Broncos vs. Bears 2015 picks and predictions: Jay Cutler expected to beat former team

After seven years of waiting, Jay Cutler is finally going to get his shot at the Denver Broncos, and he couldn’t have picked a better time to do it.

Cutler spent his first three seasons in Denver without making the playoffs, and left under bad terms when he discovered that the Broncos and new coach Josh McDaniels had been talking about trading him. He was sent to the Chicago Bears on April 2, 2009, and has never faced the Broncos in a meaningful game. That changes Sunday, and it will be a Denver team with Brock Osweiler making his first NFL start. Peyton Manning limped to the sidelines last week after one of the worst performances of his career and has since been diagnosed with with a torn plantar fascia.

No one knows what Osweiler will be able to do against a decent Bears pass rush, but given Manning’s struggles all season, Denver hasn’t really been relying on the passing game to win anyway. If he can get the ball to Emmanuel Sanders and Demaryius Thomas a few times and the Broncos can gets some plays from Ronnie Hillman and C.J. Anderson, it will turn the game into what they want -- a battle between an opposing offense and their outstanding defense.

In other words, it will be Cutler’s game to win. That won’t be easy against a pass defense that has 32 sacks in nine games and has only allowed eight touchdown passes, and he’ll need some help from Jeremy Langford, especially if Matt Forte can’t play. But if can find Martellus Bennett, Alshon Jeffery and Marquess Wilson down the field, then the Bears could be in business.

Cutler will be in his comfort zone -- the Bears have already beaten the other three AFC West teams -- but so will Denver, which has already knocked off Green Bay, Minnesota and Detroit.

As poorly as Manning has played, the experts don’t think Osweiler can even fill those shoes. At CBS Sports, it is 7-1 in favor of the Bears, while ESPN’s crew is going with the home team by an 8-5 margin.

Five of SB Nation’s eight panelists agree that Cutler will get his long-awaited win.