Ryan Fitzpatrick Will Start For Jets Vs. Patriots
BOSTON (CBS) -- The Patriots' defense has been short on forced turnovers this season. This week, they may get their chance to change that.
Jets head coach Todd Bowles told reporters on Monday that Ryan Fitzpatrick will be New York's starting quarterback on Sunday afternoon against the Patriots.
#Jets coach Todd Bowles says at his press conference that Ryan Fitzpatrick will start vs. the #Patriots. He's their best QB.
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) November 21, 2016
Fitzpatrick had previously lost his starting job to Geno Smith this season, but Fitzpatrick regained the starting QB role after Smith suffered an injury. The Jets had Bryce Petty start against the Rams last week, and the second-year player threw for 163 yards, one touchdown and one interception in a loss. But for the divisional game vs. New England, it'll be back to Fitzpatrick.
The 33-year-old veteran has completed just 56.4 percent of his passes on the year for 1,983 yards, eight touchdowns and 13 interceptions. Fitzpatrick is tied with Blake Bortles for the most interceptions this year despite throwing 117 fewer passes than Jacksonville's QB. Among qualified quarterbacks, Fitzpatrick's completion percentage is second-worst in the NFL, better than only San Francisco's Colin Kaepernick.
Fitzpatrick did lead the Jets to an overtime win over the Patriots last December, throwing three touchdowns with no interceptions, but he followed that up with a three-interception game to end the 2015 season before enduring his current cold stretch in 2016. In his career vs. the Patriots, Fitzpatrick has completed 62.1 percent of his passes while throwing 18 touchdowns and 17 interceptions. His teams have gone 2-7.