CHICAGO (AP) — Jay
Cutler led the Bears to their fifth straight victory Sunday. It could be
his last game with Chicago for a while.
The Chicago Tribune
reported later Sunday that Cutler broke his right thumb during a 31-20
victory over the San Diego Chargers and was expected to miss six to
eight weeks.
The Bears would not confirm the report. Cutler's agent, Bus Cook, did not return messages from The Associated Press.
The
Tribune reported that Cutler was injured trying to prevent a touchdown
on a 64-yard interception return by San Diego's Antoine Cason in the
fourth quarter. Cutler got knocked to the ground by linebacker Donald
Butler.
He stayed in the game and wound up with 286 yards passing, throwing for two touchdowns and running for another.
Cutler
took longer than usual to come out for his postgame news conference but
showed no visible signs of an injury. He and coach Lovie Smith did not
mention it.
Losing Cutler clearly would be a huge blow for the
Bears. They've made a big leap into contention in the NFC after they
appeared to be coming apart, and without him, they'll have to go with
backup Caleb Hanie.
The reports about Cutler clearly overshadowed
everything else on a day when Chicago (7-3) handed the Chargers (4-6)
their fifth straight loss, their longest slide since an 0-5 start in
2003. But it wasn't easy.
Philip Rivers threw for 280 yards. For
most of the game, he looked more like a Pro Bowl quarterback than the
guy who had been turning it over at an alarming rate. But two late
interceptions helped preserve the win for Chicago.
"I played
against Philip and San Diego many times, and they've always had a
high-powered offense and they're not going to give up," said Cutler, who
lost four of five against the Chargers when he was with Denver.
"They're going to come back and fight. Philip is a smart quarterback. He
knows where weaknesses are in defenses, especially in the third and
fourth quarter, so we knew we were going to be in a battle even though
we kept scoring."
The Bears were leading 31-20 when Cason returned
his interception 64 yards to the Chicago 16 before being pushed out of
bounds by Matt Forte, with help from Cutler. But instead of driving for a
touchdown, Rivers sealed the loss when he tried to squeeze a pass to
Vincent Jackson in the end zone but got picked off by Major Wright.
Rivers
also was intercepted by Chicago's Corey Graham in the closing minutes,
giving the quarterback a league-leading 17 INTs, on a ball that he was
trying to throw away.
Rivers said in hindsight he never should
have thrown the ball that Wright intercepted, "but once it leaves your
hand you can't bring it back."
Can the Chargers bounce back?
They've been known to make late surges under Norv Turner, and they'll
need another one if they're going to save this season.
But time may be running out.
"Absolutely,"
Jackson said. "We only play 16 regular-season games. We're not like
NBA; we're not like hockey, so each and every one is precious."
Playing
the first of four straight games against AFC West opponents, Chicago
got strong performances from Cutler and Johnny Knox to remain tied with
Detroit for second place in the NFC North.
Cutler was 18 of 31
with an interception and did not get sacked, even though there was more
shuffling on the line. Edwin Williams replaced the injured Chris
Williams at left guard.
Knox had three catches for 97 yards,
including a twisting touchdown reception in the third quarter that made
it a 14-point game, although he did slip on Cason's interception. Earl
Bennett came up big, too, with 75 yards receiving, and Roy Williams
chipped in with 62 yards.
Devin Hester had a 37-yard punt return
and a 22-yarder that set up a second-quarter TD run by Marion Barber.
And along with his contributions on offense, Knox returned a kickoff 53
yards, leading to a TD catch by Kellen Davis late in the first half.
Charles
Tillman had a key strip and fumble recovery, and the Bears extended a
turnaround that seemed highly unlikely just a few weeks ago. Cutler was
getting pounded, and the defense was giving up big plays.
The
Bears got all they could handle Sunday after intercepting Matthew
Stafford four times and forcing six turnovers in a lopsided win over the
Lions a week earlier.
Rivers completed 21 of 31 passes, with Jackson catching seven for 165 yards.
San
Diego had just tied it at 17 on a 5-yard TD catch by Jackson early in
the second half when Cutler ran it in from the 1 after a 42-yard pass to
Knox.
In a flash, it was a 14-point game.
Tillman stripped
Ryan Mathews on the Chargers' next play from scrimmage and made the
recovery, giving the Bears possession at the San Diego 37.
Two
plays later, a spinning Knox hauled in a 24-yard pass from Cutler in the
left corner of the end zone with his back to the quarterback, making it
31-17. Nick Novak kicked a 48-yard field goal on the first play of the
fourth quarter, but the Chargers did not pick up a yard the rest of the
way.
Rivers threw two incompletions after Cason's big interception
return before getting picked off by Wright. And after the Bears worked
7½ minutes off the clock before punting, Graham got his interception
with just under two minutes remaining.
"It's all on our defense,"
Roy Williams said. "That's it. Chicago football is defense and special
teams. They keep kicking it to Devin. Devin's giving us the short field.
If he doesn't score, we're on the 40-yard line, we're on the 30-yard
line."
Notes: Smith said he wasn't sure how serious LS Patrick
Mannelly's knee injury was. The veteran missed the second half. ... The
Bears have scored 30 or more in three straight games. ... Wright has an
interception in three straight games. ... Jackson had 172 yards for the
Chargers against New England on Sept. 18. ... San Diego is 1-4 on the
road.
Copyright 2011 The Associated Press.
