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Bears fans might not like Jay Cutler, but he gutted it out in tough victory

Eric Edholm

Jay Cutler fought through a hamstring injury to play in Week 4, and there were plenty of Chicago Bears fans who didn't want him out there.

Some preached the chorus of, "Why even play him if he's not healthy?" Other, more dark, depressing Bears fans ripped off one-liners about Jimmy Clausen giving Chicago a better chance to win. And yes, there are scores of fans in Chicago hoping the Bears tank the season — #takeoffforgoff? — with the hopes of landing the first pick in April's draft.

Shut it down, all of it. Cutler played relatively well, and the Bears beat the ascending Oakland Raiders 22-20 on a last-second Robbie Gould field goal.

Cutler completed 28 of 41 passes for 281 yards and two touchdowns — despite Alshon Jeffery missing the game with his own hamstring injury. Although Cutler threw a fourth-quarter interception with just under seven minutes left, with Charles Woodson undercutting the underthrown pass, the Raiders played conservatively and settled for a field goal to give them a 20-19 lead with 2:05 left.

That's when Cutler went to work. He took a sack and missed Josh Bellamy on third down on two of the first three plays after taking over, but Cutler drilled a gorgeous 7-yard completion to an outstretched Martellus Bennett on fourth-and-5 to stay alive.

After a bad drop by Marques Wilson on the sideline, Cutler connected on four of five passes, including trusting Wilson and going back to him on a 9-yard grab to put the Bears in field-goal range. That set up Robbie Gould's game-winner and the best Bears victory in more than a year.

Cutler delivered the ball where it had to be despite his left tackle, Jermon Bushrod, missing the game and his center, Will Montgomery, leaving early with an ankle injury. Cutler was sacked three times, hit four times and escaped countless would-be sack attempts. He delivered at a time when most of Bears Nation doubted he could or — shamelessly — didn't even want him to.

Say what you will about Cutler, but his toughness has been underrated for years. He might not be this team's savior for the long haul, but Cutler showed more heart Sunday than we've seen from him or this team in a long time.

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Eric Edholm is a writer for Shutdown Corner on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at edholm@yahoo-inc.com or follow him on Twitter!