NFLBy Kevin McGuire on

Football is a sport of wild emotions, and sometimes those tempers flare on the sideline. On Monday night, they flared between teammates.

Chicago Bears’ quarterback Jay Cutler was having a rough night against the Philadelphia Eagles Monday before leaving the game with an injury. Following a poor interception from Cutler, the Bears starting quarterback got a mouthful from teammate and linebacker Pernell McPhee (who wasn’t in uniform thanks to an injury of his own):

The facial expression from McPhee is remarkable:

According to CSN Chicago’s Ryan McGuffey, McPhee told Cutler to “wake the **** up”:

After the game, Cutler addressed the incident and downplayed it, saying it was just heat-of-the-moment intensity and frustration rather than anything to be too concerned about.

He also mentioned that the thumb injury he suffered early may have been part of the interception:

There’s nothing usually wrong with players getting in teammates’ faces, even if they play different sides of the football, and even if one player is out of action with an injury. Sometimes you need that fire on the sidelines when things are not going well. And as you can see by Cutler’s reaction in the media, there did not appear to be any real friction here other than the frustration of a tough night at home. It happens, and Cutler appeared to move on without any real bitterness. Still, the level of McPhee’s comments here was notable.

Asked about the incident after the game, Bears head coach John Fox said he was unaware of the situation.

[Matt Clapp on Twitter]

About Kevin McGuire

Contributor to Athlon Sports and The Comeback. Previously contributed to NBCSports.com. Host of the Locked On Nittany Lions Podcast. FWAA member and Philadelphia-area resident.

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