The key to beating Jay Cutler is to to put 11 men on the field on defense

Thus far in 2017, the Atlanta Falcons have dueled with Mike Glennon, Aaron Rodgers, Matthew Stafford, and Tyrod Taylor. That is not necessarily a murderer’s row, but Rodgers is elite, Stafford is good, Taylor is solid-to-good, and Glennon is...well, anyways.

The Falcons might be getting their easiest matchup at the quarterback position yet with Jay Cutler, though, who by virtue of declining skills, Cutleresque indifference, and a lackluster supporting cast appears headed toward a rendezvous with the bench sooner rather than later. In the meantime, the key to beating a team with Jay Cutler at the helm appears to be just showing up.

If you don’t buy it, watch Cutler frantically moving around in a disintegrating pocket against the Titans, desperately trying to make throws he really can’t make any more. The frustration with the old Cutler was that he seemed to have all the tools he needed to be great but kept falling short. The frustration with the new Cutler is that he’s too old to be anything more than depressing.

In four regular season games, Cutler now has 706 yards, three touchdowns, and three interceptions. He completed under 50% of his passes for a pathetic 92 yards against the Titans just this past weekend, and the Falcons have shown a willingness and ability to bring pressure against mediocre quarterbacks playing behind mediocre offensive lines. Unless Cutler has a miracle up his sleeve, he’s probably going to play lousy football against Atlanta, and the Falcons should be able to parlay that into a home win.

There are ways Miami can beat Atlanta—I’d be a fool not to acknowledge that, and their defense looks pretty good-but it won’t be because 34-year-old Jay Cutler carried them to victory.