MIAMI _ Miami Dolphins coach Brian Flores was in no mood for praise on Sunday. His team lost a convincing 37-20 decision to the Buffalo Bills, securing a season sweep by the AFC East rivals, and Flores was blaming everyone for it.
So he talked about how he and his staff need to coach better, how players need to block better, run better, throw better, catch better, communicate better, on and on.
And that's fair. Because better is, well, better.
But in talking about the team's seven sacks, Flores seemed to blame quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick for part of the problem.
"We've got to do a better job protecting the quarterback, getting the ball out quicker," he said.
And being a stand-up guy, Fitzpatrick accepted the critique. He admitted some of the problem was on him.
"Every sack has its own little story," he said. "Some are on me not getting the ball out. Others, they've got good players over there, so there's a myriad of reasons why things were happening and breaking down today; but at the end of the day, as a quarterback, I take that upon myself.
"I have to get the ball out better in some of those situations. Some of them were unavoidable and they did a nice job with some of their stuff, but there were some that I thought I could have got the ball out a little bit better today."
But this is what goes unsaid and gets lost (until this writing) because of the loss:
Fitzpatrick was in a onerous situation and he completed 71% of his passes. He threw for a season-high 323 yards and kept the offense on the attack even late when the game was tilting in Buffalo's favor.
Fitzpatrick did not turn the football over. No interceptions. And no fumbles lost despite the pass rush onslaught.
And did I mention he did this with very little support?
Because the Miami running game delivered 23 yards on 13 attempts for a measly 1.8 yards per carry. Starting running back Kalen Ballage rushed nine times for nine yards.
And of the seven sacks the Bills collected, five were by interior linemen who have the shortest distance to the QB _ meaning, it's not the QB's fault when he takes the snap and a guy is almost instantly in his face. That kind of trouble is what historically has beaten Tom Brady and the New England Patriots offense.
So my guess is Fitz may have been able to get one or possibly two of his 52 dropbacks out a beat sooner. But this feels mostly like asking for treatment to a paper cut while the femoral artery is bleeding out.
And let me tell you what feels like might happen next:
Eventually the calls to bench Fitzpatrick will rise again.
I can hear it now, the Dolphins lost one game after winning the previous two. The team is 2-8. So what's the point of playing the veteran?
Why not supplant him with Josh Rosen? Why not see if Rosen can do better? Why not see what Rosen has to show us?
I'm not down with any of this. Sorry, tank brigade.
I want the better players in the game all the time, and this year, because it's a bizarre upside-down season, I'd say at least until December.
Ryan Fitzpatrick was not the problem on Sunday. His play should not lead to a benching.
