It took just two weeks for Ryan Fitzpatrick to convince the New York Jets' coaching staff that he should be the man under center for the rest of the season, even when Geno Smith returns to full health.
Ryan Fitzpatrick will remain the Jets’ starting quarterback even when Geno Smith is healthy
Why mess with success. The Jets are 2-0 for the first time since 2011, and Todd Bowles believes Fitzpatrick has played well enough to keep the starting quarterback job.
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Head coach Todd Bowles said Tuesday that Fitzpatrick will continue to receive all of the Jets' first-team reps when Smith gets back. He added that he didn't want to mess with the success of the team so far, noting that he liked how the veteran managed the game in the team's win over the Colts on Monday night.
“Ryan is our QB right now. We’re going good,” Bowles said, via Manish Mehta of the New York Daily News. “We have good chemistry right now. Geno understands that.”
Although the Jets’ defense deserves most of the credit for the team’s first 2-0 start since 2011 -- no team has allowed fewer points or has more takeaways through two weeks than New York -- Fitzpatrick has been serviceable, completing 64 percent of his passes for 423 yards with four touchdowns and two interceptions. The Jets are averaging 25 points per game with Fitzpatrick, one year after they ranked 28th in the league in scoring offense at 17.7 points per game.
Fitzpatrick, of course, only started the season as the team’s No. 1 quarterback after Smith was sucker punched and broke his jaw in the preseason. Smith was expected to miss 6-10 weeks when the incident happened in early August, meaning he could return anytime in the next few weeks.
Though the Jets signed the veteran Fitzpatrick in the offseason, Smith was named the Jets' starter by offensive coordinator Chan Gailey in May. Smith's injury then opened the window for Fitzpatrick to make his case to be the top dog, and he's performed well enough that there is no reason to make a change.
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