Some think Ryan Fitzpatrick is the definition of mediocrity as an NFL quarterback, but maybe after two years of Geno Smith for the New York Jets, that’s an improvement.
It certainly looked that way in the tense-as-usual New York preseason derby between the Jets and the Giants, won by the green side of the equation 28-18, although the game was held in New Jersey, forever a weird fact in this clash.
Fitzpatrick threw two touchdown passes and completed 9-of-14 passes for 127 yards. He found Eric Decker for a score in the first quarter on a nice pass down the middle for 18 yards and the score. A nice screen pass to Zac Stacy in the second quarter resulted in 24 yards and another touchdown.
Bryce Petty, the rookie out of Baylor, isn’t in the picture to start, not showing enough in the preseason to somehow usurp and change the hierarchy. He completed 5-of-8 passes for 42 yards.
The Giants had problems with more than just Fitzpatrick. The Jets’ ground game gained 136 yards on 30 carries, including 60 yards on 13 carries for Stacy, while Chris Ivory finished with 38 yards on six carries. Decker was the leading receiver with 52 yards on three receptions.
The Jets also scored a defensive touchdown, as Antonio Cromartie ruined Eli Manning’s first good performance in the preseason, intercepting the quarterback and taking it back 59 yards for the score. The Jets also did a very good job of cutting down on penalties: From 17 last week to just 8 this time, and maybe Todd Bowles making the players run after penalty-filled practices helped.