LAKE FOREST, Ill. – One clue that something has gone terribly wrong is when your franchise quarterback opens his post-game press conference by apologizing to his defensive teammates.

That’s exactly what transpired Thursday night in San Francisco after Jay Cutler threw a career-high five interceptions, including two in the red zone, in a sloppy 10-6 loss to the 49ers.

Quarterback Jay Cutler has thrown 15 interceptions in five road games this year.

Cutler, who was voted to the Pro Bowl last season when he played for the Broncos, leads the NFL with 17 interceptions, one shy of his total from all of last year when he threw the second most in the league. Of his 17 picks, 15 have come in five road games, and five have occurred in the red zone.

The last Bears player to throw five interceptions in a game was Kyle Orton, who did so on Sept. 25, 2005 in a 24-7 loss to the Bengals at Soldier Field. The only quarterback in franchise history with more interceptions in a game is Zeke Bratkowski, who was picked off seven times on Oct. 2, 1960 in a 42-7 loss to the Colts in Baltimore.

After Thursday night’s debacle at Candlestick Park, coach Lovie Smith conceded that Cutler’s performance was the type that could shake the quarterback’s confidence.

“I think it knocks you back a few steps when you throw that many interceptions,” Smith said. “Yeah, it hurts you. Jay realizes what that did for the team. But this is a team loss. Jay and the rest of us are going to have to regroup and get ready to go.”

Beginning in the second quarter, Cutler’s five interceptions came on nine Bears possessions. His first pick occurred on third-and-goal from the 1 when he threw the ball directly to nose tackle Aubrayo Franklin. If Franklin hadn’t picked off the pass, there were two of his teammates behind him ready to do so.

Cutler’s final interception came on the game’s last play. With the ball at the San Francisco 12 and :08 remaining, his pass over the middle intended for tight end Greg Olsen was picked off by safety Michael Lewis in the end zone, preserving the 49ers’ victory and spoiling an inspired effort by a resurgent Bears defense.

Until the last pass, offensive coordinator Ron Turner didn’t feel that Cutler was trying to force the ball.

“I didn’t think he was,” Turner said. “Obviously at the end there you’ve got to make something happen. I don’t think he was at all. I thought he was making good decisions, went where he was supposed to go. I don’t think he was trying to force the issue. I didn’t feel that he was getting frustrated in trying to make something happen.”

Smith declined to say whether he felt that some of Cutler’s picks came on passes he forced.

“An interception’s an interception to me,” Smith said. “Jay is trying to make a play on every one. But you just have to use a little bit better judgment on some of them. He’s trying to make a play. [But] especially the ones in the red zone, we just can’t have that.”

At least two of Cutler’s interceptions didn’t appear to be his fault. Wide receiver Devin Hester slipped and fell to the ground on a deep comeback route, and tight end Kellen Davis was knocked away from a pass by safety Mark Roman before the ball arrived.

“It’s not one guy. It’s all of us when we turn the ball over like that,” Turner said. “It’s a team game. All the attention goes to the quarterback when that happens. But there are other factors. On some of them he’s counting on a guy to be at a certain spot, so he anticipates and throws it.”

“Everyone wants to say the picks are always on the quarterback,” Olsen said. “But they’re not. There’s a lot of things that we [as pass receivers] have to do better, and just the entire offense in general to take some of the pressure off of that position. We all have to do a better job.”