It’s been a little over nine years since the Chicago Bears lost to the eventual Super Bowl-champion Green Bay Packers at Soldier Field in the 2011 NFC Championship game. The game was arguably the worst of the decade, as the Bears had to watch their bitter rival accept the George Halas trophy on their own turf after falling short of a comeback victory.
While the loss itself will always sting, the game is truly remembered for the controversy that ensued after halftime when Bears quarterback Jay Cutler was sidelined due to a knee sprain. Backup quarterback Todd Collins played two series, then made way for third-stringer Caleb Hanie, who rallied the Bears back but was unable to secure the win, ultimately losing 21-14.
Despite the team announcing Cutler’s knee injury, fans and former players alike torched the polarizing signal caller on social media, television, and radio for appearing to quit on his team during and after the game. Even today, the topic still comes up on occasion with people debating just how injured Cutler actually was, with no input from the quarterback himself. Until now.
Appearing on Barstool Sports’ Pardon My Take podcast, Cutler spoke candidly about the criticism and admitted the questions regarding his toughness were difficult to deal with.
“I’ve played through some crazy stuff. I mean, concussions, broken stuff, it just is what it is,” Cutler said. “For me to have that part questioned, that hurt, that was a tough one to swallow. To say that I wasn’t good or anything else, like, I’m fine with that, there may be some truth to that. But to say I didn’t want to play anymore?”
Cutler also discussed the process of attempting to work back into the game.
“It was right before halftime, we went in and taped it up,” he said. “I went out there and I tried to throw, I think I threw one ball and my knee literally just buckled and went straight into the ground. I was like ‘I don’t think I can throw, I don’t think I can run.'”
The Bears’ all-time passing leader did admit the optics of him sitting on the sideline weren’t great, and that he wasn’t sure whether to leave the field or not. But anyone who watched Cutler play during his eight-year career in Chicago knows how tough of a player he was. Not only that, the player who had the “don’t care” demeanor attached to him early truly showed how bothered he was by the comments and perception of his toughness.
Despite his revelation, however, fans will likely still debate this issue until the end of time. Do Cutler’s comments sway your opinion one way or the other?
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