SAN FRANCISCO — Without hesitation Jay Cutler stepped in front of the podium late Thursday night inside Candlestick Park after the Bears’ 10-6 loss to the 49ers and recognized the coverage facing him the next couple of days.

“I have to apologize to the defense, and the offense as a whole has to apologize,” a humbled Cutler said after throwing a career-high five interceptions.
Oh, Cutler was sorry.
And he felt badly too.
From the moment Adewale Ogunleye talked trash with San Francisco big mouth Vernon Davis during pregame warm-ups to a fourth-down stop in the third quarter, the much-maligned defense brought the intensity lacking against Arizona.
Not sure what Cutler brought to California. But a franchise quarterback cannot let his franchise down the way Cutler did against a sub-.500 49ers team. He responded to working on three days’ rest like a rag-armed pitcher.
Between now and the evening kickoff Nov. 22 against the Eagles, can the Park District petition to close Soldier Field after dark so the game can be played at noon? We can call it the Cutler Decree.
He is worse at night than a solar watch.
In nationally televised prime-time games on the road against the Packers (four), Falcons (two) and 49ers (five), Cutler has thrown 11 interceptions.
If Cutler’s play approaches average, the Bears win easily. He was brought here to stabilize the Bears at quarterback for years to come. On Thursday night, there were faults in the Bay Area landscape more stable than the Bears’ quarterback position.
A banged-up Bears defense deserved better. Playing without injured starting safety Al Afalava for the entire game and hobbled cornerback Zack Bowman for the second half, the secondary fared well.
The 49ers came out intent on establishing rookie wide receiver Michael Crabtree, and after some early success, the Bears and Charles Tillman adjusted well to the pick routes the 49ers were using. Up front, Frank Gore gained a quiet 104 yards but didn’t dominate the way many expected against a defense that had been vulnerable.
If anybody had told coach Lovie Smith that midway through the fourth quarter on the road, his defense would have given up only 10 points, he would have expected to be ahead.
But that is based on the assumption Cutler would be the difference in the game in a positive way, not in a way that benefited the 49ers.
“Jay is trying to make a play on every one, but you just have to use a little bit better judgment,” Smith said.
On Cutler’s second interception to Tarell Brown, the ball was thrown to the spot where Devin Hester was supposed to be, but Hester slipped coming out of his break. That led to Gore’s 14-yard touchdown run on the next play.
Cutler’s ill-advised jump toss that Dashon Goldson intercepted and the forced throw into coverage Mark Roman picked off were typical of the bad decisions he made all night.
On his final interception to Michael Lewis with eight seconds left, it was simply Cutler trying to make a play you wonder if he still believed he could make.
“I think it knocks you back,” Smith answered when asked about Cutler’s confidence. “But this was a team loss.”
Indeed, to be fair, it wasn’t all Cutler. For more stupid penalties and decisions, the coaching staff deserves its weekly dose of criticism.
The most inexplicable, inexcusable faux pas came with time ticking off at the end of the first half. The Bears were driving and had put Robbie Gould in position to attempt a 45-yard field goal with six seconds left. But for reasons unclear and unforgivable from a coaching standpoint, they were flagged for delay of game. Gould saved Smith from further embarrassment when he knocked down a 50-yarder.
Two series earlier, the Bears faced third-and-goal from the 1. On the 18-play drive, which started at the Bears’ 11, tight end Greg Olsen had been an integral part of moving the chains.
But for reasons only offensive coordinator Ron Turner may understand, on the pivotal play, Olsen stayed on the sideline. There is only one other tight end in the NFL (the 49ers’ Davis) with more touchdown receptions than Olsen, but No. 82 had to watch helplessly as the most pivotal play unfold.
“That was the personnel package we had, and that’s fine,” Olsen said.
It’s not fine. It’s overcoaching.
“I can help him there, giving him a better call,” Turner allowed.
The Bears inserted a third offensive tackle, Kevin Shaffer, and made him eligible to trick the 49ers. Given the way Cutler forced the play, it may not have mattered anyway.
Cutler faked a handoff to Matt Forte and threw a pass intended (sort of) for tight end Kellen Davis. Problem was, three 49ers defenders stood between Davis and Cutler. Cutler threw it right into the big paws of Aubrayo Franklin.
How could Cutler not see a 317-pound defensive lineman?
Goodbye, touchdown. Goodbye, momentum.
It was Cutler’s fourth interception in the red zone this season — he would end with five — the most in the league. And as the NFL Network cameras caught him on the sideline shortly after the play, he was scratching his head.
With the rest of us.