It sure did seem like Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick was living in fantasy land against the New Orleans Saints on Sunday.
Getting the season-opening start with Jameis Winston suspended, the career journeyman put up the best single-game performance of his career in a stunning 48-40 win over the defending NFC South champs.
Fitzpatrick put up 417 passing yards with four touchdowns and zero interceptions. It enabled him to finish the day as fantasy football’s top quarterback.
In talking about the performance after the game, it appears that Fitzpatrick had every reason to put up a career-best performance. Talking to Peter King of NBC Sports, the veteran noted that his two sons picked him up in their fantasy football leagues.
“So my 9-year-old son, Tate, convinced my 11-year-old son, Brady, to put me on his fantasy team today,” Fitzpatrick said. “I didn’t even know Brady played fantasy football. I guess it was a good decision.”
Not even a rosterable option in standard 12-team leagues, this smells like a bit of home cooking right here. But at least Fitzpatrick’s spawn has faith in him that the average fantasy football player could scarcely imagine. For one game, it absolutely paid off big time.
No word yet on whether his sons actually started him. Having the No. 1 fantasy quarterback riding the pine is bad enough. Benching your dad in favor of a lesser quarterback is quite simply unacceptable.