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New York Jets

According to Associated Press sports writer Dennis Waszak Jr., Ryan Fitzpatrick's confidence has not wavered.

Not by the nine interceptions in his last two games. And certainly not by the fans and media suggesting the New York Jets consider making a change at quarterback.

The Jets are 1-3 and Fitzpatrick realizes he's a major reason for the stunningly bad start. He also insists that he's the best option for New York to turn its season around, with tough road games at Pittsburgh and Arizona coming up.

"I know I'm the right guy for it," Fitzpatrick said Monday. "We found ourselves in a little slump last year and came out of it. Through all my experience and all the things I've been through in my career, I know I'm the right guy to get this thing headed in the right direction."

Fitzpatrick threw three more interceptions Sunday in a 27-17 loss to Seattle, causing many of the fans who cheered his return in July to question why New York ever brought him back in the first place.

"The last two games, with the amount of turnovers that I've had, you're not going to win football games that way and I know that more than anybody," Fitzpatrick said. "So, I take full responsibility for all those."

He set a franchise record with 31 touchdown passes last season, bringing the Jets from a mediocre 5-5 mark to a 10-6 finish.

Fitzpatrick was re-signed by the Jets just before training camp opened, ending a contract stalemate in which a free-agent market never materialized for the 33-year-old quarterback. So far, though, things have been rough -- other than a fantastic performance against Buffalo in Week 2, when he threw for 374 yards and was selected the AFC offensive player of the week.

"I've got to play better," Fitzpatrick said.

Talk about an understatement.

Still, the Jets are sticking with Fitzpatrick.

"We'll go game by game," head coach Todd Bowles said. "I don't foresee any change right now."

When asked if Fitzpatrick could be on a short leash against Pittsburgh on Sunday, Bowles simply said: "Ryan's fine."

Fitzpatrick has thrown 10 interceptions for the season, but Bowles says he's still the Jets' top option. That means former starter Geno Smith, Bryce Petty and rookie Christian Hackenberg will continue to stay on the sideline.

"Right now, it's chemistry," Bowles said. "Obviously, everybody's got an arm and can throw the football. But based on what he did last year, going into the season from a confidence standpoint, he's our best chance to win."

Fitzpatrick earned respect from his teammates for galvanizing the locker room after Smith's jaw was broken by a punch from a teammate. The veteran assumed the starting role and never relinquished it, going on to one of the finest seasons by a Jets quarterback.

It was that performance that produced a very real loyalty to Fitzpatrick, who had receivers Brandon Marshall andEric Decker, among others, openly campaign in the offseason for the Jets to bring him back this year.

Marshall came to his quarterback's defense again after the loss to Seattle, saying that he's, "Going down. In a boat. With Ryan Fitzpatrick." The receiver said Monday that he's not happy with Fitzpatrick's play or his own, or the rest of the team's play, for that matter. But he believes Fitzpatrick and the Jets can get the season back on track before it spirals away just a few weeks in -- a sentiment shared by the embattled quarterback.

"We're not going to have some magical players come in and fix everything," Fitzpatrick said. "We have to do it ourselves every day, starting today with making the corrections and working on the communication and then continuing Tuesday, watching some film, and Wednesday with practice. ..."

For the record, According to the Elias Sports Bureau, Fitzpatrick is the first quarterback since Steve DeBerg in 1986 to throw nine interceptions in a two-game span. He is also the first Jets quarterback in two decades since Frank Reich in 1996 to throw at least three interceptions in back-to-back games.

And his 10 interceptions in the first four games make him only the fifth quarterback in the last 10 seasons to reach double digits within the first quarter of the season.

Against the Seahawks, Fitzpatrick did very little other than orchestrating a 10-play, 75-yard drive at the end of the first half that he ended with his best pass of the day, a perfect back shoulder throw to Brandon Marshall (12 targets but four catches for 89 yards and one touchdown), who was draped by CB Richard Sherman.

Quincy Enunwa (six catches for 60 yards) had two catches, both for first downs, on the Jets' first drive before the Seahawks clamped down on him. Running back Bilal Powell (six catches for 54 yards) ended up being the most reliable receiver.

The Jets were without Eric Decker, who sat out with a partially torn rotator cuff.

According to ESPN.com's Rich Cimini, Decker said on Tuesday he feels "better this week than last week," but he doesn't know if he'll play Sunday. Decker said he's having trouble sleeping because of the discomfort.

He didn't rule out surgery after the season. "Maybe after the season, we re-evaluate what it looks like structurally and go from there," he said.

It seems unlikely Decker will play in Pittsburgh (Cimini said "he won't), but Bowles said it's too early to tell. Bowles also said it's too soon to determine if the Jets could put Decker on injured reserve, which would sideline him for at least eight weeks.

Decker didn't practice Wednesday.

Meanwhile, Matt Forte (14 carries for 27 yards) racked up 19 yards on five carries on the Jets' first drive before running into a wall thereafter. Powell (four carries for 26 yards) looked far more spry in his most extensive action of the year, but game flow made it impossible to give him a bigger workload on the ground.

Worth noting: Forte wasn't on the post-game injury report; however, Forte was spotted taking a cart ride to the X-ray room.

Asked whether Forte had X-rays taken after the game, Bowles said, "Not to my knowledge."

Of course, that may mean Forte had X-rays but no one told Bowles about it. Forte was limited on Wednesday, however, with an undisclosed issue.

Either way, the Jets will need all the help they can get trying to keep up with Pittsburgh's potent offense this week.


DEPTH CHART
QBs: Ryan Fitzpatrick, Geno Smith, Bryce Petty, Christian Hackenberg 
RBs: Matt Forte, Bilal Powell, Troymaine Pope 
WRs: Brandon Marshall, Quincy Enunwa, Robby Anderson, Charone Peake, Jalin Marshall, Eric Decker 
TEs: Kellen Davis, Austin Seferian-Jenkins, Brandon Bostick