Jay Cutler’s Bears legacy is complicated. On one hand, he leads the franchise in many career passing categories, including yards, touchdowns, completions and attempts. On the other hand, he has thrown the second most interceptions of any Bears quarterback, missed portions of many seasons due to injury and led the team to only one playoff berth. Though Cutler’s totals with the Bears make him one of the best quarterbacks to ever play for the team, he will probably be rememberd as a fairly average quarterback that sometimes managed to display flashes of brilliance. When healthy, he usually found himself in the top half of the league in passing categories — though he led the league in a passing category only twice, for number of interceptions.
Seasons by season
Cutler’s best statistical seasons with the team were 2010, 2014 and 2015. In 2010, he led the Bears to an 11-5 regular season record (10-5 in games that he played), a playoff berth, and a loss in the NFC championship game to the rival Green Bay Packers. But in 2014 and 2015, his statistics didn’t help much, as the team finished a combined 11-21 in those seasons.
Season passing statistics, 2009-16 With rank out of NFL quarterbacks
2009
Games played: 16
| Bears record in Cutler’s games: 7-9
27
26
2010
Games played: 15
| Bears record in Cutler’s games: 10-5
23
16
2011
Games played: 10
| Bears record in Cutler’s games: 7-3
13
7
2012
Games played: 15
| Bears record in Cutler’s games: 10-5
19
14
2013
Games played: 11
| Bears record in Cutler’s games: 5-6
19
12
2014
Games played: 15
| Bears record in Cutler’s games: 5-10
28
18
2015
Games played: 15
| Bears record in Cutler’s games: 6-9
21
11
2016
Games played: 5
| Bears record in Cutler’s games: 1-4
4
5
Spotty injury record
Cutler has not played a complete season for the Bears since his first season with the team in 2009, and he missed five or more games in three seasons. He also was forced to leave several games with an injury, most notably the 2010 NFC Championship game against the Packers.
Cutler’s status for each game
Started game
Started game, but did not finish because of injury
Did not play
20‘09
20‘10
20‘11
20‘12
20‘13
20‘14
20‘15
20‘16
Cutler vs. other Bears QBs
Despite everything, Jay Cutler owns many of the career statistics for Bears quarterbacks. The only bears QB that comes close is Sid Luckman, who was one of the greatest passers in football in the 1940s. The league was dramatically different back then, but Luckman led the Bears to four NFL championships.
Bears career passing leaders Top-5 in selected categories
Passing yards
| Rank | Quarterback | Years | Passing Yards |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jay Cutler | 2009-16 | 23,443 |
| 2 | Sid Luckman | 1939-50 | 14,686 |
| 3 | Jim Harbaugh | 1987-93 | 11,567 |
| 4 | Jim McMahon | 1982-88 | 11,203 |
| 5 | Erik Kramer | 1994-98 | 10,582 |
Pass attempts
| Rank | Quarterback | Years | Pass attempts |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jay Cutler | 2009-16 | 3,271 |
| 2 | Jim Harbaugh | 1987-93 | 1,759 |
| 3 | Sid Luckman | 1939-50 | 1,744 |
| 4 | Erik Kramer | 1994-98 | 1,557 |
| 5 | Jim McMahon | 1982-88 | 1,513 |
Passing touchdowns
| Rank | Quarterback | Years | Passing TDs |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jay Cutler | 2009-16 | 154 |
| 2 | Sid Luckman | 1939-50 | 137 |
| 3 | Billy Wade | 1961-66 | 68 |
| 4 | Jim McMahon | 1982-88 | 67 |
| 5 | Erik Kramer | 1994-98 | 63 |
Interceptions
| Rank | Quarterback | Years | Interceptions |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Sid Luckman | 1939-50 | 132 |
| 2 | Jay Cutler | 2009-16 | 109 |
| 3 | Ed Brown | 1954-61 | 88 |
| 4 | George Blanda | 1949-58 | 70 |
| 5 | Bob Avellini | 1975-84 | 69 |
Source: Pro-Football-Reference.com
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