Todd Bowles is suffering from a strong case of denial when it comes to New York Jets quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick.
Before Sunday’s 27-17 loss against the Seattle Seahawks, Bowles made it clear that it would take another disastrous performance for him to consider benching the veteran quarterback (more on that here).
Challenge accepted.
Fitzpatrick was one of the worst quarterbacks in Week 4. He tossed three second-half interceptions (all in the final 16 minutes of play) in a winnable game at home. Those three interceptions turned into 10 points for the Seahawks — the exact difference in the contest.
The past two games, the Harvard grad best known for his magnificent beard has chucked nine balls to the other team. On the season, he has four touchdowns and 10 interceptions.
Yet when asked about his struggling quarterback, Bowles issued a response that had this scribe working hard to not spit out his coffee.
Ryan Fitzpatrick has 9 INTs in the past 2 games. Todd Bowles: "We go game-by-game. I don't foresee a change." A short leash? "Ryan's fine."
— Kim Jones (@KimJonesSports) October 3, 2016
Right.
“Ryan’s fine.”
That’s like saying, “Donald Trump’s attitude towards women is just fine.”
By no means is either statement grounded in reality.
Fitzpatrick and the Jets are in deep trouble. At 1-3, featuring a league-worst turnover differential of minus-11, Ryan and the Jets are not fine by any stretch of the imagination.
And if Bowles continues to preach this theoretically unsound doctrine, he might just lose the clubhouse.
What’s troubling is that the Jets are loaded with talent on offense and defense. Yet this team has been outscored by 26 points this year, largely due to the fact that Fitzpatrick has been gifting the other team more opportunities to succeed.
Up next is a date with the Pittsburgh Steelers at Heinz Field. Things could get messy, based on how New York has performed thus far, and based on the way the Steelers dismantled the Kansas City Chiefs in Week 4.