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Could Brian Hoyer Be a Better Option for the Bears Than Jay Cutler?
- Updated: October 7, 2016
Brian Hoyer looks as though he’ll make his third consecutive start in place of the injured Jay Cutler when the Chicago Bears play the Indianapolis Colts on Sunday. But there are many onlookers who feel as though Hoyer should be Chicago’s starter regardless of Cutler’s health.
They might be on to something.
After all, there’s something to be said for going with the hot hand. And two-and-a-half games into his run as Chicago’s interim starter, Hoyer is one of just eight qualified quarterbacks with a passer rating in the triple digits. He has one turnover and zero interceptions on 101 dropbacks and 97 pass attempts, Pro Football Focus grades him as the second-best quarterback in the league and he actually led the depleted Bears to an impressive victory over the Detroit Lions in Week 4.
In back-to-back losses to kick off the season, Cutler turned the ball over three times on 55 dropbacks while posting a passer rating of 75.7 before suffering a thumb injury in Week 2. If qualified, that would be the sixth-worst rating in the NFL. PFF ranks him in the bottom 10 among qualifiers.
There are also indications that Hoyer has done a better job handling pressure. His sack rate (3.0) is the third-lowest in the league, while Cutler’s abysmal 14.8 sack rate ranks dead last among quarterbacks who have started at least one game. That’s a small, exaggerated sample, but Hoyer’s career sack rate is also lower.
And sure, it’s possible that, for whatever reason, an offensive line that has used the exact same five starters on every snap this season has been better for Hoyer than it has for Cutler. Cutler did face two defenses, Houston and Philadelphia, that Football Outsiders ranks in the top five against the pass and PFF ranks in the top eight in terms of pass-rushing prowess. Meanwhile, Hoyer has faced the two worst pass rushes in the league, according to PFF. And the Bears failed to establish themselves on the ground until Week 4.
But both …
