Cutler injured his finger on the first play of the game. (Getty Images)

Jay Cutler appeared on his weekly CBS4 program and discussed the brutal loss and his finger injury, among other things (video). When the injury occurred, Cutler said he immediately thought it was broken. Looks like the Broncos escaped a close one here.

On if he thought he broke his finger on the first play —

Yeah, I mean absolutely. It’s never happened to me like that. I’ve deflected some helmets, hit some facemasks, done some stuff, but when I first hit, I was like, “I probably broke my finger.” But you know, you get lucky some times, and I got lucky there in that instance. I think my thumb probably took most of the brunt. So I’m good to go.

On how important the index finger is to throwing the football —

Yeah, that’s the last finger that touches the ball. That kind of sets it in the direction you want to and gets it in a tight spiral. (Monday) night, it didn’t have the tightness I wanted. It didn’t have the strength that I wanted. But, you know, I could throw the ball. I don’t want to make excuses for it. I wouldn’t have come back in if I didn’t think I could get the job done. I thought I could get the job done, but obviously I didn’t.

We really dodged a bullet here, folks. As bad as Monday’s game was, let’s at least be thankful we didn’t lose our quarterback for the season.

Broncos fans at Monday’s game in Foxboro. (Denver Post)

Your wittiest, most cleverest captions in the comments.

Monday’s winner – bcfunk:

Rivers is upset that he didn’t throw the ball to himself. “Dude, I was wide open! WTF?”

Remember to leave your caption for the top photo. Happy captioning!

Chad Jackson in 2007. (Getty Images)

The Denver Broncos lost linebacker Boss Bailey (knee), backup quarterback Patrick Ramsey (elbow), and offensive tackle Eric Pears (appendectomy) for the season this week. On Monday, expect many of these vacant roster spots to be filled.

Multiple reports indicate that WR Chad Jackson, a 2006 2nd round draft choice of the New England Patriots, has agreed in principle with the Broncos to a deal to be signed Monday. Jackson had a great career at the University of Florida and a blazing 4.2 40-time at the combine, but struggled to see the field with the Patriots.

It has also been reported that practice squad QB Darrell Hackney will be signed to the active roster on Monday.

Additionally, the Broncos released DT Steven Harris from their practice squad.

I was watching Jackson closely before the 2006 draft and was hoping he would fall to us. We ended up with Javon Walker instead, and we all know how that turned out. While WR is low on the priority list in my book, this move has some upside. Darrell Jackson, you’ve been put on notice. Let’s get healthy, sign a defensive player (or two), and get this season back on track.

The Denver Broncos just can’t catch a break. As if the team didn’t have enough injuries to worry about, they announced Wednesday that backup quarterback Patrick Ramsey has been placed on Injured Reserve, ending his season.

Ramsey played for a few snaps in Monday’s loss to the Patriots after Jay Cutler injured his right index finger. Ramsey aggravated the right elbow injury he suffered before the season began.

Expect practice squad QB Darrell Hackney to compete for the backup role with a veteran the Broncos would likely bring in.

Champ and Boss Bailey were both significantly injured in Monday’s loss to the Patriots. Boss will be out for the season as he needs microfracture surgery on his knee. Champ will be out 4-6 weeks with a groin pull, according to an ESPN story.

Losing Boss seems to happen every game these days. Losing Champ, though, that’s going to hurt. He was always a bright spot — when opposing quarterbacks actually threw the ball his way — and we only have Paymah and rookie Jack Williams to replace him. I think this will be a long November.

Jay Cutler is tackled by Patriots LB Pierre Wood in the 2nd quarter. (Reuters photo)

THE GOOD:
* Jay Cutler is one tough hombre. I have always thought that coming from Vandy he had to be, so it was nice to see him suck it up and get back out there. He even refused to blame the injury in his post-game interview. Way to go Jay!

* We got Eddie Royal back. It was good seeing him run routes again. Having him healthy is only going to help us out.

* Pretty good protection. While I think Cutler was pressured more this game than most, he was still given time in the pocket by our O-line. It was harder to judge their job in the running game, as we abandoned that pretty early on.

* Let’s not blame the LBs. I’m going to say that Nate Webster, DJ Williams and Boss Bailey (with Jamie Winborn filling in much of the game) got burnt a few times, but generally looked good. I don’t know what our defensive plan is (neither do the players it seems), but I don’t buy into the idea that we’re weak at MIKE. I like Webster and I think he brings extreme passion to the LB unit. DJ is playing at a Pro Bowl level (leading tackler again last night) and Boss has been very good… when he’s not injured.

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Jay Cutler kneels after suffering a finger injury in the first quarter. AP Photo

It doesn’t get much uglier than this. The Denver Broncos (4-3) played their sloppiest game of the season at Foxboro to get leveled by the New England Patriots (4-2) on Monday Night Football. They’ll head into the bye week loaded with questions regarding the remainder of their 2008 season.

After a 3-0 start, the Broncos have lost 3 of 4. They’re a mess, committing over a dozen turnovers in those four games, including five tonight.

The defense tallied six sacks but still allowed 41 points. That has to be some type of record.

Injuries to Jay Cutler, Champ Bailey and Boss Bailey will be monitored closely as the Broncos head into their bye week. They’ll need these guys back if they hope to turn this season back around.

I’m pretty much at a loss of words… what a horrible game. Dish it out in the comments. I know we’re all really pissed off right now, but let’s try and keep it clean…

@
Broncos (4-2) vs. Patriots (3-2)
Gillette Stadium
Mon, Oct 20, 2008
8:30 PM EDT ESPN

Preview | Scouting Report | Predictions
Injury Report | Weather | Tickets

DENVER
14 Brandon Stokley WR
35 Selvin Young RB
42 Ryan Torain RB
60 John Engelberger DE
64 Erik Pears T
88 Tony Scheffler TE
93 Nic Clemons DT

NEW ENGLAND
15 Kelley Washington WR
22 Terrence Wheatley CB
32 LaMont Jordan RB
52 Eric Alexander LB
77 Nick Kaczur T
97 Jarvis Green DL
98 Shawn Crable LB
7 Matt Gutierrez 3QB

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The Denver Broncos had announced on Friday that DT Josh Shaw was suspended for one game by the Broncos for “conduct detrimental to the team.”  That sounds about right.

Jay Glazer of FoxSports.com has the scoop that Shaw was suspended for hitting fellow DT Kenny Peterson after some escalated locker room taunting.  Peterson was not listed on Friday’s injury report.

Apparently Mike Shanahan wanted to suspend Shaw for four games but feared a reaction from the NFL Player’s Association.  Shaw had missed the previous three games with a calf injury.

Hitting a teammate always crosses the line.  Shaw is lucky he isn’t released outright.  Stay tuned…

Philip Rivers (Getty Images)

Your wittiest, most cleverest captions in the comments.

Yesterday’s winner – mikebirty:

This week I’m going to tell everyone that Phil Rivers is a donkey’s ass, say I’m better than Elway and then go on to proclaim myself bigger than Jebus. Ball! OH **** where’s the ball.

Remember to leave your caption for the top photo. Happy captioning!