National Football League

Bad football ... Good win; Not much else to say after ugly outing still retakes division lead

Published Oct. 12, 2010 10:19 p.m. ET

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The Bears won. Julius Peppers said it. The scoreboard said it. Lovie Smith would have sung it from a mountaintop had he been near a mountaintop and been blessed with human emotions.

But you can't blame the coach for being numb this time, not after a numbing 23-6 victory over the winless Panthers.

The Bears never were in danger of losing Sunday, but they were in danger of being shot for crimes against the forward pass. Todd Collins, filling in for the concussed Jay Cutler, completed six passes to teammates and four to Carolina defenders.

The Panthers should be put out of their misery and everybody else's.

I know: The only thing that matters is that the Bears won and that they are 4-1.

But if the Panthers are the ''good, solid team'' Smith says they are, then dogs playing poker is good, solid art.

''Winning by three or by 20, a win is a win,'' said Peppers, who signed with the Bears in the offseason after eight years in Carolina.

PASSER RATING NOT A MISPRINT

It's difficult to overstate how bad the football was Sunday, but let's give it a try anyway.

Collins looked as if he were 38, hadn't started an NFL game in three years and was waiting for someone with an oilcan to wander by. Oh, wait.

He finished with a passer rating of 6.2, which isn't easy. You get a 25.7 just for having a heartbeat. He called it the worst performance of his career. He might be right.

Even the speak-no-evil Smith failed to find much good in Collins' performance. He pulled the veteran in favor of Caleb Hanie late in the third quarter.

''We wanted Todd to finish up on a high note, but we got to a point where we just felt like we couldn't let them back in the game,'' Smith said.

Carolina quarterback Jimmy Clausen looked NFL-ready at Notre Dame last year but barely Notre Dame-ready Sunday. He finished with a 29.7 passer rating after completing 9 of 22 passes for 61 yards.

Coach John Fox said he pulled Clausen in favor of Matt Moore in the fourth quarter because ''we weren't exactly lighting it up.'' The Panthers were no closer to scoring a touchdown than scientists were to curing the common cold.

''[Clausen's] a rookie,'' Peppers said. ''You can only expect so much out of him at this point in his development. He's going to be a great player. He went to a great school. He had great coaching. I like Jimmy. He's going to be good down the road.''

JUST ACCEPT GOOD FORTUNE

The Bears' defense was excellent, holding Carolina to two field goals and 147 yards of total offense.

There wasn't a lot of beauty to the day. If you were asking yourself deep philosophical questions afterward about what it all means, I'm not sure there were any answers. Though I could be wrong.

''It's beautiful, man. Bears win,'' defensive end Israel Idonije said. ''It's pretty. Anytime the Bears win, it's lovely.''

They have had their share of luck in 2010, and the good fortune Sunday was obvious: On a day their quarterback was standing on the sideline in an orange T-shirt, they faced a truly bad football team. And won. It might not have told you the meaning of life, but it carried some weight in the NFC North standings.

After giving up 10 sacks last week in a loss to the Giants, the Bears were about as low as a team can be. Sunday proved that there isn't anything beyond Carolina's healing powers and that Lourdes now has competition.

The Bears did establish a running game, and that will mean something only if offensive coordinator Mike Martz sees the importance of it going forward. Cutler is not going to survive without Forte and Chester Taylor taking pressure off an offensive line that can't pass block. Forte rushed for a career-high 166 yards Sunday. It was hard to shake the image of the pass-happy Martz bound, gagged and stuffed in a closet.

NO REPEAT ALLOWED

If Cutler can't play against Seattle next week, the Bears have to go with Hanie, who didn't throw an interception Sunday. They can't afford a Collins-like performance against a decent team. Smith refused to say if there now was an open competition for the No. 2 spot behind Cutler. Then again, you could be standing in front of a telephone pole and Smith would refuse to acknowledge its existence.

Ah, but I'm fighting a losing battle here. The Bears lead the Packers by a game in the division, and nobody cares about style points. The defense looked good. The running game looked good. Anybody can have a bad day, and it was the Panthers' turn.

Anything else?

''I don't think [Collins] struggled,'' wide receiver Devin Hester said.

6.2

''ONE OF THE WORST I'VE EVER HAD'': Bears starter Todd Collins' passer rating when he was pulled for Caleb Hanie in the third quarter. Collins finished just 6-for-16 with four interceptions.

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