New York Jets: Bryce Petty Should Start For Rest of the Season

The New York Jets lost to the Los Angeles Rams on Sunday in Bryce Petty’s first start. Should they continue to start him?

It has been a disastrous season for the New York Jets in 2016. After nearly making the playoffs in 2015, the Jets have been awful this season. A tough schedule to start the season put them behind the eight ball, but the fact is that this team is just not very good.

One of the reasons why the Jets were able to win 10 games in 2015 was because of quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick. Last season, Fitzpatrick played well for the Jets, as he totaled 31 touchdown passes, 3,905 passing yards, and 15 interceptions. After being a journeyman throughout his career, Fitzpatrick was able to set the single-season record in passing touchdown for the Jets last season.

Despite having the best season of his career, Fitzpatrick came up short in a few key games for the Jets. In 2015, the Jets lost to the Buffalo Bills in both games, and the Week 17 loss cost them a spot in the playoffs.

That playoff loss to the Bills may have hurt Fitzpatrick’s wallet this offseason, as he and the Jets had a lengthy contract negotiation that went up until training camp. Whether it was the long contract negotiation or just a reality check, Fitzpatrick has played awful this season.

In 2016, Fitzpatrick has totaled eight touchdown passes and 15 interceptions. Just one season removed from having a TD to INT ratio of 2:1, it has almost gone in the opposite direction this season.

Fitzpatrick’s worst game of the season came against the Kansas City Chiefs in Week 3. In the loss, Fitzpatrick inexcusably threw six interceptions, but yet somehow wasn’t benched. The poor play from Fitzpatrick would continue until on Monday Night Football he was finally benched for Geno Smith.

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Smith would get the start against the Baltimore Ravens in the following week, however, he left the game early with a knee injury, and Fitzpatrick once again became the starter. In the Jets recent loss to the Miami Dolphins, Fitzpatrick suffered a knee injury, which made his availability for last Sunday against the Los Angeles Rams uncertain.

The Jets ended up dressing Fitzpatrick for the game against the Rams, but it was Bryce Petty who made his first start in the NFL. Fans have been anxious to see Petty get a chance to play, as he has a strong arm, and was successful at Baylor. Despite having some great physical tools, Petty has been sitting to learn how to become a quarterback in the NFL.

Against the Rams, Petty started off great with a 99-yard touchdown drive which included a deep pass to Robby Anderson. Petty did tail off toward the end of the game and threw an interception late. It wasn’t an awful start for Petty, but it also wasn’t anything special.

The Jets finally have their bye week in Week 11, and head coach Todd Bowles won’t be committing to a quarterback for Week 12 against the New England Patriots until next Monday.

Bowles: Starting QB for #NEvsNYJ will be determined next Monday.
— New York Jets (@nyjets) November 14, 2016

After the loss to the Rams, the Jets are now 3-7 in 2016. With the season basically over, the organization should be focused on the development of Petty. Having Fitzpatrick start another game in 2016 would not help the organization in the future.

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Using the bye week to help Petty gain chemistry with the first team offense would be very beneficial to truly see what he can do as a starter. For the remaining six games, it should all be about evaluating Petty to help them plan for the future.

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