LAKE FOREST, Ill. – Lovie Smith isn’t blaming Jay Cutler’s poor performance Sunday night on the quarterback being gun-shy after tossing five interceptions in the Bears’ previous game.

Bears quarterback Jay Cutler has thrown 15 of his 18 interceptions in road games this season.

Known for his pinpoint accuracy, Cutler missed open receivers throughout a deflating 24-20 loss to the Philadelphia Eagles at Soldier Field. The most glaring miscues came when he overthrew Devin Hester, Greg Olsen and Johnny Knox with passes that could have been touchdowns.

“I think he was just trying to make a play, trying to hit the receiver,” Smith said. “Of course, you don’t want to throw any interceptions, but sometimes you overthrow the ball. I don’t think it’s any more than that. I like a lot of things that Jay did protecting the football, which gave us an opportunity at the end to win. But Jay will be the first guy to say that we need to hit some of those throws.”

Although Cutler often threw off his back foot, Smith isn’t concerned with the quarterback’s mechanics.

“No, I’m not,” Smith said. “I wouldn’t say that. He made good decisions [Sunday] night. He overthrew a few passes. That happens with all quarterbacks. Jay was active throughout. He brought our team back and put us in position to win the game. That’s what you judge everything by. You look at the full body of work. He put our team in position to win the game. We weren’t able to hold on.”

After throwing one interception against the Eagles—on the Bears’ final offensive  play—Cutler leads the NFL with 18 picks, tying the career high he set last season when he had the second most in the league.

New nickel: Without the injured Kevin Payne (back) Sunday night, the Bears kept Danieal Manning at free safety and played Corey Graham at the nickel position. Graham tied for second on the defense with seven tackles and also broke up one pass in his most extended action of the season.

“Corey played about the way he plays with everything else we’ve given him,” Smith said. “I’m talking about what kind of effort you’re going to get. I thought he did some good things. There were a couple plays where we’d still like to have [back], [but] I can say that about everything that happened.

“If it was a perfect day for us, we’d be talking about a win right now. But Corey fit in with the rest of the guys and  made some plays, and he’ll only get better with more reps.”

Asked if Graham would remain in the same role Sunday when the Bears visit the Vikings, Smith said: “We’re evaluating everything, but he didn’t do anything to say he deserves less reps.”

Payne and tight end Desmond Clark (neck), who also missed the Eagles game with an injury, are both expected to return to practice this week and play against the Vikings.

One-two punch: Smith confirmed that Kahlil Bell would retain his role on offense after the rookie’s 72-yard run on his first NFL carry Sunday night. But the Bears coach also praised starter Matt Forte, who was limited to 34 yards on 14 attempts.

“Matt did some good things,” Smith said. “I know his rushing total didn’t say that, but I liked the way he hit the holes.

“Just talking about Kahlil, Garrett Wolfe was a part of our rotation. He’s out; Kahlil has taken his place. You need more than one good running back. We’ve even played three good running backs around here. I do see Kahlil continuing to be a part of our offense, and with production like that, why not?”

Roster move: The Bears on Tuesday signed rookie tight end Kevin Brock to their practice squad. Brock entered the NFL with the Panthers as an undrafted free agent from Rutgers.

He was claimed off waivers by the Jets on Aug.3 before being waived Sept. 5. The 6-5, 255-pounder spent Weeks 2-7 of the regular season on the Steelers practice squad.