Bears Send Browns To Drawing Board With 30-6 Win

CHICAGO—Derek Anderson wasn’t happy. Brady Quinn had little to say. And coach Eric Mangini has to decide.

Who will start at quarterback?

Yes, the Cleveland Browns are back to answering that same old question after Anderson got lifted late in another brutal loss, this one at Chicago on Sunday.

Jay Cutler threw for 225 yards, Matt Forte ran for two touchdowns and the Bears (4-3) beat the bumbling Browns 30-6 Sunday after dropping two in a row.

“I’m not happy about anything,“ said Anderson, who was lifted with about three minutes to go after another miserable outing. “I’m not happy that I got pulled out, I’m not happy we lost, I’m not happy about anybody’s play, my play, nothing,“ he said. “I haven’t been happy.“

Whether he’ll be starting the next time the Browns (1-7) play remains to be seen. Cleveland is off this week, giving Mangini extra time to figure that out before his team plays Baltimore.

Anderson didn’t exactly make a strong case for another start. He already had a league-low 40.6 rating before going 6 of 17 for 76 yards with two interceptions. Quinn, the man he replaced in Week 3, completed 1 of 3 passes for 9 yards.

“I’m sure they’re going to look at a lot of things, but again, our biggest thing now is getting better as a team,“ Quinn said.

The Bears (4-3) have room for improvement, too.

They paid tribute to Walter Payton at halftime on the 10th anniversary of his death, then delivered a performance that was far from sweet.

Chicago settled for field goals early on instead of touchdowns but did just enough to put away the team with the league’s worst defense and second-worst offense. That won’t settle the nerves of fans who were more than antsy after a 45-10 thumping the previous week at Cincinnati.

Cutler was on the run all day and got sacked a season-high four times despite a shakeup on the line in which Josh Beekman replaced Frank Omiyale as the starting left guard. A late hit to the chin from Kamerion Wimbley on a third down in the second quarter left him with a bloody mouth, and he got leveled by Shaun Rogers on a 31-yard pass to Johnny Knox in the third. Both plays led to touchdown runs by Forte, who finished with 90 yards on 26 carries.

“Shaun Rogers is a big guy so every time he hits you that counts as two,“ said Cutler, whose mouth didn’t stop bleeding until sometime in the fourth quarter.

The Bears also got a minor scare when Devin Hester limped off the field with a slight left ankle sprain after making a catch late in the fourth quarter. He came back for a punt return and finished with seven receptions for 81 yards.

After giving up a season-high 448 yards against the Bengals and old friend Cedric Benson, the Bears held Cleveland to 191. They also recovered three fumbles.

“Very important, especially seeing all the guys come back and not just get a win but keep the offense down to just six points,“ said defensive tackle Tommie Harris, who was in on two tackles after being benched the previous week. “We did an excellent job of that, and with the turnovers, it was a great game. We just have to build on that.“

The Browns didn’t score until Anderson ran it in from the 1 early in the third, making it 16-6, and the Bears pulled away from there.