The Miami Dolphins experienced some of their better quarterback play this side of Dan Marino in 2019 courtesy of quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick. Some of the NFL’s more blessed fanbases may get a chuckle out of that suggestion, but it is no laughing matter — it’s absolutely true. A handful of individual seasons (one from Chad Pennington in 2008 and another from Ryan Tannehill in 2014) may have better numbers or wins; but when you factor in how Fitzpatrick played with the team around him in Miami, there’s no question “Fitzmagic” was on full display.
For the season, Fitzpatrick passed for 3,529 yards and 20 touchdowns and 13 interceptions. Along the way, he was sacked 40 times (7.4% of his dropbacks) behind the NFL’s worst offensive line and added 243 yards and four touchdowns on the ground. But remember — Fitzpatrick yielded the starting job for three games and the team’s offense was crippled early on by the departures of Laremy Tunsil and Kenny Stills a week before the season started.
Over the course of the final 13 weeks of the NFL season (12 games for the Dolphins), Fitzpatrick posted the following stats:
- 3,226 passing yards (5th in the NFL, 1st in the AFC East)
- 19 passing touchdowns (12th in the NFL, 1st in the division)
- 7.17 yards per attempt (14th in the NFL, 1st in the division)
- 63.1% completion rate (T-14th in the NFL, 1st in the division)
And posted all of these numbers despite being sacked 34 times in that span, which was fifth-most in the NFL and the most in the AFC East. Impressive stuff, indeed.
But beyond the numbers, what is impressive about Ryan Fitzpatrick is his complete disregard for his statistics when the bullets are flying. Fitzpatrick spoke on his disregard for numbers during his appearance on the What’s Next? Podcast With Eric Wood.
#Fitzmagic on What's Next with Eric Wood is available now! Listen, Rate, Review and Subscribe. A great talk you don't wanna miss. #billsmafia #MiamiDolphins https://t.co/GhbmJ5CDyn pic.twitter.com/IhaNdzXG8T
— Eric Wood (@EWood70) May 18, 2020
“I almost take pride in the fact I’ve had a game where I had six touchdowns and zero interceptions but I’ve also had a game where I had zero touchdowns and six interceptions,” said Fitzpatrick.
“When I watch quarterbacks and I can see that they’re thinking about their stats and their quarterback rating in the 4th quarter when they’re losing in a football game, like that just kills me to the core. So, I almost think at times I’m like, representing the old school gunslinger. Like, when we’re down, I know you can’t score 14 points with one throw, which you used to always say to me but I’m still trying to at times.”
As eager as we all are to see Tua Tagovailoa behind center, letting the “old school gunslinger” let it rip will continue to be a treat — that is of course until the wins stop coming.