Cutler could be out for season
According to Internet reports later confirmed by a team source, Bears quarterback Jay Cutler suffered a fractured right thumb in the fourth quarter of Sunday's 31-20 victory over San Diego at Soldier Field.
Cutler could be out for the rest of the season.
The Bears would neither confirm nor deny the injury.
It apparently occurred when Cutler's pass intended for Johnny Knox was intercepted by Antoine Cason, who returned it 64 yards to the Bears' 16, where Cason was pushed out of bounds by Matt Forte after Cutler appeared to be in position to make the tackle.
Cutler fell on his right hand and reportedly suffered the injury then, although he finished the game and completed both of his remaining pass attempts, for 13 yards to Matt Spaeth and for 11 yards to Forte.
Pittsburgh quarterback Ben Roethlisberger suffered a similar injury a week ago in the third quarter against Cincinnati and finished the game.
The Steelers were off this week, and Roethlisberger says he will not miss the next game on Nov. 27. Roethlisberger also fractured his right thumb in 2005 but still led Pittsburgh to a Super Bowl victory.
Cutler attended his regular news conference after the game and did not appear to be in discomfort.
He has missed just one regular-season game in six NFL seasons, but he left last season's NFC title game against Green Bay after suffering a sprained knee.
The Bears' only backup with NFL experience is Caleb Hanie, who initially was passed over in the NFC title game but finished and briefly rallied the Bears, who eventually lost 21-14.
Hanie completed 13 of 20 passes in the game for 153 yards with 1 touchdown, 2 interceptions and a 65.2 passer rating.
A four-year veteran who was undrafted out of Colorado State in 2008, Hanie has never started an NFL game and has thrown just 14 regular-season passes.
As well as Chargers quarterback Philip Rivers played with a depleted offensive line, Cutler played better.
He completed 18 of 31 passes for 286 yards with 2 touchdowns and a passer rating of 97.0, slightly better than Rivers' 90.8.
Cutler was intercepted on the one time, and that was because Johnny Knox (3 catches, 97 yards, 24-yard TD) slipped while making a cut, giving Cason an easy pick.
The most encouraging aspect of Cutler's performance was his distribution of the ball. As usual, he was on the same page as Earl Bennett (3 catches, 75 yards), but he found Knox in the end zone for the first time all season, and Roy Williams caught a team-best 5 passes for 62 yards.
“He's starting to come along,” Cutler said of Williams, who established season highs for catches and yards one week after getting blanked against Detroit.
“You can see he has his burst back. He's running well. He has a good feel for what we're trying to do, and whenever we put him in position to make plays he's making them.”
Knox's third-quarter touchdown reception was an ad-lib, but it put the Bears ahead 31-17 late in the third quarter.
“I had a little pressure,” Cutler said. “He was 1-on-1. I just put it up and gave him a chance. He made a great play.”
Cutler heated up in the third quarter after the Chargers tied it at 17-17, completing 6 of 6 passes for 113 yards, including the TD to Knox and four hookups with Williams.
“Last week I talked about the defense, and how they did everything to help us win,” coach Lovie Smith said. “(Sunday) it was about the offense. Jay Cutler was outstanding.”
The Bears hope it wasn't his final performance of the season.
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