LANDOVER, MD. (AP) - Chicago Bears quarterback Jay Cutler injured his groin while being sacked in the second quarter against the Washington Redskins on Sunday, and he was ruled out for the rest of the game.
Cutler stayed down on the ground for a few minutes, and clutched at the top of his left leg after he was tackled by 333-pound nose tackle Chris Baker with about 10 minutes left in the first half.
Cutler eventually got up and limped off the field. He soon was walking gingerly along the sideline toward the visitors’ locker room.
Chicago’s backup quarterback, Josh McCown, came in to replace Cutler. It was McCown’s first appearance in a regular-season NFL game since 2011.
When Cutler left _ on Baker’s first career sack _ the Redskins were leading 17-10. The hosts were still ahead at halftime, 24-17, with Chicago adding points on Devin Hester’s 81-yard punt return for a touchdown.
Initially, the Bears announced that Cutler’s return was “questionable,” but at halftime, they ruled him out for the day.
Before leaving, Cutler was 3 for 8 for 28 yards and an interception that was returned 29 yards by linebacker Brian Orakpo for a touchdown.
By halftime, McCown had thrown only one pass, which fell incomplete. He ran twice for 10 yards.
Cutler came into Sunday’s game with a 95.2 passer rating and 1,630 yards passing, along with 12 touchdown passes and six interceptions. He earned a 100-plus passer rating in each of Chicago’s previous two games and was seeking to top that mark for a third consecutive game within a season for the first time since 2009.
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AP NFL website: www.pro32.ap.org
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