Ryan Fitzpatrick could become the fourth NFL QB to lead his team in rushing since 1972

Dolphins quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick leads his team in rushing yards, and he may have a better chance than Lamar Jackson to make it stick.

With all the mobile quarterbacks in the NFL today, you’d expect that one of them could lead his team in rushing yards. Of course, Lamar Jackson broke Michael Vick’s single-season record for rushing yards by a quarterback against the Jets on Thursday. Jackson now stands with 1,103 yards on the season, and he’s far enough ahead of running back Mark Ingram (963 yards) to make you think he could finish up the season with the team lead — unless Baltimore grabs the one-seed this week or next week and the Ravens rest Jackson for the playoffs.

When Vick became the first quarterback with over 1,000 rushing yards in a season in 2006 with 1,039, he was still behind Warrick Dunn and his 1,140 rushing yards. Josh Allen of the Bills came into Week 15 with 439 rushing yards, but both Frank Gore and Devin Singletary are ahead of him, so that’s probably not going to happen.

You know which other quarterback could lead his team in rushing yards this season? Take a guess. No, take another guess. Yeah, try again.

Give up? It’s Dolphins quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick, who came into Week 15’s game against the Giants with 186 rushing yards and three rushing touchdowns on 40 carries. Mark Walton was ahead of him, “leading” the ‘Fins with 201 yards on 53 carries. Walton is no longer with the team; he was suspended by the NFL and then waived for a particularly egregious violation of the personal conduct policy. Kenyan Drake had 174 yards on 47 carries before Miami traded him to the Cardinals in late October. Kalen Ballage had 135 yards on 74 carries before he was placed on injured reserve with a leg injury in early December.

So, when Fitzpatrick gained 24 rushing yards on two carries in the first half of the Giants game, he went ahead of Walton. This is a 37-year-old quarterback whose previous season high in rushing yards was 308 for the 2008 Bengals. Fitzpatrick hasn’t even started every game for the Dolphins this season, so we’re not really sure whether this is more a statement regarding Fitzpatrick’s do-it-all demeanor, or an indictment of Miami’s depleted run game. Guys like Patrick Laird and Myles Gaskin are Fitzpatrick’s only rivals at this point.

In truth, no matter how weak the competition, it’s exceedingly rare for a quarterback to lead his team in rushing yards for a season. It requires an odd set of circumstances. As Chase Stuart of Football Perspective points out, the last time it happened was in 2017, when Russell Wilson led the Seahawks with 586 rushing yards. Mike Davis was second on the team with 240 yards, so that wasn’t even close. 2017 was also offensive line coach Tom Cable’s last year with the Seahawks, and that wasn’t a coincidence.

Before that, you’d have to go back to Randall Cunningham, who did it four straight seasons for the Eagles — 1987, 1988, 1989, and 1990. Anthony Toney, Keith Byars, and the rest of Philly’s running backs during that era, hang your heads in shame.

There was also Chicago’s Bobby Douglass, who ran for 968 yards for the Bears in 1972 and established the single-season record Vick eventually broke. Douglass was basically a running back with a quarterback’s number who threw once in a while — in 1972, he completed just 75 of 198 passes for 1,246 yards, nine touchdowns, and 12 interceptions. The next time you bemoan Mitchell Trubisky’s down moments, Bears fans, remember that it has been far, far, worse.

Bobby Douglass, professional quarterback: https://t.co/ay0fHU45ja pic.twitter.com/ssgQ8qfWwi

— Jack M Silverstein (@readjack) December 13, 2019

So, yes… it’s entirely possible that two quarterbacks could lead their teams in rushing yards this season: Lamar Jackson, and Ryan Fitzpatrick. Just like we all predicted.

Behind Enemy Lines: Week 15 Q&A with Dolphins Wire

With a Week 15 matchup between the New York Giants and Miami Dolphins on tap, we go behind enemy lines for a chat with Dolphins Wire.

The New York Giants (2-11) and Miami Dolphins (3-10) will square off on Sunday afternoon in Week 15.

The Giants opened the week as 3.5-point home favorites, and the spread hasn’t changed at all as of Sunday morning, with Big Blue still at -3.5

With this matchup on tap, Giants Wire took the opportunity to hold a Q&A with Dolphins Wire managing editor Kyle Crabbs.

Giants Wire: What happened with Josh Rosen and that entire situation that led to Ryan Fitzpatrick earning his starting job back? Miami seemed relatively sold on Rosen, who many believe has gotten a raw deal early on in his career.

Kyle Crabbs: By the time Rosen got into camp and the coaching staff really had the chance to get their hands on him, it became apparent pretty quickly that Rosen’s prior coaching hadn’t adequately prepared him for life as an NFL quarterback.

Rosen had zero experience in identifying the MIKE and making protection calls at the line of scrimmage — which resulted in irregular results in live game action and slowed Rosen’s ability to read and react.

By halftime of the Washington game in Week 6, it was clear Rosen’s inconsistencies here were preventing the Dolphins from getting an assessment on the rest of their roster, which is the primary objective for 2019. As a result, the switch to Fitzpatrick was made.

Continue …

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5 reasons Giants could defeat Dolphins in Week 15

The New York Giants and Miami Dolphins square off in Week 15, and here are five reasons Big Blue could come away with the win.

The New York Giants have the Miami Dolphins on Sunday at MetLife Stadium in a matchup between two of the NFL’s “have-nots.”

The Giants are favored by 3.5 points in this game and we think they are in a great spot to win this week. Here are five reasons why…

The Giants don’t have much luck these days

Which means they won’t get the No. 1 overall pick. It’s just the way things have been falling for them the past few years.This game, should they win, basically takes them out of the running for the top pick because a) they’ll be two games up on Cincinnati (who is 1-12 and plays New England this week) and b) by beating the 3-10 Dolphins, they’ll be tied with them and will lose the tiebreaker.

For the record, the Giants have only drafted first twice. In 1951, they selected SMU end Kyle Rote and in 1965 they took Tucker Frederickson, a running back from Auburn. They have selected No. 2 three times (Skippy Minisi, 1948; Lawrence Taylor, 1981 and Saquon Barkley, 2018). They have selected third only twice: John Hicks in 1974 and Carl Banks in 1984.

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What Ryan Fitzpatrick qualities are “must have” for Dolphins’ next QB?

The Dolphins have seen veteran QB Ryan Fitzpatrick energize this team in 2019, which qualities in him must Miami search for in the next QB?

The Ryan Fitzpatrick experience is going better than most Miami Dolphins fans would have expected. The team hasn’t been able to consistently score points on a weekly basis, but Fitzpatrick has strong-armed this gig from 2nd-year quarterback Josh Rosen and has not looked back. In the process, Miami has transitioned from the hard luck roadkill that Baltimore, New England and Dallas treated them as and has molded into the role of a scrappy underdog each week looking to play spoiler. Three times this season, Miami has snatched victory from the jaws of defeat, much thanks to Ryan Fitzpatrick.

The Fitzpatrick detractors will be quick to point out that the veteran journeyman does this every year. He feeds just enough hope to make you ponder if maybe he needs another crack the following year. No one is taking that bait here in Miami — the Dolphins’ need for a long-term answer is more present than ever, even if Fitzpatrick is back behind center for yet another season in 2020.

But Fitzpatrick’s 2019 season hasn’t had many of the valleys that are typically hallmarks of his annual report. There’s few games in which Fitzpatrick is holding Miami back — quite the contrary. This feels like the most consistent Fitzpatrick has ever played with the exception of his 2015 season in New York with the Jets. And so Miami would be wise to look at Fitzpatrick and what’s working with him and these Dolphins and try to apply those lessons to finding their next quarterback.

Fitzpatrick’s play this season has been fearless in the pocket, he thrives in stepping up escaping through interior gaps to find chunks of yardage or buy time to throw. Fearlessness is probably the best way to describe Fitzpatrick’s play all together — he trusts his receivers, he’s not afraid to take a hit and put his body on the line for a critical yard and there’s a calm, reassurance presence in the huddle and in the locker room under the watchful eye of Fitzpatrick.

So Miami’s next signal caller? The moment can’t be too big for them. The Dolphins need someone who understands leverage in coverage and be willing to throw the ball to his receivers even when covered. That’s where the physical play of DeVante Parker, Preston Williams, Mike Gesicki and others can all shine. And they need to have a magnetic personality and enthusiasm for football. That one is easily overlooked, as it doesn’t show up in the box score. But it is the root of Fitzpatrick’s success and consistency this season — and will be a needed factor in Miami’s quarterback of the future.

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Giants vs. Dolphins: 3 keys to victory in Week 15

Here are three things the New York Giants can do to ensure a victory over the Miami Dolphins on Sunday and get their third win this season

The New York Giants and Miami Dolphins have zero hope of making the playoffs this year, so when they face off this Sunday at MetLife Stadium, only pride is on the line.

The Dolphins have three wins under their belts, while the Giants are looking for their third.

Here are three keys to a Big Blue victory this weekend:

Danielle Parhizkaran/NorthJersey.com via USA TODAY NETWORK

Try actually making adjustments

Last week against the Philadelphia Eagles, the Giants took a 17-3 lead into the locker room at halftime. But instead of making adjustments knowing that the Eagles would make adjustments, Pat Shurmur and James Bettcher chose to stay the course. Except in the process of “staying the course,” they also go away from what was working (see: going to Darius Slayton).

The result was that the Giants lost in OT. So this week, maybe the two of them could try to make some adjustments during the game. And maybe those adjustments lead the team to a victory.

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Dolphins’ Ryan Fitzpatrick moving up quarterback power rankings

NFL.com’s weekly quarterback power rankings sees Ryan Fitzpatrick checking at 22nd — a high this season.

The play of Miami Dolphins quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick has definitely been a surprise to everyone — despite playing behind a makeshift offensive line, the grizzled veteran has transitioned himself from a careless, free wielding gunslinger into the caretaker of Miami’s fragile passing attack — he’s protecting the football at one of the most impressive rates in his long-tenured NFL career and doing so despite little to no rushing offense to lean on and keep defense off balance.

Is Fitzpatrick a long-term answer for Miami? No, of course not. But he’s been better than advertised for Miami and is playing a lot of fun football while simultaneously energizing the Dolphins’ offense.

And folks have taken notice. Each week, NFL.com releases a weekly quarterback power ranking of all 32 starters in the NFL and Fitzpatrick has continued to steadily climb out of the cellar. At the beginning of the season, Fitzpatrick was regarded as the worst of the worst. But now? Miami’s quarterback situation is rated as better than 10 teams across the league — Fitzpatrick has climbed to a tie for 22nd on the power rankings list.

Here’s what NFL.com’s Ali Bhanpuri had to say about Fitzpatrick’s play:

“Fitzpatrick continues to impress despite starting alongside as many undrafted players on offense (4) as he does first-, second- and third-rounders. The 15th-year vet doesn’t care, though. He’s a tried-and-true gamer. Line up whoever you want next to him, he’s still going to aggressively take shots downfield and fearlessly barge through creases in the defense. His 65 rushing yards last Sunday were the most by any QB in Week 14 and increased his three-week total to 112, which ranks second among passers…other than a tight-window interception on an overly ambitious throw, Fitzpatrick put a number of quality plays on tape to warrant a rise up these rankings.” – Ali Bhanpuri, NFL.com

Indeed, Fitzpatrick’s sustained and stabilized play isn’t something that should be overlooked and his inspired play gives the Dolphins a blueprint for what they need to look for in their next franchise quarterback.

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Dolphins’ 2019 rushing title poised to go to QB Ryan Fitzpatrick

Miami Dolphins QB Ryan Fitzpatrick is on the cusp of finishing as Miami’s leading rusher this season. Crazy, right?

If someone told you at the beginning of the year that Miami’s leading rusher by the end of the year was going to be quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick in 13 starts, what would you have said? Would you have taken that bet? Probably not, because it sounds completely insane.

And yet here we are with three games left to play and Ryan Fitzpatrick just 15 yards out of the team lead in rushing yards for the season. With 186 yards, Fitzpatrick trails former Dolphins RB Mark Walton, who was cut in the midst of his 4-game suspension for reportedly being involved in a domestic violence incident. Fitzpatrick’s next closest competitor? He leads RB Kenyan Drake by 12 yards — and Drake hasn’t played a down in Miami since October after being traded to Arizona.

The next man up? RB Kalen Ballage’s 135 yards. Ballage went on injured reserve several weeks ago. The next active Dolphin on the team’s rushing leaders list is RB Patrick Laird, who has 84 yards on 31 carries this season, leaving him over 100 yards behind Fitzpatrick with three games left to play.

This isn’t necessarily meant to serve as a celebration — more so an opportunity to marvel at Miami’s struggles to run the football this season. The Dolphins are on pace to finish the year with just over 1,000 yards rushing as a team, which would be the worst final product since the year 2000.

There’s little hope in sight for an upgrade, either. The Dolphins simply don’t have the firepower up front to reset the line of scrimmage the way they’d like to and as a result teams are stifling them on the ground. But hey, at the very least Dolphins fans can sit back and enjoy watching QB Ryan Fitzpatrick scamper out of the pocket and cheer for him to pad his lead in the race to be Miami’s 2019 rushing king. The absurdity and unlikeliness of it all makes it that much more fun to root for.

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Giants vs. Dolphins: 6 things to know about Week 15

The New York Giants and Miami Dolphins square off on Sunday in Week 15, so here are six things fans should know.

The New York Giants (2-11) host the Miami Dolphins (3-10) in a game between two last place teams that could impact the top of next April’s NFL Draft.

Here are six things to know before Sunday’s game at MetLife Stadium.

The series history

This will be the ninth regular-season meeting between the two teams since the 1970 NFL-AFL merger. The Giants lead the series, 6-2 and have a 2-2 home record.

The teams only met once between 1970 and 1990, a 23-13 Dolphins victory at Yankee Stadium on December 10, 1972. They’ve played seven times since 1990.

The teams last faced one another on December 14, 2015 with the Giants winning, 31-24, at Hard Rock Stadium. The teams last played in MetLife Stadium on Oct. 30, 2011 when the Super Bowl-bound Giants nipped the Dolphins, 20-17.

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Instant Analysis: Jets make good use of their legs, avoid Dolphins sweep

It would have been a bad look had Adam Gase and the Jets been swept by the coach’s former team this season.

That almost happened Sunday, but a Sam — not the one you’re thinking of — came up clutch to deliver Gang Green’s fifth win. The Jets, after an embarrassing loss to the Dolphins earlier in the year, emerged victorious at home, winning 22-21 in a game that scored like a nailbiter but lacked all the excitement.

With the win, the Jets are now 5-8, while Miami fell to 3-10.

Game Balls:

WR Robby Anderson: Anderson scored his fourth touchdown of the season and finished the game with 116 yards. After a quiet start to 2019, Anderson’s production has picked up of late. He’s had either a touchdown or at least 86 yards in his last four games. That’s good timing for the speedster with free agency looming.

Quick Thoughts:

The Dolphins may have swept the Jets this season if not for the referees calling defensive pass interference following a review on the final drive of the game. The call had Dolphins head coach Brian Flores fuming and set Sam Ficken up to win it from 44 yards out. Ficken, who has struggled all year, hit the field and was carried off the field, the unlikely hero of New York’s fifth win of the season.
No Le’Veon Bell? No problem. Bell was out sick, but the Jets ran well against a Dolphins defense that struggles with such things. Bilal Powell ran for 74 yards on 19 carries — he made Jets history, too — and the team ran for a total of 112 yards on 32 attempts.
One reason the Jets were able to run well was because of the offensive line, which also did a solid job of protecting Sam Darnold. The Dolphins only sacked the quarterback once — the first time that’s happened for Darnold all year.
Despite the strong protection, Darnold didn’t have a great day throwing the football. He did have two touchdowns in the game, but he tossed an ugly interception — his first since Week 11 — while going 20-36for 270 yards. He especially struggled in the second half, missing a few wide-open receivers, nearly throwing a second pick and taking a costly sack on the final drive. The Jets are lucky their quarterback didn’t cost them a win in this one.
Anderson is not the only Jet making his free agent case. There’s also Jordan Jenkins, who picked up his sixth and seventh sacks of the season. He tied his career-high, set a season ago. Jenkins is by no means a dominant pass rusher, but he is a talented one who should have no shortage of suitors this offseason. The Jets would be wise to keep him around and pair him with an elite rusher.
James Burgess would have had a pick-six in Sunday’s game if not for… James Burgess. He took a Ryan Fitzpatrick pass to the house, but the play didn’t stand thanks to a questionable holding call on the linebacker. Tough way to lose the first score of your career, and one the Jets could have certainly used.
Fitzpatrick is still a ton of fun to watch. The ex-Jet has never been a particularly good quarterback, but he knows how to entertain. Both of those things remained true Sunday, as the wily veteran was running wild and shoveling passes the way a teenager might on a patchy field of grass outside their high school. Long live Fitzmagic and its pulsating mediocrity.

Jets vs. Dolphins: Game info, where to watch, notes

Here’s everything you need to know for the Jets’ game with the Dolphins.

The New York Jets will look to get their first win in the AFC East on Sunday against the Miami Dolphins.

The Dolphins won the first game between these two teams down in Miami, 26-18. It was the most embarrassing loss of the season for the Jets at the time, but last week’s loss to the Bengals has topped it.

The Jets are completely depleted in the secondary. Jamal Adams is missing his first game with an ankle sprain, while Brian Poole is out with a concussion and Arthur Maulet is doubtful with a calf injury. Meanwhile, Le’Veon Bell will miss his first game of the season with an illness.

With Bell out, the Jets are going to need both Bilal Powell and Ty Montgomery to pick up the slack. Powell has had some good moments this season as he hits the hole a lot quicker than Bell, who is a patient runner. Sam Darnold is also going to need to have a better game than he did last week.

Defensively, the Jets need to get pressure on Ryan Fitzpatrick. Andy Dalton had way too much time to throw last week and the secondary couldn’t hold its own. If the Jets get pressure on Fitzpatrick it could force him to make some bad throws and interceptions.

As for the Dolphins, they are coming off a win over the Eagles last week and improved their record to 3-9. It’s been a rough season for them, but they’ve found some success as of late and have always given the Jets trouble in their matchups.

Here’s everything you need to know for Sunday’s game:

Who: New York Jets vs. Miami Dolphins
When: 1:00 p.m. ET, Sunday, December 8, 2019
Where: MetLife Stadium, East Rutherford, New Jersey
TV/Radio: CBS, ESPN 98.7 F.M. For a Spanish broadcast check out 1050 AM ESPN
Livestream: fuboTV (try it free)
Line: Jets -5