Cutler has this thing where he'll play through an injury as long as he's playing well, but then if he starts playing poorly, he quits and blames it on the injury. He did the same thing with the thumb a couple weeks ago.
Also, despite all the talking points that came out of Halas Hall in the aftermath, the reality is that a grade 2 MCL sprain is not an injury that should be taking a quarterback out of a conference championship game. It doesn't affect your mobility or ability to plant and throw.
The reason players miss time with an MCL sprain is because playing on it dramatically increases the chances of a season-ending ACL injury. Typically, with a grade 2 MCL sprain during the regular season, a player will miss a few weeks while they let the MCL heal and strengthen because it's better to miss a couple games than risk a season-ending ACL tear. When you're in a conference championship game, there's no more season if you lose, so there's no reason to be so cautious.
NFL players know all of this. That's why Cutler took so much shit from current and former players on twitter and other social media after that game.
