Chicago Bears coach Marc Trestman showed his loyalty to Jay Cutler when he welcomed the quarterback back to his starting lineup last week. One lost night wasn't enough to eradicate that faith.
After Sunday's 54-11 loss to the Philadelphia Eagles, Trestman announced that Cutler will be under center for next Sunday's winner-take-all NFC North showdown against the Green Bay Packers.
Trestman's decision was quickly met with derision by fans and pundits who still don't understand why Josh McCown was sent back to the bench in the first place. But putting the blame for Sunday night's embarrassment on Cutler is reductive thinking.
Cutler never had a chance against the Eagles, taking five sacks and numerous other hits before being pulled, along with other starters, during the fourth quarter. An Eagles defender was invading Cutler's space almost every time he dropped back. It was a reminder of the bad old days along Chicago's O-line.
"We lost the line of scrimmage," Trestman said, via ESPN.com. "We didn't do as good a job as obviously we've done at protecting Jay. He got hit probably more in this game than he's been hit at any time during the season."
Trestman said he planned to throw Sunday's game tape in the trash, a pretty good indicator he wasn't taking much from what he saw. Cutler will get another chance against the Green Bay Packers. We'll soon find out if Trestman's faith was correctly placed.
The latest "Around The League Podcast" broke down Chicago's loss and every other Week 16 game.