The Sports Xchange

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — The game clock at Arrowhead Stadium was running out on Jay Cutler and the Chicago Bears. With 7 minutes, 51 seconds to play in the fourth quarter, they trailed by 11 points and had not been able to dent the Kansas City Chiefs end zone.

But the Bears’ Cutler-led offense began moving on the K.C. defense, converting third downs and chewing up yardage. In the span of 2:47 in the fourth quarter, the Bears quarterback threw two touchdown passes, including the game-winner to running back Matt Forte with 18 seconds to play, and Chicago walked away with an 18-17 victory over a struggling Chiefs on Sunday afternoon.

The outcome was minor compared to what was a greater loss for the Chiefs. Pro Bowl running back Jamaal Charles is believed to have suffered a torn ACL in his right knee early in the third quarter. If tests on Monday confirm that diagnosis, Charles is done for the season.

The Bears know about injuries; going into Sunday’s game, they had 16 players on the league injury report. Cutler was playing with a rookie center making his first NFL appearance (draft choice Hroniss Grasu) and without the Bears top wide receivers, Alshon Jeffrey (hamstring) and Eddie Royal (ankle). But the often maligned Cutler threw the offense on his back and marched his club down the field.

He said the key was not allowing the young guys to think about what was happening.

“I tried not to huddle and kept them on the line and told them keep going, keep going,” said Cutler, who threw for 257 yards, those two touchdown passes and no interceptions. “It was go, go, go, just to keep them in the moment so they wouldn’t stop and think.”

Down 17-6, the Bears took over at their 12-yard line and began an 11-play, 88-yard drive that ended with a pretty 22-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Marquess Wilson.

The Bears defense forced a three-and-out by the Chiefs, and Chicago took over at its 33-yard line with 2:04 to play in the game. Eight plays and 106 seconds later, Cutler connected with Forte for a 7-yard touchdown throw that sealed the comeback.

The Chiefs had the first possession of the second half and drove down the field, largely on the legs of Charles. But that’s when disaster struck on a first-and-goal run from the Chicago 9-yard line. Charles was stopped for no gain by outside linebacker Sam Acho, and on the play Charles suffered the right knee injury that appears to have ended his season.

What we learned about the Chiefs:

1. Andy Reid’s team is in trouble — not only because the Chiefs lost four straight games, but they appear headed to the remaining 11 games without the engine of their offense, running back Jamaal Charles. Early projections are that Charles suffered a torn ACL in his right knee in Sunday’s game and will be lost for the season. Even with the Pro Bowl running back, the Chiefs offense has been struggling. In crunch time, the defense has been unable to step up and stop an opponent in the fourth quarter. The Chiefs had an 11-point lead with just under eight minutes to play and lost.

2. Whether its play calling, poor pass protection, poor QB play or opposing defenses, the Chiefs are unable to consistently throw the football for positive yardage. Quarterback Alex Smith threw for just 181 yards, and he was inconsistent with his accuracy, completing just 16 of 30 throws. In the second half, the Bears defense did not worry about anything going over their heads in the K.C. passing game. In the fourth quarter, the Chiefs had four possessions, and all of them went three plays and punt. In the second half, Smith completed just three of 10 passes.

3. The Chiefs continued to shoot themselves in the foot with ill-timed penalties. On Jay Cutler’s two touchdown passes in the fourth quarter, they gave the Bears 15 yards on the first score when defensive tackle Jaye Howard was called for roughing the passer. Three players later, Cutler hooked up with wide receiver Marquess Wilson for a touchdown. Then on the winning drive, the Chiefs gave up 24 yards on a pass interference call against cornerback Marcus Peters. Two plays after that Cutler found running back Matt Forte for the score.

Etc.:

–ILB Ramik Wilson made his first NFL start against Chicago and came up big in the first quarter, when he fell on a fumble by Bears quarterback Jay Cutler and scored the first touchdown of the game. Wilson finished the game with four tackles.

–WR Jeremy Maclin caught eight passes for 85 yards, but was unable to get into the end zone. “I think we had so many opportunities to win this game and we blew it,” Maclin said. “We don’t have anybody to blame but ourselves.”

–RB Charcandrick West finished the game against Chicago on Sunday with 31 yards on seven carries and one catch for 5 yards. The 5-foot-10, 205-pound product of Abilene Christian will likely step into the starting lineup with the apparent loss of Jamaal Charles to a knee injury. “It’s heartbreaking to see one of my friends go down, my brother go down,” West said. “Whatever the team needs me to do, I’m going to be ready to do that.”