Despite cracked ribs, Miami Dolphins quarterback Jay Cutler played one of the best games of his career on Sunday night in a 27-24 loss to the Oakland Raiders.
The former Bear had his ribs realigned two weeks ago by New York Jets linebacker Jordan Jenkins in a 31-28 victory. Cutler, 34, wanted to play last Thursday against Baltimore but instead watched his team, led by replacement Matt Moore, lose 40-0 to the Ravens.
This week coach Adam Gase decided to give his injured quarterback a try.
“You’re kind of at the mercy of what happens on each individual play,” Gase said. “You can try to keep him out of harm’s way, but at the end of the day, it is what it is. At some point, we’re going to have to drop back and throw it.”
Wearing a protective vest, Cutler did manage to stay out of harm’s way, taking just one sack for two yards.
More amazing was Cutler’s accuracy with the broken ribs. The veteran completed 34 of 42 passes as the Dolphins played mostly from behind against the Raiders. The 81 percent completion rate was the highest of Cutler’s career (10 or more passes).
In addition, Cutler threw three touchdown passes, something he hadn’t done since 2015 when he led the Bears to a 37-14 victory over the Rams.
The game marked the eighth time Cutler has thrown for three or more touchdowns with no interceptions. And with 311 yards passing, it was the first time Cutler had gone over 300 yards with three TDs and no picks. It all added up to a 121.8 passer rating, which is the 12th-best of his career and the third best since 2012.
Cutler’s gutsy performance received very little recognition on social media.
Jay Cutler was 34-42 for 311, 3 TDs, and no picks on a Sunday night game. With cracked ribs. Felt like someone should say it.
— Jay Rigdon (@jayrigdon5) November 6, 2017
.@Paulakhanson jay cutler w/ 3 TD passes, no ints, prime time game n cracked ribs. Props to give pic.twitter.com/hLVJ2shDd3
— Rich Wisniewski (@Producer_Rich) November 6, 2017
This could be why:
9.6 overnight for Raiders-Dolphins is lowest Week 9 "SNF" rating since NBC acquired rights prior to 2006 season. First time in single digits
— Austin Karp (@AustinKarp) November 6, 2017