Ryan Fitzpatrick could be playing final game in Week 5

As the New York Jets plan to still stick with quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick in Week 5 against the Pittsburgh Steelers, it could very well be his final start of the season.

For whatever reasons they’d like to believe in, the New York Jets are still sticking with quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick under center, at least for now. With yet another tough game coming up in Week 5 against the Pittsburgh Steelers, this could be the final game he sees as the Jets’ starting quarterback.

It’s time to be concerned since Fitzpatrick hasn’t gotten the job done going on two weeks now. So far this season, his numbers warrant to be demoted but the Jets are hopeful he can channel that famous “Fitzmagic” at a time when the team truly needs it.

It’s no secret that Fitzpatrick has been frazzled ever since his horrific six-interception performance back in Week 3. It’s something that can shatter all the confidence in the world until you have a bounce-back game to get back in the right direction.

Unfortunately, that wasn’t the case in Week 4 against the Seattle Seahawks. Fitzpatrick threw another three interceptions which make it nine in total in a span of just two football games. Any other organization would have benched him by now but the Jets, once again, continue to hold out hope when it’s not reality.

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The reality of the situation is that he should not be starting against the Steelers. They’re a phenomenal team, a consistent NFL Playoff-caliber franchise that will undoubtedly rock the Jets on Sunday.

If Fitzpatrick drops another dud of a performance, especially one throwing more interceptions into his stat sheet, he’s as good as gone from starting again for the Jets.

Perhaps the Jets think this could be one more opportunity for Fitzpatrick to deliver. The truth of the matter is, he’s more than likely not going to be effective and the Steelers will do what the Kansas City Chiefs and Seahawks did and make him an example.

Even Fitzpatrick is concerned after the Jets going 1-3 so far this season. Here is what he said, courtesy of the Media Relations Department of the Jets:

On the level of concern after starting 1-3…

It’s obviously not somewhere we want to be, not somewhere we thought we’d be, but nobody is going to feel sorry for us so we can’t sit here and pout about it. We’ve got to get back to work and try to focus on the next game.

On if he is worried the team is not good enough right now to compete at the high level he expected…

Well at 1-3 that’s what we showed. We’re not sitting at 4-0 so our expectations of where we’d be at aren’t exactly where they are and so we just have to go back and continue to work and try to get better.

On using his experiences last year during this season…

For me, that’s been my whole career. It’s not anything new for me. I just have to continue to prepare and try to be the best guy I can be every Sunday, whether that’s coming off a good game or a bad game. That’s just something I’ll continue to try and do.

On his confidence level…

I’m still confident in our guys, I’m still confident in our offense and the things that we can do. We just didn’t put it together in the second half, and that was unfortunate because we did have a little bit of momentum in the first half. Some of the stuff we’re doing, we’re excited to come out and continue to try to run the ball effectively and convert those third downs. We just weren’t able to sustain the drives.

Must Read: Jets must take season one week at a time

Overall, this could very well be the last hoorah for Fitzpatrick in proving his worth. Regardless if the Jets spent over $12M to bring him back this season, change needs to happen as he’s not helping this team win football games. Whether it’s Geno Smith, Bryce Petty or any other option at quarterback, change needs to happen as Fitzpatrick can’t continue playing like this and the Jets continuing to start him.

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