New York Jets quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick shocked — yes, shocked! — the football world on Wednesday when he showed up in the team’s locker room with a newly cleaned-up face. Gone was the bushy beard that had become his trademark and in its place was a very reasonable, barely-there stubble.
“Why, WHY!?” fans asked. Yahoo Sports reporter Frank Schwab even proclaimed, “Fitzgerald really has this ‘Movember’ thing all mixed up.”
Indeed, the world seems upside down, but to Fitzpatrick, everything’s now going to be all right.
Having lost four of the last five games, Fitzpatrick thinks losing his facial hair might “switch up the mojo.”
Hey, anything for a win, right? Fitzpatrick, who Jets Coach Todd Bowles says he’ll continue to start, has had a couple of dismal games recently, including Sunday’s 24-17 loss against the Houston Texans. Fitzpatrick completed just 19 of 39 passes and threw two interceptions. He is now averaging an interception per game.
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Despite his recent woes, however, Fitzpatrick calls himself “the right man for the job” — and not just because he changed his look.
“I think, fortunately and unfortunately, I’ve got a lot of experience in playing for teams that have been in this situation where we lost a few games and we’ve got to stay the course, we’ve got to right the ship,” he said in a conference call on Monday (via NFL.com). “I think at this point in my career I’ve learned a ton, and all of the different situations that I’ve been in, I have no problem shouldering any blame that gets thrown my way and all the blame I deserve and don’t deserve.”
Jets fans will get to see if the new nearly-beardless Fitzpatrick can make good on his word this weekend when the team meets division rivals the Miami Dolphins. The game is set to kick off Sunday at 1 p.m. from MetLife Stadium.
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