LAKE FOREST, Ill. -- The Chicago Bears insisted all along that quarterback Jay Cutler would get his job back once he was ready, no matter how well Josh McCown was playing. On Thursday, they stuck to their word. Coach Marc Trestman said Cutler will start Sunday at Cleveland after missing four games because of a high left ankle sprain. McCown goes back to a reserve role after excelling. "I dont think that risk was part of this decision," Trestman said. "This decision was made a long time ago. That was that when Jay was ready to play, that he would play. Thats how we planned to do it, so I dont look at it like that. I look at it, Jays our quarterback, and when he was ready to play, he was going to play, and thats the same words I used a month ago and theres no change today." Cutler worked with the receivers following Wednesdays walkthrough. Trestman said there was no swelling or any "residual issues" from that, and he was a full participant in Thursdays practice. He also said Cutler is "100 per cent or certainly close to it if not." The news on linebacker Lance Briggs wasnt quite as promising. He participated on a limited basis and Trestman wasnt optimistic about him returning this week, meaning he could miss his seventh straight game because of a broken shoulder. Cutlers return comes on the heels of a blowout win over Dallas on Monday night that vaulted the Bears back into the NFC North race after back-to-back losses at St. Louis and Minnesota. Theyre tied with Detroit at 7-6, but the Lions beat them twice. That includes the game at Soldier Field on Nov. 10, when Cutler returned after sitting out the previous week because of a groin injury only to hurt his ankle when a defensive player rolled up it. He stayed in until the Bears final drive, even though he was labouring, when McCown led them to a touchdown and the potential tying two-point conversion failed. Cutler was hoping to return against Dallas. Instead, hell face the Browns, a team thats 4-9 after losing four straight but boasts one of the leagues top defences. Theyre seventh overall and tied for eighth against the pass. Lurking not too far beneath the surface is that Cutler has an uncertain future with an expiring contract. "Cant worry about it," he said. "Were trying to win football games. Whatever it takes to win that game, thats kind of my mindset. Itll take care of itself. It always does." When healthy, Cutler has played as well as he has since he arrived from Denver before the 2009 season. He has thrown for just over 1,900 yards, and his 88.4 rating is his highest as a Bear. More than anything, he appeared to be clicking with Trestman, which was one of the main reasons Lovie Smith was fired after last season. The Bears wanted to get the most out of their quarterback, so they switched to an offensive-minded head coach. McCown has also excelled in Trestmans system, and there were at least some calls to stay with the hot hand. Cutler insisted hes not paying attention to that debate, saying hes simply focusing on Cleveland. McCown provided plenty of fuel through his play even if he and Trestman did their best to squash any controversy, saying all along that the job still belonged to Cutler. "There is not a debate in this building so that is kind of where my concern lies," Cutler said. If nothing else, the Bears know they can count on McCown if they need him again. Considering he was coaching high school football in North Carolina when they first signed him during the 2011 season, thats not bad. McCown has thrown for more than 1,800 yards and completed nearly 67 per cent of his passes in seven appearances. He has 13 touchdowns and just one interception, and his performance against Dallas might have been his best. He became the first player in franchise history with three straight 300-yard passing games, throwing for 348 yards and a career-high four touchdowns. He also ran for one, getting spun like a helicopter as he leaped into the end zone, but hes headed back to the sideline. "Ill do everything I can to help him," McCown said. "And hes going to study, hes going to work hard and hes going to put himself in a position to be successful. Before he got hurt he was playing some of the best ball of his career. So theres no reason to think that wont continue." If Cutler struggles this week, could he get a quick hook? "I wouldnt be prepared for any of those hypotheticals," Trestman said. "We plan on him playing and playing well and those situations come up game by game with anybody. But I wouldnt go near that one other than the fact that I expect Jay to play efficiently and play well and thats why hes going to be up." Golden Knights Jerseys 2021 . 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One day earlier, though, fellow Toronto Maple Leafs centre Nazem Kadri wasnt so sure his home and native land could pull off the win against the United States in the semi-finals of the Olympic hockey tournament.ST. PAUL, Minn. -- The Chicago Blackhawks have high standards. Two Stanley Cup championships in a four-year span will create that. So their 7-2-3 start to the season is hardly a cause for satisfaction. This payback victory over the Minnesota Wild, at least, provided some reassurance. Patrick Sharp finally scored, Nick Leddy jump-started the stagnant special teams units with a power-play goal and the Blackhawks beat the Wild 5-1 on Monday night. "We havent been playing the way we want to play," said Leddy, a native of nearby Eden Prairie and former Wild first-round draft pick. "We know we can play that way all the time, and I think this gives us some confidence." After giving up 11 goals while losing their previous two games, the Blackhawks played tougher defence, were more disciplined and paid the Wild back for their 5-3 win on Saturday night in Chicago. "We may have had the most consistent game weve had," coach Joel Quenneville said. Corey Crawford made 29 saves, and Sheldon Brookbank, Patrick Kane and Brandon Saad all scored to give the Blackhawks just their third game of more than three goals in 12 contests this season. "It was definitely hard to lose that way at home. They really took it to us, and we were looking to return the favour," Saad said. The Wild were actually in control of the first period despite falling behind early. Then Jason Pominville got a goal, his third in two games, to tie it at 1 midway through the second period. But Niklas Backstrom never found his footing in the net. After making 33 saves against the Blackhawks two days before, his first start following a seven-game absence because of a lower-body injury, Backstrom stopped only 23 shots. Coach Mike Yeo refused to criticize the veterans performance, but he wasnt nearly as strong in the rematch. "We cant sit here and look at that game and say that any player is responsible for that loss," Yeo said. "We had too many guys who werent on top of their game, and when youre playing a team of that calibre, obviously you need a lot of guys not playing just OK games but playing good games, and I dont think we had that tonight." Marian Hossa caught Backstrom looking the wrong way behinnd the net and fed Sharp for a snap shot from just outside the crease over Backstroms opposite shoulder late in the first period.dddddddddddd This was just Sharps second goal of the season. He was quiet last season, too, returning from injury to find his rhythm in the playoffs. "It was nice to put one in. Hopefully that starts something," Sharp said. Late in the second period, Backstrom turned aside Leddys shot, but Kane beat him to the rebound and circled the puck around to the other side where Brookbank was waiting for a slap shot. Backstrom collided with rookie defenceman Matthew Dumba as he was trying to climb up and reposition himself in the crease. Then in the third period, Saad scooted past Dumba on a rush to draw Ryan Suter over in coverage. Saad then pivoted to flick a perfect drop pass to Kane, who skated in front of Dumba to tap in an easy goal and give the Blackhawks a 4-1 lead. The Wild must now decide whether to keep Dumba, their 2012 first-round draft pick, or return him to his junior team. "Im not going to say I didnt think about it at all. Thatd be a lie. I did put that pressure on myself, and I wasnt very happy with my third period tonight," Dumba said. The power play has been only so-so, and the penalty kill has been a bigger early season problem for the Blackhawks, who entered the night last in the NHL with a success rate of only 72.2 per cent. They killed all three opportunities on this night. The Wild fell to 4-1-2 at home this season. They gave up four goals in standard 5-on-5 situations, more than one-third of their league-best total this season. They have allowed 11 in 13 games. "I dont know if they were better prepared than us, but it felt like they were sharper," Backstrom said. NOTES: Brandon Pirri, moved up to centre on the second line, had two assists for the Blackhawks. ... Mikael Granlund assisted on Pominvilles goal for his team-high eighth of the season. ... The Wild were again without two of their top three defencemen, Keith Ballard (seven straight games, upper body) and Jonas Brodin (three straight games, broken cheekbone). ... Hossa has 21 points in 24 career games against the Wild. league-best total this season. They have allowed 11 in 13 games. ' ' '