"Cutler said to suffer serious thumb injury"
According to various reports, Bears quarterback Jay Cutler suffered a fractured right thumb in the fourth quarter Sunday afternoon and could be out for the rest of the season.
The Bears would neither confirm nor deny the injury, but a team source indicated Cutler could be out through the end of the regular season.
Even if the 7-3 Bears get a best-case scenario, Cutler is extremely doubtful for Sunday's game against the 6-4 Raiders in Oakland.
The injury apparently occurred when Cutler's pass intended for Johnny Knox was intercepted by Antoine Cason, who returned it 64 yards to the Bears' 16-yard line, where he 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.
Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger suffered a similar injury a week ago in the third quarter against the Bengals 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 the Steelers to a Super Bowl victory.
Cutler attended his regular press 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 the Packers after suffering a sprained knee.
The Bears' only backup with NFL experience is Caleb Hanie, who was initially passed over in the Packers game but finished the game and briefly rallied the Bears who eventually lost 21-14. Hanie completed 13 of 20 passes in the game for 153 yards with one touchdown, two interceptions and a 65.2 passer rating.
Hanie, a four-year veteran who was undrafted out of Colorado State in 2008, has never started an NFL game and has thrown just 14 regular-season passes.
The only other quarterback currently on the roster is rookie Nathan Enderle, a fifth-round pick out of Idaho.
Cutler had another efficient outing Sunday, completing 18 of 31 passes for 286 yards with two touchdowns and a 97.0 passer rating.
"Last week I talked about the defense, and how they did everything to help us win," Bears 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.
La stessa fonte ci da perdenti per la prossima settimana...
WHO WILL WIN AND WHY
Jay Cutler's broken thumb dramatically altered what was shaping up as an excellent litmus test for two emerging contenders. Caleb Hanie is a capable backup, but doesn't bring the firepower of Cutler, who has found a comfort zone in this offense.
*Our pick: Raiders 22-16
