Jets' Ryan Fitzpatrick brutal again, up to 9 picks over past 2 games

Seven NFL teams had nine or fewer interceptions during the 2015 season. New York Jets quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick has matched that number the past two weeks.

The Week 2 hero, who turned in a brilliant performance against the Buffalo Bills on the road that game, has been trash since. After Fitzpatrick’s six-interception debacle against the Kansas City Chiefs in Week 3, he came back with three more picks in Sunday’s 27-17 loss to the Seattle Seahawks.

Seahawks corner Richard Sherman picked Fitzpatrick twice and had a third one called back on replay. The Seahawks have an excellent defense and have given up only one passing TD through a quarter of the season (it happened Sunday), but that doesn’t alleviate the concerns about Fitzpatrick’s awful performance the past two weeks as the Jets have fallen to 1-3 and in last place in the AFC East along with the Miami Dolphins.

Over the past two games, Fitzpatrick was a combined 43-of-85 passing for 449 yards with one TD and the nine picks. He also fumbled twice on balls that were not turned over. On Sunday, Fitzpatrick was hit nine times and sacked four, penalties and dropped passes eliminated potential gains, and Eric Decker’s absence hurt the passing game.

But the turnovers are inexcusable. Fitzpatrick had 15 interceptions in a strong 2015 season that he felt should have earned him big quarterback dollars. The Jets balked and waited to sign him until the eve of training camp. Through four games, he’s up to 10 picks already. The Bills game aside, he looks shaky and wild.

The Jets have no good solution — perhaps short or long term. Geno Smith is waiting in the wings, but is he an option for the team as a starter? Bryce Petty and Christian Hackenberg are complete unknowns. The Jets’ soon-to-be 31-year-old running back, Matt Forte is averaging more than 20 carries a game, which is a career-high rate so far. This all feels very volatile.

Can offensive coordinator Chan Gailey work some miracles? Can Fitzpatrick get out of his major funk? Four of the next five games are on the road, as the Jets enter a critical stage of the season. It feels like they mismanaged the quarterback position, and it could cost them a successful season.

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Eric Edholm is a writer for Shutdown Corner on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at edholm@yahoo-inc.com or follow him on Twitter!

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