Jay Cutler denies he has lost support of Bears teammates after Bucs loss

— -- LAKE FOREST, Ill. -- Chicago Bears quarterback Jay Cutler pushed back on the notion he lost the team after last Sunday's disappointing performance.

On Monday, Bleacher Report reported that two unnamed Bears players said, via text message, that most of the locker room has given up on Cutler. One of those players said Cutler's lack of preparation before Chicago's  36-10 loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers was "truly embarrassing."

Cutler finished the game 16-of-30 for 183 yards, two interceptions (one for a pick-six) and two lost fumbles.

"Unnamed source, I'm guessing?" Cutler asked on Thursday. "The source could be a lot of people. It could be a made-up source. It could actually be guys in there. If people actually start putting their names on it, we can have a discussion about it.

"The game before [ versus Minnesota in Week 8] was the opposite end of the spectrum. Whenever you lose, we all know what this position entails. And when you do have a performance like that as a quarterback, you're going to get some of that stuff. I don't feel like the locker room has ever [given up on me]. I've never felt like that in the locker room with those guys."

Offensive coordinator Dowell Loggains denied that Cutler's preparation played a role in the lopsided loss to Tampa Bay.

"I didn't see that in his preparation," Loggains said. "But obviously, the way we played, I don't think any of us were prepared. We need to do a better job coaching. We need to do a better job of executing plays."

Following the Bears' surprising win over the Vikings on Oct. 31, Loggains told reporters that Cutler, who returned that night from a five-week thumb injury, had inspired the team.

Asked if Cutler can still galvanize the locker room, Loggains responded, "This is a week-to-week league."

Loggains added: "It's all of us. We win and lose together. He was the same guy who we were praising against Minnesota. And obviously he didn't play as well as we'd have liked. I didn't coach as well as I would like to. And the staff. No one. When you lose like that, no one plays well enough. No one does their job.

"Jay's the quarterback. So it falls on him. It's nothing new. He can take the responsibility. So we've moved forward and we're getting ready for the next one."

The Bears (2-7) travel to MetLife Stadium to play the New York Giants (6-3) on Sunday. Head coach John Fox said on Monday that he planned to stick with Cutler.

The only other quarterback on Chicago's active roster is Matt Barkley, who went 6-of-15 for 81 yards and two interceptions after Brian Hoyer suffered a broken forearm at Lambeau Field on Oct. 20.