QB Review: Ryan Fitzpatrick’s stat line doesn’t do his game justice

Ryan Fitzpatrick looked a bit rusty on the field in Sunday’s loss to the New England Patriots.

In defeat, Ryan Fitzpatrick’s stat line left a lot to be desired. He did, however, play better than his numbers suggest.

The 37 year old quarterback put together a weak stat line to the tune of 191 yards on 20 completions and 3 interceptions. He also ran 5 times for 18 yards and an important 2 point conversion to keep the Dolphins in the game. He finished the day with a 46.6 QB rating, which is poor by every account (all stats courtesy of ESPN.com).

Make no mistake, Fitzpatrick did make some poor decisions in this game. His interception at the end of the first half to Adrian Phillips was a poor decision that more than likely cost the Dolphins offense, which had been moving down the field, some crucial points. The other two interceptions weren’t entirely his fault, however.

The first interception by Stephon Gilmore came after Preston Williams, who was well covered, tripped at the end of the route, making it easy for Gilmore to intercept the pass. The second, and final interception came at the end of the game in the Patriots end zone. The pass, intended for Mike Gesicki was picked off by J.C. Jackson after Gesicki was interfered with by Joejuan Williams. The play should have been called back, but the officials either didn’t see the illegal contact or deemed it legal. Regardless, the poor officiating on the play cost Miami the possession.

Regardless of whether the interceptions that Fitzpatrick threw were his fault or not, he still is somewhat responsible for some of the offensive struggles in the game. He didn’t get much help from his running game and his receivers were definitely struggling to get open. But, the interception at the end of the half was entirely his fault and killed any momentum the Dolphins could have had going into the second half.

Week 1 QB Grade: D+