Ryan Fitzpatrick did just enough Sunday in a losing cause against the Pittsburgh Steelers to keep his job, according to Jason La Canfora of CBS Sports.
Ryan Fitzpatrick's so-so outing enough to keep starting job for now. Wasn't great but did avoid turnover spiral that's threatening his job
— Jason La Canfora (@JasonLaCanfora) October 10, 2016
Fitzpatrick finished with 255 yards on 25-of-38 passing with one miracle touchdown that Brandon Marshall hauled in and no interceptions.
It was not fantastic, and not nearly enough to compete with Pittsburgh’s high-flying aerial assault. But after throwing nine interceptions the previous two weeks, it was a marked improvement.
With that in mind, it’s hardly shocking that the Jets are going to stick with Fitzpatrick going forward.
Head coach Todd Bowles, who said “Ryan’s fine” after his three-interception performance in Week 4, said it would take some pretty serious circumstances for him to make the switch.
This is also easy to understand.
Geno Smith isn’t the answer. He is a career 57.9 percent passer who has thrown 27 touchdowns and 35 interceptions in 31 games.
Second-year Baylor product Bryce Petty is far from ready to start, if that ever happens to begin with. Rookie Christian Hackenberg was “brutally bad” during training camp, and his preseason play was disastrous.
The Jets are really stuck with Fitzpatrick right now, for better or worse. Unfortunately for them, at 1-4 on the season and tied for last place in the AFC East, it’s been on the “worse” side more often than not this season.