NY Jets: Exorcising Demons

We saw yesterday how much the Jets have struggled on the road recently against teams which finished the year with winning records (Good Teams).  Since 2010 the Jets have a 1-16 record against Good Teams on the road.  There is an important part of the Jets offense that has struggled even more.  His name is Ryan Fitzpatrick.

In his entire 11+ year career, going all the way back to 2005, Ryan Fitzpatrick has never started a game against a Good Team on the road and emerged victorious.  Let that sink in for just a second.  11+ years, zero wins.

In those 11+ years, Fitzpatrick has started against Good Teams on the road 22 times.  And 22 times Fitzpatrick has left the field on the short end of the scoreboard.  0-22.  It boggles the mind.

Of course, there are reasons.  Fitzpatrick simply has not started for many Good Teams himself.  For the large majority of his starts Fitzpatrick was bringing a knife to a gunfight.  The 2015 Jets and the 2014 Texans both finished with winning records.  Fitzpatrick went 0-5 on the road against Good Teams in those years.  However, the rest of his career he was playing with bad teams, trying to win on the road against Good Teams. It was a formula for failure, and failure he got.  Again and again and again.  0-22.

Now, there is one caveat to that 0-22 record, and of course it came against the New York Jets.  In 2009 while with the Buffalo Bills Ryan Fitzpatrick came off the bench in relief of Trent Edwards and secured a 16-13 overtime win on the road against the Jets.  You may recall that game as the one in which Mark Sanchez seemed determine to give the game away, recording a career high five interceptions.  Fitzpatrick didn't start that game, but he did play a majority of the snaps.  Fitzpatrick was hardly a driving force behind the win for Buffalo, going 10 for 25 for 116 yards, one touchdown and one interception, with a passer rating of 51.  In three quarters of regulation time play Fitzpatrick put up 10 points against the Jets that day.  Not exactly the stuff of which legends are born.  Still, a win is a win is a win. Fitzpatrick didn't start that game, but he did play the majority of the game, and he did end the game with a win, against a Jets team that would finish the season 9-7.  So feel free to put that in Fitzpatrick's win column if you like. That would make the record 1-22.

It is also possible that Fitzpatrick has already won a game against a Good Team on the road in 2016.  If the Buffalo Bills end the season with a winning record, then Fitzpatrick has already scored a victory.  A winning season for the Bills does not seem particularly likely at the moment, but stranger things have happened.

That is where things now stand.  As a starter Fitzpatrick has never beaten a Good Team on the road.  If you count the 2009 Jets game his record improves to 1-22.  We all have our demons to battle.  For Fitzpatrick it's been Good Teams on the road.  0-22, or if you prefer, 1-22, are some serious demons in need of an exorcism.  Given that three of the next four games for the Jets are on the road against what are likely to be Good Teams in 2016, now would be a really nice time for an exorcism.  To all those Good Teams waiting in ambush the next few weeks, the power of Fitz compels you.  The power of Fitz compels you.  The power of Fitz compels you.