Cutler On Rib Injury: This Week 'Is Going To Be A Little Bit Difficult'
By Adam Hoge-
SOLDIER FIELD (CBS) Jay Cutler briefly left Monday night's 13-7 win over the Detroit Lions after a vicious hit from Ndamukong Suh, but returned in the second half.
The Bears quarterback suffered bruised ribs and had x-rays taken at halftime, but was able to return to the game. He gutted through the injury, completing 16-of-31 passes for 150 yards and one touchdown.
"It was on my right side, so trying to get my right side through was a little bit tough," Cutler said after the game. "I missed some throws. I wasn't feeling exactly 100 percent but we had to fight through it."
The injury happened when Cutler was driven to the ground by Suh after the defensive end rested his forearm on Cutler's neck before pushing him to the ground and landing on him. The hit was deemed legal because Cutler was out of the pocket and scrambling.
"I was outside the pocket. It's football," Cutler said when asked if he thought it was a legal hit.
Cutler originally stayed on the ground in pain because he had the wind knocked out of him.
"I thought I was gone and then he got a hold of me," Cutler said when describing the hit from Suh. "At that point, I knew it wasn't going to end well."
After sitting out one play, Cutler returned for third down, which the Bears did not convert. He later went to the locker room for what the Bears officially called a "ribs evaluation." Backup Jason Campbell served as quarterback for the last series of the first half, as the Bears just ran out the clock to take a 10-0 lead into halftime.
While Cutler was able to finish the game, it doesn't mean he'll be 100 percent as the Bears prepare for the Panthers this week.
"I feel all right right now," the quarterback said. "I think later in the week is going to be a little bit difficult, but I'm all right right now."
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