Chicago Bears quarterback Josh McCown has reiterated that he is fully aware of his status as backup to the injured Jay Cutler despite his recent good form.
McCown inspired the Bears to a commanding 45-28 victory over the Dallas Cowboys on Monday night, throwing four touchdown passes and running for another as Chicago moved level with the Detroit Lions at the top of the NFC North.
However, despite posting better figures than his teammate so far this season, McCown insists that Cutler is still the number one choice and stressed that the team's success was more important than any individual.
"I understand that Jay's the starter, and he does too, and our team does and we're building this thing around him. More importantly, for everybody, it's not just Josh and Jay, let's just be for the Bears and for the Bears playing good football and winning football and that's the thing that matters the most no matter who's in at quarterback. That's all I care about," McCown told ESPN.
"As soon as Jay is ready and healthy and back out there, he's been so good for me the last few weeks and how much he's helped me. I want to go back and return that favor to him and continue to help him. It's all about our team and everybody has that 'C' on their helmet and that's all that matters.
"It's not about if this guy plays or that guy plays, it's about our team winning. And that's all we care about. When Jay gets back in there, I have full faith that he'll do a heck of a job and that he'll lead our team like he has already."
McCown currently leads the league with a total quarterback rating of 85.7 compared to Cutler's 63.2, while the duo have both thrown the same number of touchdowns (13) but McCown has only had one interception while Cutler has had eight.
