To Broncos’ Chagrin, Cutler is Your Obvious Winner

With the Broncos poised for what most predict will be a trainwreck of a season, last night’s preseason game against the Bears and former quarterback Jay Cutler might prove to be more emotionally involved than any contest against a division rival this season. Right from the outset, Broncos fans let Cutler have it with invective they probably usually reserve for Raiders players. Even Denver defenders seemed to delight in throwing their former teammate to the ground. It was a packed house braying for blood.↵

↵↵And that atmosphere was faring well for at least the first quarter, as Cutler and Kyle Orton had finished the first frame 8-for-11 for a tick under a hundred yards with no picks or touchdowns. The second frame swung decisively in Cutler’s favor when Orton left the game after cutting his finger on what looked to be the helmet of Bears defensive end Adewale Ogunleye. The ensuing Bears drive saw Cutler drive a 98-yard broadsword through the midsection of Broncos fans everywhere, one that was topped off with a Cutler touchdown throw to Matt Forte. An obvious late hit by Elvis Dumervil a few plays earlier made it clear that the Broncos did not want Cutler coming out of this game looking like a champ.↵

↵↵But that’s what he accomplished last night. The Bears may not yet, or even at any point this season, look like worldbeaters but the Broncos appear to be in complete disarray. It’s hard not to come out of this game, so meaningless and yet so wrenching for Broncos fans, knowing that Cutler is far better off than the team he complained to get away from. Between Josh McDaniels’ utter ineptitude and Jay Cutler’s intolerable immaturity (he even made a dismissive shrug early in this game after tight end Desmond Clark failed to snag a pass thrown too far out in front of him) it’s difficult to objectively find a more sympathetic party here. There may not be, in fact, but Cutler is still prevailing.↵

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