you've got to score more touchdowns than field goals," Jeffery said. "That's the biggest thing. That's what's really been killing us is the red zone."
The hope is Cutler can change this by taking a few chances with his stronger arm and willingness to hold the football longer. Then, perhaps Jeffery won't be a stranger to the end zone.
"I think we want to try to find a way to get him the ball a little bit more in the (season's) second half and try to get him in the end zone," Cutler said.
Then again, taking chances can lead to sacks or interceptions. Cutler was sacked eight times in 1 1/2 games while Hoyer was sacked only four times in 5 1/2 games.
Facing linebacker Anthony Barr and the league's No. 1-ranked defense only makes the situation appear more bleak. Doing it with guards Josh Sitton and Kyle Long missing practices due to injuries only adds to the tension if the Vikings turn loose their famed A-gap blitz.
"Yeah, coulda picked a different game to come back, huh?" Cutler said. "They're a good defense, they're a really good defense. You look at the numbers and it's: 1, 1, 2, 1, 3, 5. They're top five in about everything. They've been together for a while, they're relatively healthy, and they're playing good football.
"They've shown a lot of different looks, especially on third downs, but we've got a group of guys, we've seen a lot of it. We kind of know how to attack it, but it's just going to be about execution and guys doing exactly what we need to do."
The ground game will be key, and it may have running back Jeremy Langford back from an ankle injury this week. He has been out since Week 3.
"It's an uphill battle," Cutler said. "If you stay third-and-manageable against these guys you've got some shots. If you're in a lot of third-and-longs, you're going to have some problems."
Cutler said there are no issues with his thumb.
"Strength was the biggest thing, getting that back," he said. "There was soreness for a while, and just getting the strength back was the ultimate hurdle."
The Bears' offense is last in the league in points scored and 16th in yardage, which speaks volumes about lack of production.
Short term, Cutler might be the answer to those troubles.
Long term, no one expected him to be in Chicago after this season anyway because his contract terms allow for his departure without a big salary-cap hit in 2017. A Chicago Tribune report this week indicated coach John Fox wants nothing more to do with Cutler following this season only seemed to verify this.
"There is absolutely no truth to that," Fox said about the report. "People can say whatever they want. That's the unfortunate part of this profession. But absolutely not true."
What is certainly true is that for now, the only other viable alternative is backup Matt Barkley, who has been with the team since early September and struggled against the Packers after Hoyer's injury.
"He doesn't have a choice, I guess, at this point," Cutler said about Fox earlier this week. "Brian is out, so I've got to go.
"I've had good conversations with Foxy this week, last week, the week before. There's never been any strain in our relationship. We're both very open and honest, and we're on the same page. We just want to win football games."
