Teams
- Denver Broncos (2006-2008)
- Chicago Bears (2009-2016)
- Miami Dolphins (2017)
Accolades
- 1x Pro Bowl (2008)
“Tell Mike [Martz] I said f*** you.”
-Jay Cutler (source)
In the 2006 NFL Draft all eyes were on the two quarterbacks who had faced off in the National Championship Game less than four months earlier. Vince Young, who led Texas to a last-minute triumph, went #3 overall to Tennessee. He was followed by his rival at USC, Matt Leinert, at #10. But all the insiders knew not to sleep on Jay Cutler, whose stock would have perhaps matched his talent had he not been on perennial SEC doormat Vanderbilt. The Denver Broncos were eager to find their next John Elway, and so at #11 took the “other quarterback” with first round talent, Jay Cutler.
Just one year prior, the Broncos had made the AFC Championship Game with Jake “The Snake” Plummer running the offense. And while Plummer had managed to get Denver off to a 7-4 start in 2006, it was in spite of his poor 68.8 passer rating. With the playoffs in sight, head coach Mike Shanahan chose to ride his rookie the rest of the way. And Jay Cutler played well, tossing nearly as many TDs (9) in just five games as Plummer threw (11) in 11 contests. The defense failed Cutler and the offense though, giving up an average of 28 points per game in December. Denver finished 9-7, missing the postseason with a Week 17 loss in overtime to the 49ers.
In his first full season as starter, Jay Cutler would start all 16 games in 2007. He would finish 10th in passing yards (3,497) and throw 20 TD passes. But the Broncos’ bottom 5 scoring defense, enabled a mediocre 7-9 year. Denver’s young quarterback emerged as a potential star in 2008 though, earning a Pro Bowl nod. His 4,526 passing yards were only topped by Drew Brees and Kurt Warner. Yet, the numbers didn’t translate into wins as Denver again sported a bottom 5 defense and finished 8-8. Still, it looked like Denver had indeed found their next great signal caller.
In the offseason, Denver fired their two-time Super Bowl winning head coach, Mike Shanahan. His replacement was a branch off the Bill Belichick coaching tree, Josh McDaniels. But amidst trade rumors, Cutler’s trust in his new coach quickly eroded and the Vanderbilt alum wanted out. He found a suitor in the Chicago Bears, a franchise whose all-time leader in virtually every quarterbacking category was Sid Luckman (who retired in 1950). The cost was certainly steep for the Monsters of the Midway, two first round draft picks and Kyle Orton. But they were desperate for an arm to complement their typically-strong defense.
While Jay Cutler managed to start all 16 games for Chicago in 2009, the results were mixed-at-best. He did throw for 3,666 yards and 27 TDs, but also a league-most 26 interceptions. The Bears’ scoring also dropped three points per game from the previous season, a bad omen considering the hefty trade. However, 2010 was a different story altogether. Cutler reduced his INTs by ten, despite being sacked more than any other quarterback in the league. Combined with a menacing defense, the Bears went 11-5 and made the postseason for the first time in four years.
In his first playoff game, Cutler was everything the Bears had hoped. In a 35-24 defeat of Seattle (which wasn’t nearly as close as the score would lead on), Chicago’s QB would score four touchdowns while totaling 317 yards of offense. This triumph set up a date between the oldest rivals in the NFL, the Bears and Packers, with a trip to the Super Bowl on the line. Unlike the Seattle contest, this would be struggle for Cutler. He’d complete just six passes, and be held to 90 yards of offense. Down 14-0, and under controversial circumstances, he would sit out most of the second half with an injury as Green Bay held on to a 21-14 win, on their way to the franchise’s fourth Super Bowl title two weeks later.
So close to a Super Bowl, the Bears would be knocking on the door again in 2011. A 7-3 start was a promising pathway until Cutler suffered a broken thumb, ending his season. The Bears were lost without him, dropping five straight before finishing 8-8. The following season, 2012, seemed like it would finally be the year. The Bears went into the halfway point of the season rocking at 7-1. Then the offense would stall, failing to score 20 points in five of the next six games, losing each of those five contests. By the time Chicago ended their season with two straight wins, it was too late in an uber-competitive NFC. The 10-6 Vikings won the Wild Card tiebreak, and Bears head coach Lovie Smith lost his job.
Another promising 3-0 start in 2013 would be undermined in Week 7 as Cutler would suffer a grisly groin injury. He’d manage to play four more games the rest of the year, but win only one of those. Even with the league’s #2 scoring offense, da Bears were somehow a bottom 3 defense and finished 8-8, missing the playoffs in the final minute of the season. The crushing loss carried over into 2014 as the Bears never got their footing after a 2-1 start. For Cutler’s part, his 254.1 passing yards per game, 66.0% completion rate, and 28 TD passes were all career bests during his Windy City tenure. Yet, he also led the NFL in interceptions with 18 of them. Hobbled by another year of poor defense, the Bears went 5-11 and parted ways with head coach Marc Trestman.
Jay Cutler suffered through two more years in Chicago. His 2015 effort was solid as he threw for 3,659 yards, 21 TDs, and a career-best 92.3 QB rating. But the Bears improved minimally under new head coach John Fox, ending up at 6-10. Cutler’s last season in Chicago was a unsurprising microcosm of the previous seven. He was sacked 17 times in just five games before being dealt a season-ending shoulder injury. Despite his apparent retirement following the season, he was lured into one more year of pro ball with the Miami Dolphins in 2017. Statistically it would be his worst season since his first year in Chicago, going 6-8 as starter, averaging 190.4 passing yards per game, and finishing with an 80.8 passer rating.
Jay Cutler’s seemingly carefree attitude was parodied as much as it was embraced. Unfortunately, that doesn’t translate into wins. Year after year, Cutler’s teams just barely missed the postseason. And for a guy who played as long as he did, it’s amazing to think he only made the playoffs once. Those two playoff games pretty much summed up how fans felt about him during his eight years in Chicago. One week he was a stud who could do no wrong. The next week, he was a bum. And often times it was his own fault (twice leading the league in INTs) and other times it wasn’t (sacked 2.5 times per game in Chicago). Jay Cutler was an enigma to everyone: fans, teammates, coaches, probably even himself. He was very talented, very injury-prone, and when all was said and done… Very Cavallari.
Chart
| Season | W-L% | Tot Y/G | Tot TD/G | Tot TO/G | Y/C/Y/A | Cmp % | TD% | Int% |
| Reg Season | -0.013 | -0.043 | -0.008 | -0.111 | 0.002 | 0.010 | 0.078 | -0.193 |
| Playoffs | 0.000 | -0.234 | 0.158 | 0.017 | 0.332 | -0.183 | 0.043 | 0.118 |
Longevity Bonus = 1.1 Title Bonus = 0.0
Index Score = -0.592 (average QB = 0.0)
Deviation Rank (out of 153)
| Season | W-L% | Tot Y/G | Tot TD/G | Tot TO/G | Y/C/Y/A | Cmp % | TD% | Int% |
| Reg Season | 106th | 95th | 82nd | 143rd | 89th | 77th | 52nd | 146th |
| Playoffs | T-46th | 126th | 31st | 67th | 2nd | 142nd | 46th | 51st |
Why isn’t he on the Top 100 list?
Simply put, Jay Cutler made too many mistakes. He’s a bottom 10 guy all-time for deviation of interceptions per pass attempt (146th) and bottom 20 for total turnovers per game (143rd). He also just didn’t win enough, making the postseason only once in 12 seasons and finishing with a 74-79 career record as starter. He fails to make the Top 50 in any of the eight categories for the regular season.
But what made him good?
Jay Cutler was better-than-average at getting his passes into the end zone. He’s 52nd all-time in terms of deviation for touchdowns per pass attempt. Also, for a guy who turned the ball over a lot, he was actually a fairly accurate, middle-of-the-pack player for career regular season completion percentage. With just two playoff games under his belt, his postseason stats have minimal impact on his overall index score. However, he did average an amazing 16.9 yards per completion on his 21 playoff completions.
The Quarterback Project 