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No one questioning Cutler's toughness after goal-line lick

Before he and his Bears teammates ultimately absorbed another punch-in-the gut loss, Jay Cutler delivered some of his own hurt.

Or perhaps the Bears quarterback shared some pain with Minnesota Vikings safety Harrison Smith on a goal-line collision. On second-and-goal from the 4-yard line, Cutler rolled to his right and, after being unable to find an open receiver, sprinted to the goal line and lowered his shoulder as Harrison closed on him.

Cutler tumbled forward and, as video replay confirmed, broke the goal line. He bounced to his feet, barely shaking off any apparent pain or dizziness.

Smith fell backward.

The Bears led 20-13 with 4:55 left in the fourth quarter at Soldier Field Sunday.

"He might have won that one," Cutler, smiling, said of Smith.

While Cutler actually won the one-on-one battle - which capped a 14-play, 74-yard drive and chewed up 8:34 on the game clock - Minnesota won the game, 23-20, scoring a touchdown with 1:49 left to tie it and again as time expired on Blair Walsh's 36-yard field goal.

The Bears, who hadn't played since an overtime defeat at Detroit two weeks ago, lost for the fifth time in seven games this season.

Ouch.

"We play hard every week," offensive tackle Kyle Long said. "In the NFL, it's a 60-minute ballgame every week, and there's no margin for error. The team that made the least amount of mistakes probably won today. We're all hurt about it."

The banged-up Bears got wounded some more, losing both wide receiver Eddie Royal and running back Matt Forte to knee injuries, it appeared their quarterback was going to author another fourth-quarter comeback. The Bears' back-to-back wins over Oakland and Kansas City in Weeks 4 and 5, respectively, both featured late-game heroics from Cutler.

His gutsy TD run didn't faze his teammates, who have become used to his toughness.

But still, playing chicken with an NFL DB?

Nervous, Matt Slauson?

"Heck, no," said Slauson, who calls himself a guard just filling in at center, as he did Sunday with rookie Hroniss Grasu out with a neck injury. "Jay's a beast. I view Jay like he's one of the O-line. He's just a nasty guy. He wants to get in there and get after it."

Sometimes a football player, even a QB, refuses to let discretion yield to valor.

"I instantly regretted it," Cutler joked of taking on Smith at the goal line. "I'm thinking, 'The shortest distance is a straight line.' I knew the situation and wanted to get a score. It was me on him, and ultimately (after video review) we got the touchdown. So I can't regret it too much."

Minnesota entered the game second in the league in fewest points allowed (102 in six games). The Vikings' pass rush is vaunted enough that the Bears opted to attack early with a heaping of screen passes. After enough of them failed to net significant yardage (Cutler was 4 of 4 for a measly 12 yards in the first quarter), the Bears stretched the field, modestly.

"It's a really tough defense," Cutler said. "They're one of the best in the league at adapting on the run and adapting on cadence, and finding weaknesses in your protection. They're well-coached, and you can tell it on the field."

Cutler finished 22 of 33 for 211 yards with a touchdown pass to Alson Jeffery - and no interceptions.

"Another (courageous) effort by Jay," Long said.

The offense didn't play perfect football, however. The Bears settled for 3 field-goal tries, with Robbie Gould connecting from 55 and 33 yards (making him 17-for-17 on the season), before missing a 51-yarder in the third quarter. Minnesota sacked Cutler once and got a couple of hits on him. One of those hits drew a roughing-the-passer penalty on Vikings linebacker Chad Greenway after Cutler scrambled and hit Martellus Bennett for a 20-yard gain from the Bears 8.

"To me, one sack is one sack too many," Slauson said. "We have to keep Jay clean all day because we are a different team with Jay in there obviously."

He might need to remind his quarterback of that.

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