Jay Cutler has a sympathizer in Philip Rivers, even if the San Diego Chargers QB has drawn a clear line between them.

Rivers said Monday he felt for Cutler, the Chicago Bears QB who left Sunday's NFC title game loss to the Green Bay Packers with a knee injury.

He did not join the chorus of NFL players who have criticized Cutler for exiting such an important game, but Rivers made a clear distinction between the former AFC West rivals.

"Me personally, I'd have to have been taken off in a cart," Rivers told the San Diego Union-Tribune.

"That doesn't mean I'd be right. If they knew he couldn't throw the ball good, he wasn't helping anybody ... I'll never say what he should have done. I can't even say what I would have done in the same position. I do know I'm not coming out unless I can't do anything, and maybe that's how it was (for Cutler)."

Bears coach Lovie Smith defended Cutler on Monday against withering criticism from several players across the league who questioned Cutler's toughness.

Rivers credited Cutler for returning to the game in the second half after originally hurting the knee before halftime.

Cutler competed against Rivers in the AFC West before the Denver Broncos traded him to Chicago in 2009.

Rivers -- who played in the 2007 AFC title game at New England after suffering an ACL injury -- declined to compare his own injury to Cutler's.

"It's unfortunate," Rivers told the paper. "You never want to see someone not at their best … We definitely went through that (in 2007) when we were trying to make a run. From that standpoint, I have (empathy) for him."