TAMPA, Fla. — Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick — whose “FitzMagic” was the talk of the NFL through Weeks 1 and 2 — recovered from three first-half interceptions to mount a comeback that came up just short and saw him finish with 411 passing yards in Monday night’s 30-27 loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers.
Heading into the game, Fitzpatrick had been picked off just once this season, but also faced little pressure. Entering Week 3, Fitzpatrick was under duress or sacked on 17.4 percent of dropbacks, lowest in the NFL. On Monday night, he was under duress or sacked on 40.3 percent of dropbacks, and was sacked three times.
Monday night also marked the first time in his career that he’d thrown three interceptions in the first half of a game. It was the first time one of his interceptions had been returned for a touchdown since Week 3 of 2016.
All of his interceptions — along with a lost fumble by Chris Godwin — happened in the second quarter.
On the first pick, a pass was batted down at the line of scrimmage, with Mike Hilton picking it off. On Fitzpatrick’s second pick, the ball sailed over Mike Evans‘ head as he cut his route short and into the hands of Terrell Edmunds. Then, backed up in his own end zone, Fitzpatrick was pick-sixed by Bud Dupree when attempting a short pass to Jacquizz Rodgers.
Fitzpatrick did, however, show flashes of what made him arguably one of the most dangerous passers in the league. In the fourth quarter, he threw a 4-yard touchdown pass to Godwin and a 24-yard grab to a diving Evans. He wound up throwing for 411 yards, becoming the first NFL player to record three consecutive 400-yard passing games.
It wasn’t enough to atone for earlier mistakes, though, and he joined Kurt Warner and Dan Marino as the only players in MNF history to throw for 400 yards, three touchdowns and three interceptions in a game.
Now the Bucs (2-1) have a decision to make. Starter Jameis Winston returns Tuesday following a three-game suspension. Do they want to keep things going with Fitzpatrick, giving him and the offense an opportunity to redeem themselves, believing Monday night was an anomaly? Or do they want to turn the reins over to Winston, who hasn’t practiced with the team in 28 days, on a shortened week?
The feeling around the Bucs’ facility this past week was that Fitzpatrick would likely get the nod for Week 4, barring an unforeseen disaster. Monday night’s game might just constitute that, depending on whether the Bucs’ brass sees this as glass half-empty or half-full.
“We’ll see what the injury report comes back,” Bucs coach Dirk Koetter said when asked about his starter for Week 4 at Chicago. “Any time we have these games, it’s not always obvious how the guys are gonna come in the next day, come in Wednesday. Let’s see what happens. I mean, I’d love to get a chance to talk to Jameis face-to-face before I tell the rest of the world.”
ESPN Stats & Information contributed to this report.
Source : ESPN
