Cutler vs. Favre: Meeting of NFL gunslingers

Sunday's NFC North showdown at Soldier Field between the Bears and the Minnesota Vikings features old gunslinger Brett Favre against young gunslinger Jay Cutler.

There will be some amazing passes. But there also will be passes into tight coverage, and maybe even a few thrown up for grabs or directly at the wrong team.

After all, nobody had more interceptions last year than Cutler's 26. And nobody in the history of the NFL has thrown more than Favre's 330, a league-worst 13 of which have come this season.

Both have struggled at times this season but were excellent last week.

Cutler threw 2 TD passes and wasn't intercepted while completing 17 of 30 passes for 188 yards and a 97.6 passer rating, boosting him to 86.0 for the season, seventh best in the NFC.

Favre led a furious rally to an overtime victory over the Arizona Cardinals with a career-best 446 passing yards, 2 TDs, 2 picks and a 101.9 passer rating. But at 75.7 for the season, he's still just 13th in the NFC in passer rating.

Live by the pass, die by the pass.

“I think to be successful at this position you have to take risks,” Cutler said. “There are going to be certain situations where you have to put the ball in tight spots, but they have to be calculated risks.

“You learn over time when to take those chances and when not to. But sometimes you get caught up in the game and you're going to try to pump one in there.”

That's the downside of being blessed with a rocket arm, as the 28-year-old Cutler and the 41-year-old Favre have been.

Sometimes it feels as if there's no opening so small or coverage so tight that you can't squeeze a fastball through it. According to Favre, he and Cutler share that same “riverboat gambler” mentality.

“When you have a big arm, you feel like you can throw it through any coverage, any window and, at times, you do,” Favre said. “I see that in him. He's a heck of a competitor; he's tough.

“Like I told him after those guys beat us last year (36-30 in overtime at Soldier Field), I thought he played outstanding. That should hush people up for a while.

“He's got that mentality of, ‘Hey, I don't care what just happened. I'm focusing on the next play and the next throw, the next game, whatever.' That's a great quality to have.”

Cutler shook his head and smiled when asked about Favre's 20-year career that includes his NFL-record streak of 293 starts.

“I don't know what he's doing,” Cutler said. “It's a lot of games, a lot of toll on your body. He's probably going to have to have some surgeries in the next 10 years to repair some stuff.

“But it's remarkable. Everyone knows what kind of precedent he's set, and it's going to be hard for anybody to touch that.”

Cutler has no intention of challenging Favre's longevity.

“I don't plan on playing when I'm 41,” he said. “Last year he had a good year. This year, out of some situations they've been in, he's had to put some balls in some places normally he might not.

“I think he's calmed down a little bit from his younger days. He's still making some magical throws, especially the last couple weeks when they've been fighting for games.”

Cutler was 8 when Favre broke in to the NFL with the Atlanta Falcons in 1991, and he recalls watching Favre win three straight MVP awards (1995-97) with the Green Bay Packers.

“I didn't imagine he'd still be playing when I'd be playing,” Cutler said. “But he still looks good, he's still doing some of the same stuff he used to.”

Just as it is with Cutler, that same stuff can be good or bad.

ŸFollow Bob LeGere's Bears reports via Twitter@BobLeGere. Check out his blog, Bear Essentials, at DailyHerald.com.