Bears' Cutler suffers knee injury in NFC title game
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}CHICAGO (Reuters) - Chicago Bears quarterback Jay Cutler was removed from the NFC championship game against the Green Bay Packers on Sunday with a knee injured and replaced with veteran Todd Collins.
The Bears were trailing 14-0 with nine minutes left in the third quarter when Collins replaced Cutler, who completed six of 14 passes for 80 yards.
Cutler, a 27-year-old in his fifth NFL season and second with the Bears, was listed as "questionable" to return to the game.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}He was brilliant in leading the Bears over the Seattle Seahawks 35-24 last week, passing for 274 yards and two touchdowns and running for a career-high 43 yards and two scores in the first postseason game of his career.
Collins misfired on his first three passes.
During a regular-season game in October when Collins played in place of Cutler, who was recovering from a concussion, he threw four interceptions in a 23-6 win over Carolina.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}(Writing by Steve Ginsburg; Editing by Frank Pingue)