5 Chicago Bears To Watch In Week 17

By Clyde A. Speller

5 Chicago Bears To Watch In Week 17

Chicago Bears-Jay Cutler handoff to Matt Forte — With their playoff hopes long gone, the Chicago Bears have nothing but pride and optimism to play for in their 2015 regular season finale against the Detroit Lions. Many may say that a game featuring two teams sporting losing records isn’t worth watching. However, there are some players on the Bears’ side whose performance could not only dictate the outcome of the game, but have an impact on Chicago’s decisions for 2016.

5. Harold Jones-Quartey

Chicago Bears-Harold Jones-Quartey

5. Harold Jones-Quartey

Chicago Bears-Harold Jones-Quartey — Safety Harold Jones-Quartey had the best game of his professional career in Week 16. The undrafted rookie had four tackles, an interception, a forced fumble and two passes defensed in the Bears’ win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Another performance like that could definitely put him in a good position to compete for a spot in the starting lineup in 2016.

4. Tracy Porter

Chicago Bears-Tracy Porter

4. Tracy Porter

Chicago Bears-Tracy Porter — The last time the Bears faced the Lions was in Week 6, when wide receiver Calvin Johnson ripped Chicago’s secondary with six receptions for 166 yards and a touchdown. Hopefully cornerback Tracy Porter learned from his mistakes in that game. If not, then Porter will be in for another long day defending Megatron.

3. Matt Slauson

Chicago Bears-Matt Slauson

3. Matt Slauson

Chicago Bears-Matt Slauson — It appears that rookie center Hroniss Grasu may not play due to a knee injury he sustained in Week 16. This puts the ball-snapping responsibilities on veteran Matt Slauson. This won’t be the first time this season that Slauson had to slide to the middle of the O-line. Slauson’s push in the interior will be vital against Detroit’s 19th ranked run defense, which has surrendered the second-most rushing touchdowns with 18.

2. Jay Cutler

Chicago Bears-Jay Cutler

2. Jay Cutler

Chicago Bears-Jay Cutler — Jay Cutler is on the cusp of finishing arguably the most productive season of his 10-year NFL career. This could be the first time that he’s played at least 11 games in a season and not thrown double-digit interceptions. Cutler can also finish the year with a career-high QB rating, which is currently at 92.8.

1. Matt Forte

Chicago Bears-Matt Forte4

1. Matt Forte

Chicago Bears-Matt Forte4 — Believe it or not, this could be the last time we see Matt Forte in a Bears uniform. The best running back Chicago has had since Walter Payton would love to end the season with a bang just to show the rest of the NFL that he can be just as productive at the age of 30 as he was when he first entered the league. Who knows, Forte could possibly convince Bears GM Ryan Pace to re-sign him with a big game (but that probably won’t happen).

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Chicago Bears

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