Ryan Fitzpatrick does his usual steady job, even with injured left hand
New York Jets quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick wears a protective glove during the first half against the Jacksonville Jaguars at MetLife Stadium on Sunday, Nov. 8, 2015. Credit: Lee S. Weissman
It was a grind-it-out victory in a grind-it-out situation led by a grind-it-out quarterback.
That, of course, was part of the point when the Jets traded for Ryan Fitzpatrick, then handed him the reins when Geno Smith got punched in the jaw, then stuck with him when he suffered a torn ligament in his left thumb last week at Oakland.
He is an old pro who generally knows what he is doing, and on many days, that is quite enough.
Take Sunday. The Jets were in desperate need of a win against a bad team with injuries mounting and Rex Ryan's traveling road show set to hit town for a prime-time game Thursday.
They won, 28-23, in an unsightly game that should have come more easily but came out right mostly because the Jets had no turnovers and the Jaguars totaled four.
Fitzpatrick's no-fuss, no-muss line: 21-for-34 for 272 yards, two touchdowns and a 106.5 passer rating. Good enough, especially under the circumstances -- a non-throwing hand that will require surgery, likely before the end of the season.
Adding to the quarterback's degree of difficulty was a running game that continues to sputter, this time to the tune of 28 rushes for 29 yards, with a long of 9 yards. Nine!
Jaguars coach Gus Bradley acknowledged that with Fitzpatrick injured and running back Chris Ivory a perceived threat, the Jags focused on stopping the ground game. "That was a high priority," he said.
Fitzpatrick did just enough to scuttle that plan.
"He's resilient, and he's a great leader," said Brandon Marshall, who played through an injury himself and scored the Jets' final touchdown with a nifty catch. "It's not about if you can play Week 1 or Week 2 when everyone is healthy. There comes a point in the season when everyone is a little nicked up and banged up, and can you continue to lead your team? Fitz did that today."
Eric Decker, who caught Fitzpatrick's first TD pass, said: "He's resilient. He's tough. He's even-keeled through it all.
"Obviously, we had some ups and we had some downs, but it's a 60-minute battle and I thought he stuck in there, he led us and he made enough plays for us to be victorious."
Said coach Todd Bowles: "He played his type of ballgame. He didn't turn the ball over. He did a good job."
That told you all you need to know about why Smith remains planted to the bench, even with a starter whose thumb would bend in highly unnatural ways if his hand were not strapped up just so.
Fitzpatrick credited the Jets' staff for working all week to get him bandaged in such a way that he would be protected while allowing him to do his job with his good hand, which fortunately is the one attached to his throwing arm.
He said he had no trouble handing off with his left hand, or with anything else, for that matter.
"Doctors, trainers and everybody had a great game plan in terms of how I was going to manage," he said. "It was great throughout the game . . . It wasn't really a huge factor."
Fitzpatrick was sacked only twice and said he did not sense the Jaguars were targeting his left hand. He even was open to the possibility of a quarterback sneak. "I would just rather hand it to the guy behind me," he said.
The question is when Fitzpatrick and his doctors will decide surgery no longer can wait, and how much time he might have to miss as a result.
On Sunday he demonstrated again why the Jets want and need him to start as many games as he can.
Neil Best first worked at Newsday in 1982, returned in 1985 after a detour to Alaska and has been here since, specializing in high schools, college basketball, the NFL and most recently sports media and business.
