FITzpAT-pICK!!
2015 campaign brought back a catchy nickname, but the questioned always remained: Can you trust FitzMagic?
Ten days after Fitzpatrick excoriated Rex Ryan’s defense, the veteran gave every doubter he’s had in his winding career reason to gloat with a nightmarish six-interception performance in the Jets’ 24-3 loss to the Chiefs on Sunday.
“It’s hard. It hurts,” said Fitzpatrick, who went 20-for-44 for 188 yards and an 18.2 QB rating to go along with his career high in picks. “It hurts for me to play that poorly, but unfortunately and fortunately, I have played bad before and I know how to rebound from it.”
It’s silly and disingenuous to sugarcoat it: Fitzpatrick was terrible. He stunk up the joint in the first half and in critical moments in the red zone when the game was not yet lost in the second half before a few more late picks made the stat-line look like an unmitigated disaster.
Fitzpatrick is still the best person to help the Jets (1-2) break their five-year playoff drought. He’s the leader. Sometimes leaders have miserable days.
Sure, some will resort to the “same ol’ Fitz” narrative that is convenient in the wake of a performance like this. They’ll point to the mistakes 6. KANSAS CITY, MO. — Just call him FitzPick A disastrous performance from Ryan Fitzpatrick that included a sextet (yes, that’s and look for a tombstone. They’ll crush him and put him in a box like they always have. He’s a journeyman for a reason, they’ll say, because that’s what they always say.
There’s no escaping that Fitzpatrick, like just about everyone else employed by Woody Johnson, wasn’t good on this day. Did he stink Sunday? He stunk Sunday.
Does that mean it’s time for Todd Bowles to abandon ship? Don’t be stupid.
Fitzpatrick is resilient. He sputtered in a Week 11 loss in Houston last year only to lead the Jets on a late-season five-game surge that included 13 touchdowns and one interception.
“The trust is the same,” said Bowles, who made it clear that no quarterback change is on the horizon. “He had a bad day at the office. Last week, he had a great day at the office.”
Fitzpatrick must have selective amnesia if he’s going to have any chance of navigating the Jets through the second half of a brutal six-week start to the season that includes the Seahawks, Steelers and Cardinals. Who would want to remember a second half that included five interceptions, including three in the end zone and two from inside the Kansas City 10 when the game was still salvageable?
Who would want to remember that the Jets’ last five possessions ended with an interception? “We still believe in Fitzy,” said Darrelle Revis. Fitzpatrick’s six picks tied him with Joe Namath for most interceptions by a Jet in a game (Broadway Joe did it three times). The most troubling/maddening/frustrating part of the afternoon was the Jets’ red-zone woes: 0 for 4.
“We got to make tough plays and tough catches for him,” said Brandon Marshall (3 receptions on 10 targets for 27 yards). “He believes in us. He’s going to give us a chance. And when he does, we can’t make him look bad.”
In fairness, everyone made everyone look bad on this day. It was an equal-opportunity disappearing act that resulted in a foul stench in the air.
“It wasn’t just Ryan,” Bowles said. “It was just a sh---y game plan. Sh---y execution. It was sh---y all around.” itzpatrick’s first-quarter interception on a pass intended for Jalin Marshall was the first of the Jets’ eight-turnover nightmare. He followed that up with a pair of crushing picks on poor decisions from inside the Kansas City 10-yard line.
“You guys can write whatever you want about me or say whatever you want about me, but I’m going to always be out there fighting,” Fitzpatrick said. “I want to be the guy that guys look to. I want to continue to fight out there and just make sure that everybody believes in me.”
Now is not the time to stop believing in him.
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