Bears HC defends decision to stick with Jay Cutler

Chicago Bears quarterback Jay Cutler was clearly less than 100 percent during the team’s Week 10 meeting with the division rival Detroit Lions and he eventually had to make his way to the sidelines with a leg injury that allowed back up Josh McCown to take the field for the team’s potential game-winning drive.

The Bears ultimately fell short, which caused people to question the decision to play a hobbled Jay Cutler for a bulk of the game, but head coach Marc Trestman defended his decision to stick with Cutler after the loss.

“I didn’t want to take him out unless he felt he couldn’t do the job,” Trestman said after the game, via NFL.com. “He had, I thought, a very courageous performance throughout.

“I may come back tomorrow and say I made a mistake, I should have taken him out earlier. But, at the time, I don’t think that the decision was made to keep him in there and let him fight with his football team.”

It may be hard to comprehend, but a less than 100 percent Cutler is much worse than a 100 percent McCown, so the Bears hurt their chances of taking the NFC North lead by sticking with their wounded quarterback longer than they should have.

It’s not all bad news for the Bears, however, because they are still right in the division race and in the thick of the Wild Card race.