elsea, a game that is very important for us, our fans and the history of the club." Diego Costa showed no signs of the deep cut in his left shin he

LAKE FOREST, Ill. -- The Chicago Bears were already losing games. Now theyre going to be without their most important players on both sides of the ball. Injured quarterback Jay Cutler will miss at least the next four weeks of the season and Pro Bowl linebacker Lance Briggs will be out for around six weeks, staggering blows for a struggling team. The Bears announced the news Monday, a day after Cutler suffered a muscle tear in his groin during a 45-41 loss to the Washington Redskins, forcing the Bears to go with veteran Josh McCown. Briggs left the game with a small fracture in his left shoulder. Neither player will need surgery. "Theyre not done," coach Marc Trestman said. "Theyre going to be back (this season)." Pro Bowl cornerback Charles Tillman also left the game with a knee injury as Chicago (4-3) lost for the third time in four games. The Bears are off this week, but with the injuries mounting, their season could be slipping away from them. The defence has been hit particularly hard in recent weeks, and with Cutler out, itll be veteran McCown lining up behind centre as they try to keep up with Green Bay and Detroit in the NFC North. Cutler came up clutching the top of his left leg following a sack by 333-pound nose tackle Chris Baker with about 10 minutes left in the first half. He stayed down for a few minutes and eventually limped off the field. "They said this is a minimum four weeks and then well evaluate it week to week," Trestman said. "Based on the history -- I talked to the doctors this morning -- of this injury, four weeks is a reasonable start and that it would be week to week." The Bears insisted Cutler will return this season. "Unless theres a complication during his rehab, with the injury that he has that Im certain hell be back at some point," general manager Phil Emery said. Where Cutler will be next season remains to be seen, given his expiring contract. Its the second time in three years that he will miss a significant chunk of time, after suffering a season-ending injury in 2011. Emery said he doesnt see a pattern. As for how this injury will impact contract negotiations with Cutler after the season, he wouldnt discuss that. "Theres no reason to because its not the here-and-now," Emery said. The here-and-now has the Bears forced to go with McCown, hoping he can at least keep them afloat while Cutler recuperates. He entered Sundays game at Washington in the second quarter, seeing his first game action since the 2011 season. He completed 14 of 20 passes for 204 yards, including a 7-yard touchdown pass to Martellus Bennett that gave his team a 41-38 lead with 3:57 to play. McCown looked understandably rusty in his first few plays, but he did put Chicago in position to win the shootout with the Redskins. The Bears will need more of the same if theyre going to have a chance of winning their next game at Green Bay on a Monday night following the bye, not to mention beating Detroit the following week. They didnt fare well the last time they went an extended period without Cutler. After he broke his thumb two years ago, the Bears dropped five of six following a 7-3 start in a collapse that cost general manager Jerry Angelo his job. Back then, Caleb Hanie struggled in a big way. The Bears then turned to McCown, who had been coaching high school football in North Carolina, late in the season. They have more weapons now with Brandon Marshall, Alshon Jeffery and Bennett, not to mention a rebuilt offensive line and a system thats geared more to quick, high-percentage passes than what they were running under Mike Martz. "Especially in this league where the quarterback drives the ship, I dont know if youre ever ready to handle losing your starting quarterback," McCown said. "But I think the structure is in place and the emphasis has been put on individuals to do their job and do their part. If we continue to get that, and we felt like we got that yesterday, it allows the quarterback to step in there, whether its Jay or myself, to function and play, because guys are going to be coached to be where they are supposed to be and do what theyre supposed to do." With Cutler out, Chicago is bringing in Jordan Palmer to back up McCown. The Bears were one injury away from having receiver Earl Bennett line up behind centre because they only carry two quarterbacks. Emery said that wont change. He also said the Bears are looking to bring in a veteran with Briggs injured. And just for the record, Brian Urlacher is not a candidate. Emery shot down that idea, pointing out that the former star middle linebacker filed his retirement papers before the season and received his termination pay. He also said the Bears wont make a trade simply because of the injuries, even though they have some big holes to fill. They lost defensive tackle Henry Melton, his replacement, Nate Collins, and middle linebacker D.J. Williams to season-ending knee injuries. With Briggs out, rookie Jon Bostic or veteran James Anderson figure to call plays and rookie Khaseem Greene will likely get more playing time. "Weve worked trades here the last couple of weeks, we just havent found the correct combination of value and player exchange," Emery said. NOTE: To make room for Palmer, Emery said the Bears released TE Steve Maneri. Bobby Hull Jersey . "Last year we were in a ton of situations, late-game situations we couldnt pull out. Wed kind of fold under the pressure, get frustrated or let a big shot frustrate us," guard DeMar DeRozan said. Clark Griswold Jersey . Showing more spark after not taking enough challenging shots on goal in their 1-0 loss Friday night, the Bruins had 18 shots in the first period after managing just 25 in the entire opener. Luke Glendening cut Bostons lead to 2-1 at 13:20 of the second period before Milan Lucic scored late in the second and Zdeno Chara added a power-play goal early in the third. http://www.officialblackhawksfanstore.com/authentic-denis-savard-blackhawks-jersey/ . The NFL says Wednesday that the game between the Atlanta Falcons and Detroit Lions at Wembley on Oct. 26 will start at 1:30 p. ED Belfour Jersey . General manager David Poile called signing Ribeiro a great opportunity to add a talented, experienced and creative centre Tuesday when he introduced the veteran at a news conference. Ribeiros contract is worth $1.05 million after being bought out of the final three years of a $22 million contract by the Coyotes recently. Bobby Orr Jersey .Y. - Urijah Faber walked out on a Madison Square Garden stage in a Wes Welker jersey, the UFCs fun nod to that other "super" show this weekend.MADRID, Spain -- Atletico Madrid moved one step closer to its first Spanish league title in 18 years with a 2-0 win over Elche on Friday, and now turns its attention to receiving Chelsea in the Champions League semifinals. Atleticos eighth straight win in the league kept it in control of its destiny and needing three wins in the final four rounds to claim its first league title since 1996. Defender Miranda scored the opening goal at Vicente Calderon Stadium in the 72nd minute when he floated his header just inside the upright before Diego Costa added a penalty he had earned in stoppage time for his 27th league goal of the season. Atletico needed goalkeeper Courtois Thibaut to make successive saves around the half-hour mark, and didnt lose its composure after David Villa had a penalty saved in the 51st. Atletico provisionally extended its lead over Real Madrid to six points, with Barcelona another point behind. Madrid wont play Valladolid until May 7 as it rests after winning the Copa del Rey title and prepares to host Bayern Munich on Wednesday in the other Champions League semifinal. Barcelona hosts Athletic Bilbao on Sunday needing to rebound from losing in the Copa del Rey final and keep alive its dwindling hopes of defending its league title. Regardless of the two powerhouses results, Atletico can break their combined nine-year hold on the league crown by winning three of its four remaining games at Valencia and Levante, then home against Malaga, before the season finale at Barcelona. "All the games here on in are going to be tough," said Atletico coach Diego Simeone. ";We have made it through one final and have four to go.dddddddddddd I dont even want to think that winning three will be enough. All our effort and work make us focus on the four games left, and three are away from home. "Now we need to recover the best we can for Chelsea, a game that is very important for us, our fans and the history of the club." Diego Costa showed no signs of the deep cut in his left shin he received last week when he slammed into the goal post while scoring at Getafe, with the Brazilian striker causing Elches defence trouble from the start. He earned a penalty when fouled from behind by Ionut Sapunaru, who was sent off with his second yellow card, giving Diego Costa the chance to pull within one goal of Cristiano Ronaldos league-leading tally of 28 goals for Madrid this campaign. Courtois did his part by making saves to deny Javi Marquez and Sapunaru, again proving his major contribution to Atleticos championship bid. Simeone sent on midfielders Raul Garcia and Jose Sosa early in the second half, and both set up scoring opportunities. Raul was fouled to produce a penalty, only for Villa to have his spot kick smothered by goalie Manuel Herrera before he was replaced by Sosa. Sosa picked out Miranda at the far post for him to lift his corner kick into the side of the net and set Atletico on its way. "It was a set piece we had worked on," said Miranda, the latest role player to step up at big moments and score key goals for Atletico. "We know how to dig down when we have to. We have four finals left and we have to win them." ' ' '