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New York Jets Record: Ryan Fitzpatrick Leads Jets To Win Over Baltimore Ravens, Rips Front Office And Coaching Staff

By Jason Fletcher
Published on: 11:20 PST, Oct 23, 2016

Following a 28-3 defeat at the hands of the Arizona Cardinals on Sunday Night Football, New York Jets head coach Todd Bowles made the decision to bench starting quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick and replace him with backup Geno Smith. After all, the loss put the Jets’ record at 1-5 and Fitzpatrick had completed just 57 percent of his passes for 1,441 yards with five touchdowns and 11 interceptions.

On the first drive of his first start since 2014, Smith would go 1-of-2 for eight yards and the Jets would pick up one first down before punting to Ravens. Unfortunately, punter Lachlan Edwards couldn’t handle the snap and fumbled the football which was recovered by Ravens wide receiver Chris Moore in the end zone for a touchdown to put Baltimore ahead 7-0.

On the ensuing possession, Smith would once again complete 1-of-2 passes for 11 yards as the Jets would again grab one first down before punting the ball back to Baltimore. It would only take the Ravens 2:03 before they scored once again, this time a field goal that put Baltimore ahead 10-0, and suddenly, the Jets were on the ropes.

Geno and the Jets would respond on the next drive as Smith hit wide receiver Quincy Enunwa across the middle and then Enunwa was able to turn it upfield and outrace the defense to the end zone for a 69-yard touchdown reception to close the gap to 10-7.

After another Ravens field goal on their next possession, Smith would come out for what would be his last drive of the game. On third-and-6 with 8:33 remaining in the second quarter, Geno was sacked by the Ravens and his knee bent awkwardly. After getting checked out by the training staff and being evaluated in the locker room, Smith was ruled out for the remainder of the game.

Enter Ryan Fitzpatrick.

On his first drive under center, Fitzpatrick led the Jets on a seven-play 85-yard drive that resulted in a 13-yard touchdown pass from Ryan to running back Matt Forte. New York offensive coordinator Chan Gailey called for a perfect inside screen that was wide open, and Forte did the rest to give the Jets a 14-13 lead.

The lead wouldn’t last as the Ravens were able to drive down the field in eight plays to set up a 44-yard field goal by Justin Tucker as time expired in the first half to give Baltimore a 16-14 halftime lead.

In the second half, the Jets’ defense would shut out the Baltimore Ravens while Ryan Fitzpatrick would lead New York to 10 unanswered points to come away with a 24-16 victory. After the game, Sporting News reported that Fitzpatrick wasn’t exactly thrilled with the decision made by the ownership, front office, and coaching staff to make the change to Geno Smith despite the victory.

“When the owner stops believing in you and the GM stops believing in you and coaches stop believing in you, sometimes all you have is yourself,” Fitzpatrick told reporters at MetLife Stadium. “You try to get over it. It took me a couple days. I told a couple of guys I’m going need a couple days for this one, to let it sink in.”

“Going back to me being human and not being a robot, yeah, there’s strong emotion there for me. Especially not knowing if that was the last time I was going to be out there as a starter or not…. Like I said, people giving up on you and then having to see them every day, that’s not necessarily the easiest in the world. But it’s something that I try to deal with as mature as you can and move on.”

When asked who would be the starting quarterback if Geno Smith is healthy enough next Sunday against the Cleveland Browns, head coach Todd Bowles said that it was too early to make that determination.

It will be an interesting situation to follow over the next week as the New York Jets seem ready to make Ryan Fitzpatrick a thing of the past.

[Featured Image by Al Bello/Getty Images]

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