While elite quarterbacks Aaron Rodgers, Ben Roethlisberger and Tom Brady dominate the postseason headlines, Bears quarterback Jay Cutler is baffled that his lifetime playoff exploits have been ignored. After a rout of the Seahawks Sunday, the surly QB hasn’t lost a playoff game since prior to his Indiana high school Class 3A championship in 2000.
“I shine the brightest on the biggest stage,” the former Heritage Hills High School quarterback said. “I’ve been biding my time. It was hard to top the Indiana 3A title game. We got to play at the RCA Dome. We took a coach bus and everything.”
In the overtime win over Zionsville Nov. 25, 2000, Cutler completed 9 of 16 passes for 102 yards but was intercepted three times. The All-State senior redeemed himself by catching the game-winning touchdown in overtime on a trick play. Witnesses said Cutler even cracked a smile in the end zone, but he later claimed he was smugly smirking at an annoying beat writer from his high school newspaper.
“I’m not the one to toot my own horn,” Cutler said. “But my playoff win streak now spans two decades. Steve Young can put that in his pipe and smoke it.”
Cutler was all smiles after passing for a pair of TDs and running for another two in Chicago’s 35-24 win Sunday. Being that this was the first post-season appearance of his NFL career, he wasn’t quite sure what came next.
“I guess we play the Packers here next week and if we beat them we play two weeks later in something called the ‘Super Bowl,'” said Cutler. “I have no idea to be honest. I just know that I haven’t lost a playoff game since I was 17 and it sure feels great.”
