ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. _ Ask Ryan Fitzpatrick about whether he still thinks about what happened in last year's regular season finale, and it's more often than not a one-word answer.
"No," he said the other day when the question was posed.
That's not quite true, of course, especially from a quarterback whose intellect and thoughtfulness are well-documented. After all, a Harvard-educated man who can easily solve the Rubik's Cube is undoubtedly capable of self-reflection. Particularly from a game that stands as one of the biggest disappointments of his career.
It's safe to assume that Fitzpatrick thought plenty about what happened in a loss to the Bills here last Jan. 3. It was a crushing loss, one of the most disappointing of his career as he blew a chance to get to the playoffs for the first time. A win over Rex Ryan's Bills, and the Jets would have gotten to the tournament in Todd Bowles' rookie year as a head coach and in Ryan's renaissance year as an NFL quarterback.
But neither happened. Fitzpatrick was rattled by Ryan's blitz-happy defense and melted down in the fourth quarter, throwing three interceptions and blowing his best chance at playing for a Super Bowl.
What Fitzpatrick did Thursday night in the rematch doesn't take all the sting away from what happened last year; in fact, it may take none of it away, since he doesn't get a do-over and another shot at the playoffs. But at least Fitzpatrick proved to himself, to his teammates, and to Ryan, who had beaten him eight of nine times as a head coach or defensive coordinator, that the quarterback has the mettle to overcome his previous problems to produce a transcendent performance.
This may have been Fitzpatrick's best day in a Jets' uniform, as he dominated Ryan's defense in the Jets' 37-31 win at New Era Field. He was terrific from start to finish, going 24-for-34 for 374 yards, one touchdown and, most importantly, no interceptions. Matt Forte accounted for the other three touchdowns, but the newly acquired running back was simply the closer on those drives. Fitzpatrick was the guy who put the former Bears tailback in position for the scores, as he picked apart Ryan's defense with some of the most accurate throws of his career.
He found Eric Decker for a touchdown pass. He folded the rapidly improving Quincy Enunwa into the offense. Same with rookie Jalin Marshall, who overcame a fumble that was returned for a touchdown and made some key catches in the second half. Brandon Marshall, who joined Decker with a 100-yard receiving performance, overcame what initially appeared to be a bad knee injury to make several big catches throughout.
Fitzpatrick knew coming into the game he'd have to be at his best _ and certainly far better than he was the last time he faced the Bills.
"You just want to go out there and show everybody what kind of team we have," he said earlier in the week.
Fitzpatrick did everything except the most important thing last year, producing his career-best statistics with 31 touchdown passes, a franchise record, yet falling short at the end against the Bills. It was the latest in a series of miserable performances against defenses coached by Ryan.
"Rex's defenses over the years, the thing about them is they're so multiple, so it's changed a little bit," Fitzpatrick said. "It's gotten a little bit different based on personnel. When he's here versus when he's there, and year to year, you see differences too. I just think he's a smart coach. He does a good job."
Ryan got the best of Fitzpatrick twice last year, giving the quarterback even more impetus to improve his play and put the Jets in a better position on Thursday night. There is little margin for error, especially with the Jets' early-season schedule posing such a challenge. Five of their first six opponents qualified for last year's playoffs, and the other team was Buffalo, which didn't make it to the postseason but gave Fitzpatrick problems both games.
The stakes weren't nearly as big Thursday night as they were against last January, but it was about as big an early-season game as you could expect, given the circumstances.
"It's an important one for us," Fitzpatrick said. "It always is, but it's a division game, we're 0-1, and we're trying to get that bad taste out of our mouth from Sunday."
This time, Fitzpatrick responded to the pressure with one of his finest moments in the NFL and perhaps his best with the Jets.
