Two numbers say all you need to know about the instability that’s plagued the AFC East over the last 15 years:
Ryan Fitzpatrick can change the perception of his career with a win over the Patriots
The 11-year NFL veteran has a chance to play in the playoffs this season for the first time ever.
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21: The number of different head coaches on the Jets, Dolphins and Bills since Bill Belichick was hired as Patriots head coach in 2000.
Jets quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick possesses a unique perspective about the seemingly futile race to catch New England, considering he's been in this division once before. From 2009-2012, the 11-year NFL veteran and Harvard graduate was the primary starting QB for the Buffalo Bills. During that four-year stretch, his record was 20-33 and he played under three different head coaches.
But oddly enough, that run in Buffalo has been the steadiest of Fitzpatrick's career. Prior to his stint with the Bills, he served as a backup in St. Louis and Cincinnati. After it, he signed on with the Tennessee Titans and Houston Texans, compiling a record of 9-12.
This offseason, jobless once again, Fitzpatrick signed on with the Jets to mentor Geno Smith, the supposed quarterback of the future. At 33 years of age, it seemed as if Fitzpatrick's career was winding down before it even really began.
But then in training camp, little-known linebacker IK Enemkpali broke Smith's jaw in a locker room altercation. No matter where Fitzpatrick went, he couldn't escape volatility.
First-year Jets head coach Todd Bowles named Fitzpatrick the starter in Smith's absence and he quickly gained rave reviews for his leadership abilities. In his first preseason game with the Jets, offensive lineman Willie Colon said it was a "smooth groove" with Fitzpatrick under center.
The Jets started the season 2-0, including an impressive road win over the Colts on Monday Night Football (or at least it looked impressive at the time). In the immediate aftermath of that win, Bowles said Fitzpatrick would remain his starting quarterback for the rest of the year. For the first time in Fitzpatrick's in career, he was in control of a winning team.
The Jets nearly knocked off the then-undefeated Patriots in Week 7, narrowly falling to New England 30-23. It was Fitzpatrick's seventh loss to the Patriots in eight games and the Jets' eighth loss in their last nine contests to their top division rival. After that, New York went 1-3 over its next four, including ugly defeats to the Oakland Raiders and Houston Texans. Their once promising season seemed to be in jeopardy of spinning out of control with Fitzpatrick at the wheel.
But since then, the Jets have rebounded to win four straight games. Their fifth-ranked defense gets a lot of the credit, but Fitzpatrick has also morphed into one of the best quarterbacks in football over the last month. He’s posted an average QB rating of 105.7 in this four-game stretch.
At 9-5, the Jets have a good enough record to qualify for the playoffs in the AFC. The problem is, they're tied with the streaking Pittsburgh Steelers, who own the tiebreaker over them. Despite a career season, Fitzpatrick is on the verge of sitting out the playoffs for the 11th time in his career. That is, unless the Jets can knock off the Patriots on Sunday.
“I don’t know if I want to place a significance on it, where (it ranks) in my career, but this is huge for me,” Fitzpatrick said this week, via ESPN. “I’m excited. This is why everybody in here plays the game, to play in a football games like this in December and have a shot at playing longer.”
Only one quarterback in NFL history, Charley Johnson, has thrown more touchdown passes than Fitzpatrick (149) without ever playing in a postseason game. It’s an infamous label, and one that Fitzpatrick can avoid if he pulls off the biggest win of his career Sunday.
Despite playing in the NFL for 11 years, Fitzpatrick has never truly been in control of his own path. He was the starting quarterback for three teams, the Bills, Titans and Texans, that were short on talent and high on instability. But now with the Jets, whose receiving tandem of Brandon Marshall and Eric Decker has caught more touchdown passes this season than any other duo in franchise history, he has the weapons to pull off an upset.
Fitzpatrick has never started a game with playoff implications this late into the season. A chance to beat the Patriots is always important for the historically downtrodden Jets, but a win Sunday would carry implications that last far past this season.
A victory wouldn’t just guarantee the Jets would be playing for a playoff berth on the final week of the season; it would change the entire perception of Fitzpatrick’s career.
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