Jay Cutler ( American football ) Jay Christopher Cutler ( born April 29 , 1983 ) is an American football quarterback for the Chicago Bears of the National Football League ( NFL ) . He played college football for Vanderbilt University . Cutler began his professional football career with the Denver Broncos , who selected him as the 11th overall pick of the 2006 NFL Draft . He spent three seasons with the Broncos and was selected to the Pro Bowl in his final year . He was traded to the Bears in 2009 . Early years . Jay Cutler was born in Georgia but grew up in Santa Claus , Indiana . Cutler attended Heritage Hills High School in Lincoln City , Indiana . He started three years at quarterback , amassing a combined 26 – 1 record in his junior and senior years , including a perfect 15 – 0 during his senior year . Cutler and his team outscored opponents 746 – 85 , including a 90 – 0 shutout at Pike Central . During his senior year , Cutler connected on 122 - of - 202 passes ( 60 . 4 % ) for 2 , 252 yards with 31 touchdown s , while rushing 65 times for 493 yards with 11 touchdowns . He also started at safety for three years , intercepting nine passes as a senior , 12th overall in the state . His team ' s perfect record during his senior year included the school ' s first 3A state championship , where Heritage Hills beat Zionsville in overtime , 27 – 24 . The most notable play of the game occurred when Cutler lateraled the ball to the halfback , Cole Seifrig , who then passed it to Cutler who ran it into the end zone . Cutler was named a first - team All - State selection by the Associated Press as a senior . In addition to playing football in high school , he was a first - team All - State selection in basketball and garnered honorable mention All - State accolades as a shortstop in baseball . Cutler grew up as a Chicago Bears fan during his youth in Indiana . College career . Cutler attended Vanderbilt University , where he started all 45 career games that he played for the Commodores , the most starts by a quarterback in school history . He did not miss a game due to injury . The Commodores were 11 – 35 during his tenure , including going 5 – 27 versus the SEC . In 2002 , Cutler set the school record for touchdowns and rushing yards by a freshman and rushed for more yards than any other Southeastern Conference quarterback that year . The Associated Press honored him with a first - team freshman All - SEC selection . In 2004 , as a junior , Cutler completed 61 . 0 percent of his passes , setting a school record , while throwing for 1 , 844 yards with 10 touchdowns and a career - low five interceptions . The 2005 season , Cutler ' s final year of play at Vanderbilt , was his most successful . As an 11 - game starter , he completed 273 - of - 462 passes ( 59 . 1 % ) for 3 , 073 yards , 21 touchdowns and nine interceptions , as he became the first Commodore to win the SEC Offensive Player of the Year ( coaches and media ) since 1967 . With his senior - season performance , Cutler became the second Commodore to throw for more than 3 , 000 yards in a season , while his 273 completions and 21 touchdowns ranked second on the school ’ s single - season list . He led the Commodores to victories over Wake Forest , Arkansas , Ole Miss , Richmond and Tennessee . The Commodores also scored the second most points ever ( 42 ) laid upon the Florida Gators at their current home field at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium . Vanderbilt nearly upset the 13th - ranked Gators before falling 49 – 42 in the second overtime after a controversial excessive celebration call prevented the Commodores from going for 2 at the end of regulation . Reflecting on Cutler ' s college career , former Denver Broncos safety John Lynch said , " If this guy can take a bunch of future doctors and lawyers and have them competing against the Florida Gators , this guy is a stud . " The Commodores ended their season , and Cutler ' s Vanderbilt career , at Tennessee against the Tennessee Volunteers with a 28 – 24 win . The victory was Vanderbilt ' s first over the Volunteers since 1982 , the year before Cutler was born . The win also marked Vanderbilt ' s first victory over Tennessee on the Volunteers ' home field in Knoxville since 1975 . Cutler passed for three touchdowns and 315 yards during the game , becoming the first quarterback in school history to record four consecutive 300 - yard passing performances . Cutler ' s final play in college was the game - winning ( and streak - ending ) touchdown pass to teammate Earl Bennett against Tennessee . A finalist for the Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award ( nation ’ s top senior quarterback ) , Cutler was a first - team All - SEC pick by the league ’ s coaches and led the conference with a school - record 3 , 288 yards of total offense . While at Vanderbilt , Cutler was a three - year captain and four - year starter , setting school career records for total offense ( 9 , 953 yds . ) , touchdown passes ( 59 ) , passing yards ( 8 , 697 ) , pass completions ( 710 ) , pass attempts ( 1 , 242 ) and combined touchdowns ( 76 ) . Cutler graduated from Vanderbilt in 2005 with a bachelor ' s degree in human and organizational development . Records . Vanderbilt University school career records : Professional career . 2006 NFL Draft . Cutler was expected to be a high draft pick in the 2006 NFL Draft , and was ranked by many experts as the third - best quarterback prospect , after Matt Leinart of USC and Vince Young of Texas . Some mock drafts as recent as April 1 , 2006 , had projected him as being selected ahead of Leinart , but behind Young . Still , other experts such as ESPN ' s Chris Mortensen and Ron Jaworski tabbed him as the best quarterback available in the draft . Many scouts believed he had better arm strength than Young and Leinart , and compared him to Brett Favre for his arm , play style and gunslinger attitude . At the 2006 NFL Scouting Combine , Cutler completed 23 repetitions of a 225 - pound bench press ( more than some linemen ) and ran a 40 - yard dash in 4 . 76 seconds . After attracting interest from the Oakland Raiders , the Detroit Lions , the Arizona Cardinals and the Baltimore Ravens , Cutler was selected by the Denver Broncos with the 11th pick in the draft , after the Broncos acquired the pick from the St . Louis Rams by trading their 15th and 68th overall picks . Many believed Cutler was chosen by the Broncos due to the lackluster performance in the previous season ' s by then - starting quarterback , Jake Plummer . After the pick by Denver , Cutler said , " We had no warning . I think I knew about 15 seconds before everyone else did . " Cutler , as predicted by most , became the third quarterback chosen , after Young ( 3rd overall ) and Leinart ( 10th ) . He is the third first - round pick to come from Vanderbilt , preceded by Will Wolford and Bill Wade . On July 27 , 2006 , Cutler agreed to terms on a six - year $ 48 million contract , which included $ 11 million in bonuses . Denver Broncos . 2006 season . After a strong training camp in 2006 , Cutler was promoted from third to second on the Broncos ' quarterback depth chart ahead of Bradlee Van Pelt . He passed for more yards than any other rookie in the preseason . On November 27 , Shanahan officially announced that Cutler would replace Jake Plummer as starting quarterback because , as Shanahan said , " I think he gives us the best chance to win now . " This announcement capped weeks of speculation and rumors about Cutler ' s impending promotion to a starting role . Cutler ' s regular - season debut was a 23 – 20 home loss to the Seattle Seahawks on December 3 . Cutler completed 10 of 21 passes for 143 yards with two touchdowns and two interceptions . His first career NFL touchdown pass was to tight end Stephen Alexander in the second quarter of the game . His other touchdown pass occurred in the fourth quarter on a memorable 71 - yard TD pass play to Brandon Marshall , also a rookie , which tied the game 20 – 20 . The play was one of the longest TD passes for a debut in NFL history and was also the second - longest pass play between two rookies in Broncos history . On December 10 , in a road loss against the San Diego Chargers , Cutler connected with tight end Tony Scheffler for two touchdowns in a span of 48 seconds , which tied for the fastest in league history that two rookies produced a pair of scoring passes . Cutler ' s first win came in his third start on December 17 , which was a 37 – 20 road victory over the Arizona Cardinals . He finished the game 21 - of - 31 with 261 yards , two touchdowns , an interception and a QB rating of 101 . 7 . It was the highest single - game rating for a Broncos rookie QB since John Elway posted a 117 . 4 rating against the Cleveland Browns on December 4 , 1983 . One of Cutler ' s passing touchdowns in the game against Arizona was a 54 - yard throw to Javon Walker on the Broncos ' third play of the game . The throw traveled 65 yards in the air . Shanahan said to the media , " You saw what he could do today . It doesn ' t take a genius out there to figure out this guy is very composed , can make all the throws and plays with a lot of confidence . " Cutler then led the Broncos to a Christmas Eve win over the Cincinnati Bengals , 24 – 23 , in his fourth start on the season . He went 12 - of - 23 with 179 yards , two touchdowns and one interception . He also directed the Broncos on a 99 - yard drive in the third quarter that culminated on a Mike Bell two - yard touchdown run . As a result of the two passing touchdowns in the game against the Bengals , Cutler became the first rookie QB in NFL history ( second player overall , joining the Washington Redskins ' Mark Rypien in 1988 ) to throw for at least two touchdowns in each of his first four games played . He also became the second rookie in league history ( fifth player overall ) to throw at least two touchdown passes in each of his first four starts . The only other rookie to accomplish the feat was Dan Marino in his 1983 rookie season . The Broncos ' quest to clinch a playoff berth came up short in the final game of the season , when they fell at home 26 – 23 in overtime to the San Francisco 49ers . The loss dropped the Broncos to a 9 – 7 overall record and 4 – 4 at home . Despite sustaining a concussion in the first half , Cutler finished 21 of 32 with 230 yards and a touchdown , and led Denver on a game - tying touchdown drive in the closing minutes of regulation to force overtime . In five games played on the season , Cutler finished with a record of 2 – 3 , and went 81 - of - 137 for 1 , 001 yards , 9 touchdowns and 5 interceptions , earning a passer rating of 88 . 5 . He posted the second - highest TD percentage ( 6 . 6 ) and third - highest TD - to - INT ratio ( 1 . 8 ) among NFL rookies since 1970 with at least 125 passing attempts . 2007 season . The 2007 NFL season marked Cutler ' s first full season as the starting quarterback of the Denver Broncos . In the first game of the season against the Buffalo Bills , Cutler led Denver to a comeback win on a 12 - play , 42 - yard drive culminating in a Jason Elam 42 - yard field goal as time expired in the fourth quarter . Cutler ' s pass attempts ( 39 ) , completions ( 23 ) and yards ( 304 ) for the game were career - highs at the time . He led Denver to their second straight comeback win the next week in the home opener against the Oakland Raiders . Late in regulation , Cutler moved the team 78 yards in 15 plays for the game - tying field goal with 2 : 18 remaining . The game went into overtime , where he engineered a 52 - yard drive that led to another game - winning field goal by Elam . Cutler had a touchdown pass during the game , making him the first Broncos passer to begin his Broncos career with at least one touchdown pass in his first seven starts . Cutler ' s streak extended to nine games until a 41 – 3 home loss to the San Diego Chargers in the fifth game of the season . He recorded his first career rushing touchdown the previous week against the Indianapolis Colts at Indianapolis in the third quarter . After the bye week in Week 6 , the Broncos came out ( after going 2 – 3 to start the season , with both wins coming on last - second Jason Elam field goals ) and beat the 4 – 1 Pittsburgh Steelers , 31 – 28 ( again winning on a last - second Elam field goal ) . Cutler had a QB rating of 106 . 7 during the game , as he completed 22 - of - 29 passes ( career - high 75 . 9 % ) for 248 yards and a personal - best three touchdowns . He also rushed for a career - high 41 yards and a career - long run of 31 yards . Cutler was named NBC Sunday Night Football ' s Co - Horse Trailer Player of the Game ( joining Elam ) . His career - opening streak of 11 games with at least one interception came to an end the next week , when the Broncos were able to take the 6 – 1 Green Bay Packers to overtime on a game - tying , 89 - yard drive led by Cutler with 2 : 27 remaining ( Elam kicked the tying field goal ) . However , Denver lost in overtime , 19 – 13 , on Green Bay ' s first play from scrimmage . Cutler was knocked out early in the next game against the Detroit Lions with a leg injury , handing over the reins to backup Patrick Ramsey . The Broncos lost that game 44 – 7 , although , with Cutler back for the next game , Denver was able to rebound for a 27 – 11 victory over the Kansas City Chiefs at Arrowhead Stadium . The next week , in a " Monday Night Football " home game against the Tennessee Titans , Cutler faced fellow 2006 NFL Draft class quarterback Vince Young for the first ever time in the regular season . The Broncos won the game , 34 – 20 . Cutler posted a 137 . 0 passer rating ( the second best mark for his career ) , going 16 - of - 21 for 200 yards , 2 touchdowns and no interceptions . Both of his touchdowns occurred on passing plays of over 40 yards , which made Cutler the first Broncos quarterback since John Elway in 1995 to throw for at least two touchdowns of more than 40 yards in one game . Denver set a franchise record with four touchdowns of longer than 40 yards in the win over the Titans . The victory improved the Broncos record to 5 – 5 , moving them into a first place tie with the San Diego Chargers in the AFC West . The Broncos lost the next two games ( thus , falling out of the first place tie with San Diego in the AFC West ) , but then went on to beat the Kansas City Chiefs at home in a blowout , 41 – 7 . In the game , Cutler passed for four touchdowns and recorded a then career - best quarterback rating of 141 . 0 . Denver finished the regular season with a 7 – 9 record , missing the playoffs for a second straight year . Cutler started all 16 games in the season , completing 297 - of - 467 passes ( 63 . 6 % ) for 3 , 497 yards , 20 touchdowns and 14 interceptions . He was the NFL ’ s 12th - ranked passer ( 88 . 1 ) and also had the tenth - most passing yards ( 3 , 497 ) . Furthermore , Cutler was the league ’ s ninth - best third - down passer , with a 92 . 1 passer rating ( 73 - of - 125 for 901 yards , 8 TD and 3 INT ) . His 3 , 497 passing yards ranked as the seventh - best single - season performance in team history . He also had the third - best single - season completion percentage ( 63 . 6 ) in team history . Also , like his predecessor , Plummer , Cutler showed the ability to make big plays outside of the pocket , and to run when needed , rushing 44 times for 205 yards ( about 4 . 7 yards per carry ) and a touchdown on the season . In late 2007 , various experts were interviewed , stating that they believe Cutler to be the young quarterback most likely to reach the elite status along the lines of Eli and Peyton Manning , and Tom Brady . Following the 2007 season , Cutler , Brandon Marshall and Tony Scheffler went to Atlanta together to train and work on timing for the 2008 season . 2008 season . Before the 2008 regular season began , Cutler and tight end Daniel Graham were voted offensive captains by Broncos teammates . Cutler started the season facing the Oakland Raiders in Oakland on " Monday Night Football " . He completed 16 - of - 24 passes for 300 yards and two touchdowns , en route to a 41 – 14 Broncos victory . His performance yielded the second - highest passer rating ( 137 . 5 ) in the league after the first week of the season . The Broncos netted 441 total yards while committing no turnovers in the season - opening win . The next week , Cutler and the Broncos defeated the San Diego Chargers in Denver , 39 – 38 . Cutler went 36 - of - 50 , with 350 yards passing and four touchdowns . His four touchdown throws in the game matched his career high for touchdown passes in a single game . One of those throws came with 24 seconds left in the game on 4th and 4 from San Diego ' s four - yard - line . He threw the touchdown to Eddie Royal , who then caught a pass from Cutler on a two - point conversion , which helped seal a one - point win for Denver . The game was not without controversy , though . Cutler appeared to fumble the ball on the play just previous to the final touchdown . The ball was recovered by the Chargers , but was awarded back to the Broncos due to an inadvertent whistle by Referee Ed Hochuli . Cutler followed his performance against the Chargers with another multi - touchdown game against the New Orleans Saints , as part of a 34 – 32 home victory . He went 21 - of - 34 , with 264 yards passing and two touchdowns . Cutler and the Broncos suffered their first defeat of the season in the next game — a 33 – 19 road loss to the Kansas City Chiefs . Cutler had his first multi - interception game of the season , as he was picked off twice . However , his overall performance in the month of September earned him AFC Offensive Player of the Month honors for the first time in his career . He finished the month of September first in the AFC in completions ( 102 ) , passing yards ( 1 , 275 ) and attempts ( 157 ) , second in passing yards per attempt ( 8 . 12 ) , third in passing touchdowns ( 9 ) , third in quarterback rating ( 98 . 6 ) , and fifth in completion percentage ( 65 . 0 % ) . The Broncos had a 3 – 1 record in September and were in first place in the AFC West . Cutler and the Broncos began the month of October with a home win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers , 16 – 13 . It was the second straight game the Broncos failed to score at least 20 points on offense after scoring more than 30 points in the first three games of the season . Cutler went 23 - of - 34 with 227 yards , one touchdown and no interceptions . The win would prove to be the only victory for Cutler and the Broncos in October , as they lost three straight games afterwards . The first of the three consecutive losses came at home against the Jacksonville Jaguars , as the Broncos went down , 24 – 17 . Cutler passed for under 200 yards for the first time of the season , as he went 21 - of - 37 with 192 yards , two touchdowns and one interception . The next loss came in a " Monday Night Football " road matchup against the New England Patriots , and New England blew out Denver , 41 – 7 . Cutler injured his index finger on his throwing hand ( right hand ) on the first offensive play of the game . He came out for one series and passed for a season - low 168 yards for the entire game . The Broncos next had a bye week , then suffered their third straight defeat in October , as they lost at home to the Miami Dolphins , 26 – 17 . Cutler went 24 - of - 46 for 307 yards , two touchdowns and three interceptions . The three interceptions were a season - high for one game . Following the three consecutive losses in October , Cutler and the Broncos began the month of November with a road win over the Cleveland Browns in comeback fashion . The Broncos were at one point down , 23 – 10 , in the second half of the game , but came back on the arm of Cutler , as he passed for three touchdowns in the fourth quarter , leading to a 34 – 30 win . On Cutler ' s first fourth quarter touchdown , he hooked up with wide receiver Eddie Royal on a 93 - yard pass play . It was the longest pass play of Cutler ' s career and the fourth - longest touchdown in Broncos history . Cutler finished the game going 24 - of - 42 with 447 yards ( career high ) , three touchdowns and one interception . He received AFC Offensive Player of the Week honors for the first time in his career for his game against the Browns . He followed up his fourth quarter comeback performance from that game with another one in the Broncos next game , which was a road matchup with the Atlanta Falcons . Cutler went 19 - of - 27 for 216 yards , one touchdown and no interceptions , as he led Denver on another fourth quarter game - winning drive . With five and a half minutes left in the game , and the Broncos down , 20 – 17 , Cutler threw a touchdown pass to Daniel Graham on a third - and - goal . The touchdown gave the Broncos a 24 – 20 lead , which proved to be the final score . The next week , the Broncos suffered their third consecutive home loss by going down to the Oakland Raiders , 31 – 10 . Cutler failed to throw a touchdown pass for the first time in 11 games , as he went 16 - of - 37 with 204 yards and an interception . He did , however , tie Broncos quarterback John Elway for the fastest quarterback in team history to reach 3 , 000 yards passing for one season . Cutler garnered 3 , 036 passing yards through the first 11 games of the season . He and the Broncos won the next game , 34 – 17 , on the road against the New York Jets in a rainy and windy affair . The win was the Broncos ' third consecutive road victory . Cutler went 27 - of - 43 with 357 yards , two touchdowns and one interception . Cutler and the Broncos won their first game in December , and ended their three - game home losing streak , by defeating the Chiefs in Denver , 24 – 17 . Cutler went 32 - of - 40 with 286 yards , two touchdowns and one interception . His 80 % completion percentage was his single - game high of the season . Cutler also engineered his fourth game - winning drive of the season ( the seventh overall of his career ) after leading the Broncos on a 95 - yard drive , culminated by a go - ahead touchdown pass to Brandon Marshall in the fourth quarter . In the next game of the season , the Broncos ' three - game road winning streak was snapped , as they fell to the Carolina Panthers , 30 – 20 . Cutler went 21 - of - 33 with 172 yards , one touchdown and one interception . He failed to pass for over 200 yards in a game for the third time during the season . Cutler and the Broncos also lost the next game , this time at home , to Buffalo , 30 – 23 . Cutler went 25 - of - 45 with 359 yards , no touchdowns and one interception . Cutler rushed for two touchdowns during the game . He also broke single - season franchise records held by former Bronco quarterbacks John Elway and Jake Plummer . Cutler broke Elway ' s record for completions ( 349 ) and Plummer ' s record for passing yards ( 4 , 089 ) . Cutler and the Broncos closed out the 2008 regular season by losing their third consecutive game , as they fell to the San Diego Chargers , 52 – 21 , with the AFC West title on the line . The loss kept the Broncos out of the playoffs for the third straight season . Cutler went 33 - of - 49 with 316 yards , one touchdown and two interceptions for the game . Cutler finished the season with career - highs in passing completions ( 384 ) , passing attempts ( 616 ) , passing yards ( 4 , 526 ) , passing touchdowns ( 25 ) , interceptions ( 18 ) , rushing attempts ( 57 ) and rushing touchdowns ( 2 ) . His passing yards , completions and attempts were all single - season franchise records for the Broncos . He also had the most 300 - yard passing games ( 8 ) in team history . For the season , Cutler ranked third in the NFL in passing completions ( first in the AFC ) , second in passing attempts ( first in the AFC ) , third in passing yards ( first in the AFC ) and seventh in passing touchdowns ( third in the AFC ) . Cutler was also selected as the FedEx Air Player of the Week for his performances during Week 10 , 13 and 14 of the season . Cutler finished third in fan voting for AFC quarterbacks in the 2009 Pro Bowl . Three quarterbacks are chosen to play in the game . Fan voting accounts for one - third of the total voting ( players and coaches account for the other two - thirds ) . He was officially picked to play in his first Pro Bowl when selections were announced on December 16 , 2008 . Cutler was chosen as a reserve . In Hawaii before the Pro Bowl , Cutler became a victim to a prank organized by fellow Pro Bowlers , Peyton Manning , Nick Mangold , and Kris Dielman . He was tossed into a pool , and even though Manning remembered to swipe away his cell phone , Cutler ' s blood sugar monitor was ruined . A replacement one was found at a drugstore , and Cutler played without incident . Chicago Bears . 2009 season . After the 2008 season , Broncos head coach Mike Shanahan was fired and replaced by Josh McDaniels , previously the offensive coordinator for the New England Patriots . On February 28 , ESPN reported that the Broncos considered trading Cutler in a three - way trade with the New England Patriots and either the Detroit Lions or the Tampa Bay Buccaneers . The deal would have sent Cutler to Detroit or Tampa Bay while New England ' s quarterback Matt Cassel would join the Broncos and be reunited with his former coach , McDaniels . The Broncos said that they did not initiate the trade talks , but instead listened to offers . Cutler was reportedly upset about the trade possibility . This prompted McDaniels to make a statement that Cutler would definitely not be traded by the Broncos . Cutler believed McDaniels misled him about the trade talks and said he believed he would be traded before April ' s NFL Draft . On March 15 , he listed his Colorado home for sale ; later that day Cutler confirmed that he had officially asked the Broncos to trade him . On March 31 , 2009 , Broncos owner Pat Bowlen announced that the team would accommodate his request and attempt to trade Cutler . On April 2 , Cutler was traded to the Chicago Bears along with a fifth - round pick in the 2009 NFL Draft . In return , the Broncos received quarterback Kyle Orton , the Bears ' first - and third - round selections in 2009 , and the Bears ' first - round pick in 2010 . On October 20 , Cutler and the Bears came to terms on a two - year contract extension worth $ 30 million . Cutler ' s contract will run through 2013 . Cutler was the subject of most of the praise and criticism during the Chicago Bears ' mercurial season . After starting 3 – 1 , the Bears lost eight of the next ten games ( during which time he had an INT - TD ratio of 11 : 20 and led the NFL in turnovers ) . During Week 10 , the Bears traveled to San Francisco where Cutler threw a career - high 5 interceptions with zero touchdowns . Five weeks later , they traveled to Baltimore where Cutler was 10 - of - 27 , throwing for only 94 yards . Even though he threw for two touchdowns , he had four interceptions leaving him with a passer rating of 7 . 9 . In the last two games of the season , however , the Bears defeated division rivals Minnesota Vikings and Detroit Lions . Cutler finished the season with 27 TD , 26 INT , 3 , 666 yards passing , and a passer rating of 76 . 8 . His 26 interceptions led the league . 2010 season . Following the 2009 season , the Bears hired a new offensive coordinator in Mike Martz . In spending the 2009 season as a studio analyst , Martz was a noted critic of Cutler , but both he and Cutler professed excitement for working together . Martz had become famous as offensive coordinator and head coach of the St . Louis Rams , where his high - powered offense was known as " The Greatest Show on Turf . " Cutler led the Bears to a 3 – 0 start , throwing six touchdowns and only two interceptions . However , in week 4 Cutler was sacked nine times in the first half against the New York Giants , and sustained a concussion . He would miss the Week 5 game against the Carolina Panthers . When he returned , the Bears lost two home games to the Seattle Seahawks and Washington Redskins , leaving the Bears at 4 – 3 at their bye week . Following the bye week , the Bears offensive line play improved and Martz showed more commitment to the running game . The Bears won seven of the remaining nine games to finish 11 – 5 , and secured the NFC North Division title and a first - round bye . Cutler finished the season with 3 , 274 passing yards , 23 touchdowns , 16 interceptions and 232 rushing yards . Cutler made his playoff debut against the Seattle Seahawks in the divisional round of the 2010 NFC playoffs . He finished with 274 passing yards , two passing touchdowns , 43 rushing yards , and two rushing touchdowns in the Bears 35 – 24 win , making him the second quarterback in NFL history since Otto Graham in 1954 and 1955 to score two touchdown passes and two touchdown runs in a playoff game . In the NFC Championship Game , Cutler completed 6 - of - 14 passes for 80 yards and an interception . After the Bears ' first offensive series of the third quarter , Cutler sat out the remainder of the game with a knee injury . The Bears lost to the Green Bay Packers 21 – 14 . The Bears did not make an immediate announcement about Cutler ' s condition , allowing speculation to grow . In possibly the NFL ’ s first player - on - player social media attack , Cutler was being criticized for not returning within seconds after leaving the game instead of waiting for explanations in postgame media sessions by Maurice Jones - Drew , Darnell Dockett , Deion Sanders , and Mark Schlereth . Bears coach Lovie Smith later stated that the choice was not Cutler ' s decision . Smith made the decision to bench Cutler after consulting the medical and training staff . An MRI revealed the following day that he had sprained his MCL . Troy Aikman , a sportscaster on Fox and a Hall of Fame quarterback , believes the widespread reaction to Cutler was indicative of the attitude he has shown in his career . Despite this criticism , the Bears and other players defended Cutler , including Packers Aaron Rodgers , LeRoy Bell , and B . J . Raji , with Rodgers calling it " disrespectful " , Bell calling Cutler ' s critics " stupid " , and Raji calling the criticism " pretty wrong and a lot times it has a lot to do with jealousy . " 2011 season . Under Cutler in 2011 , the Bears went 7 – 3 , and were on the verge of a playoff berth . Offensive coordinator Mike Martz was commonly criticized for aggressive play - calling in 2011 , and the calls for a pass - happy offense led to Cutler getting repeatedly sacked , including an incident in Week 2 against the New Orleans Saints , in which Cutler was sacked 6 times , and was also kicked in the throat . The issue caused Cutler to say to Martz , " Tell him I said fuck him ! " in a game against the Minnesota Vikings . On November 20 , 2011 during a game against the San Diego Chargers Cutler broke the thumb on his throwing hand . Under Caleb Hanie , the Bears lost 5 straight and had to resort to Josh McCown for the final two games against the Packers and Vikings , with the Bears being out of the playoffs with an 8 - 8 record . 2012 season . The Bears hired former Broncos coach Jeremy Bates to be the new quarterbacks coach , reuniting him with Cutler . Cutler was eventually reunited with another former Bronco in wide receiver Brandon Marshall , who was traded to the Bears from the Miami Dolphins . According to new offensive coordinator and former Bears O - line coach Mike Tice , Cutler will be able to call audibles at the line of scrimmage , a factor that wasn ' t available when Martz was the offensive coordinator . In the season opener against the Indianapolis Colts , Cutler started the game on a bitter note when his pass to Matt Forte was intercepted by Jerrell Freeman and taken for a touchdown . He was only able to complete 3 of 10 passes for 21 yards , with a passer rating of 4 . 9 . In the second quarter , Cutler improved his performance by completing 15 of 17 for 228 yards , a touchdown to Marshall , and a passer rating of 80 . 5 . He later finished the game with 21 of 35 passes completed for 333 yards , two touchdowns and a 98 . 9 passer rating , as the Bears would then win 41 - 21 . A week later , Cutler was sacked seven times by the Green Bay Packers defense , and also threw four interceptions while completing only 11 of 27 passes for 126 yards with one touchdown and a 28 . 2 passer rating . His lone touchdown was a 21 - yard pass to Kellen Davis . After getting sacked by Clay Matthews , Cutler expressed his frustration for the offensive line ' s performance by yelling at the line and bumping left tackle J ' Marcus Webb . Two weeks later against the Dallas Cowboys , Cutler greatly improved his performance , completing 18 of 24 passes for 275 yards and two touchdowns . Cutler also had no interceptions and a 140 . 1 passer rating , the third highest of his career , as the Bears would go on to defeat Dallas 34 - 18 . The win increased Cutler ' s record when he has a quarterback rating of over 100 to 24 - 0 . In Week 10 against the Houston Texans , Cutler was lost for the game to a concussion , and was replaced by Jason Campbell . Cutler became the third quarterback in the week to be sidelined with a concussion , along with Michael Vick and Alex Smith . Cutler was ruled out of the San Francisco 49ers game on November 16 . After practicing on November 23 , Cutler was cleared to play in Week 12 against the Minnesota Vikings a day later . The following week against the Seattle Seahawks , Cutler completed 17 of 23 passes for 233 yards with two touchdown passes and a 119 . 6 passer rating , but the Seahawks defeated the Bears 23 - 17 , marking the first time in Cutler ' s career that he lost when having a passer rating over 100 . Cutler finished the season leading the league in fourth - quarter passer rating with 114 . 7 . In his career with the Bears , Cutler is the all - time team leader in passer rating with 81 . 9 and completions with 1 , 034 . Cutler also ranked second in yards and touchdowns with 12 , 292 and 82 , respectively . Records . Denver Broncos ' single - season franchise records set during the 2008 season ( each later surpassed by Peyton Manning in 2012 ) : Personal life . Relationships . Cutler began dating reality TV star Kristin Cavallari in the fall of 2010 and became engaged to her in April 2011 . However , the couple split in July 2011 when Cutler called off the engagement . In November 2011 , Cavallari confirmed reports that the couple was back together , tweeting , " This time it ' s official . . Jay and I are engaged again " . In January 2012 , the couple announced that Cavallari was pregnant . The couple ' s first child , son Camden Jack Cutler , was born on August 8 , 2012 . Despite the birth coming the day before the Bears played their preseason opener against the Denver Broncos , Cutler dressed for the game , though he did not play . Volunteer work . Cutler does volunteer work for young people with developmental disabilities through Vanderbilt ' s " Best Buddies " program . During the 2007 offseason , Cutler started the Jay Cutler Foundation , which partnered with Mile High United Way ’ s " Youth Success Initiative " to help at - risk youth overcome obstacles and graduate from high school . On May 1 , 2008 , Cutler announced that he had been diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes and needs daily insulin shots . He is responding well with the insulin treatments . Cutler works with Dedicated to Diabetes , which is a Denver - based organization that aims to improve public knowledge about diabetes . For the 2009 season , Cutler teamed up with Eli Lilly and Company in a campaign called " Touchdowns For Diabetes " . For every touchdown pass Cutler threw during the 2009 season , Lilly sent a child to diabetes camp by donating $ 1 , 000 to the ADA ’ s “ Camp Scholarship ” fund — roughly the cost of providing tuition for one child to attend a week of diabetes camp . For every pass Cutler completed in 2009 , Lilly donated $ 100 to the ADA Camp Scholarship fund to allow even more kids the chance to attend camp the following summer . In 2012 , Cutler visited Perspectives Charter School in Chicago , to talk about diabetes awareness . In the media . An animated representation of Cutler briefly appeared in the " South Park " episode , " Guitar Queer - o . " The show is set in Colorado , and the characters are avid Broncos fans . Two characters , Stan and Kyle , meet Cutler and say , " Nice to meet you . I mean , you kinda suck , but my dad says you might be good some day . " Cutler himself later responded to the episode , saying , " It was cool . I thought it was funny . They can make fun of me if they want to . " Cutler , along with former Broncos tight end Tony Scheffler and former Broncos backup quarterback Preston Parsons , took part in an episode of " Oprah ' s Big Give " filmed in Denver in 2007 . The episode aired on ABC on March 9 , 2008 . In 2011 , after Cutler was lost for the season after he broke his thumb , and the Bears lost five straight , Chicago recording artist , Magic 1 , recorded " Cutty Come Back " , a parody of the hit song " Baby Come Back " .