Fitzpatrick To Start For Dolphins At Buffalo On Sunday
DAVIE, Fla. (AP) — The winless Miami Dolphins have again changed starting quarterbacks because rookie coach Brian Flores changed his mind.
Ryan Fitzpatrick will make his first start since Week 2 when the Dolphins play at Buffalo on Sunday. Flores had previously said Josh Rosen would remain the starter after Fitzpatrick came off the bench and nearly rallied the Dolphins to their first victory last Sunday against Washington.
"We moved the ball better with Ryan in the game, and I think we need to stay with that," Flores said Wednesday. "Came to that conclusion over the last couple of days. We feel that was the best thing for this team, and it'll give us the best opportunity for this team to go up into a tough environment and try to pull out a win."
The Dolphins (0-5) are 17-point underdogs against the Bills (4-1).
Fitzpatrick started the first two games of the season, and Rosen started the past three. Rosen had perhaps his worst game of the year Sunday and was benched at the start of the fourth quarter with Miami trailing 17-3.
Fitzpatrick led the Dolphins to two late touchdowns, doubling their season total, but they failed to convert a two-point try with six seconds left and lost 17-16.
Rosen ranks last among qualifying quarterbacks in passer rating, completion percentage and yards per attempt, and the second-year pro is 3-13 as a starter.
"For him it's got to be day-to-day improvement," Flores said. "That was the conversation I had with him. He's still a young, talented player, and there's still a lot of room for development with him, and we'll continue to develop him in practice."
Fitzpatrick's statistics are only slightly better, but he threw for 132 yards in one quarter against the Redskins, with no sacks or interceptions.
The Dolphins are on pace to score 134 points, which would be the fewest by any team in a 16-game season.
"Offensively we need more production," Flores said. "We got that out of Ryan the other day for a quarter."
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