It’s been a pretty good week for Ryan Fitzpatrick.
Not only was Fitzpatrick named the Bills’ starting quarterback, Buffalo even released Trent Edwards to solidify his role.
Then Fitzpatrick got the news that New York Jets star cornerback Darrelle Revis will most likely miss this week’s game with a hamstring injury.
All that’s left for Fitzpatrick is to lead the Bills to their first win of the season as Buffalo (0-3) hosts the Jets on Sunday.
It won’t be easy. New York (2-1) has won four straight road games and is coming off a pair of impressive AFC East wins.
Buffalo coach Chan Gailey gave the job to Fitzpatrick before last week’s game and Fitzpatrick secured it with a solid outing at New England. Gailey said he wanted to see how Fitzpatrick would respond before the team cut ties with Edwards.
The answer was obvious. Fitzpatrick threw for 247 yards on 20-for-28 passing in Buffalo’s 38-30 loss. Fitzpatrick’s completion percentage (71.4) last week was a career best. Edwards is now a member of the Jacksonville Jaguars.
The Jets defeated the Dolphins 31-23 a week ago as quarterback Mark Sanchez continued his hot hand with three touchdowns passes for the second straight game. Tight end Dustin Keller caught two of the scores and embattled wideout Braylon Edwards snared a long touchdown pass a few days after he was arrested for drunken driving.
Keller has three touchdown catches on the season, tied for second in the league.
The Jets won’t have any of the drama lingering from Edwards’ off-field antics this week. Edwards was the focus of all the New York sports-talk shows as fans wondered if the enigmatic receiver should even play in the game against the Dolphins. His 67-yard scoring pass, however, was critical to the Jets’ victory.
Sanchez has thrown six touchdown passes on the season without an interception and ranks among the top passers in the league.
New York has also gotten somewhat of an unexpected boost from veteran running back LaDainian Tomlinson. LT was brought in as a change-of-pace back for Shonn Greene but appears to have assumed the team’s starting job. He’s gained 208 yards on the ground for an average of 5.6 yards a carry.
Last week Tomlinson became the 12th player in league history to rush for more than 12,000 yards and catch passes for more than 4,000 yards in a career.
The Bills are still a bit uncertain about their running game. Highly touted rookie C.J. Spiller is still learning on the job while Marshawn Lynch is back in the fold. Lynch has rushed for 157 yards in two starts after sitting out the team’s opener. Spiller scored twice last week but ran for just 29 yards.
Revis strained his hamstring a couple of weeks ago, and Jets coach Rex Ryan said he will most likely miss one more game. Linebacker Calvin Pace is also questionable for Sunday’s contest but center Nick Mangold is nearing his return.
Bills linebackers Andra Davis and Paul Posluszny are also battling injuries.