❝ 𝐦𝐚𝐠𝐢𝐜 || 𝟏.𝟎𝟒.𝟏𝟔❞

𝐅𝐈𝐓𝐙𝐏𝐀𝐓𝐑𝐈𝐂𝐊—𝐏𝐈𝐂𝐊𝐄𝐃 𝐎𝐅𝐅! 𝐈𝐓'𝐒 𝐎𝐕𝐄𝐑! 𝐀𝐉 𝐓𝐀𝐑𝐏𝐄𝐘!❞

As the play escalated, my stomach dropped—it sank as soon as I saw the following play unfold. My heart dropped, and I felt the urge to yell something out. Turbulence struck the eatery, leaving many fans to question what unfolded. The players were left in despair with agonized looks on their faces, their chances were over. In just one play, things escalated…our season was over.

Merely an adolescent I was, with an undeveloped brain, I couldn’t fathom nor process what just went down. In the midst of eating my lunch—I lost my appetite. No longer did I have any desire to eat, I was left in dismay and disappointed as a fan of the following franchise. I felt disdain towards our players at that moment, especially our Quarterback. Four interceptions. Four damn interceptions, and one to close out the game and extinguish any optimism of New York qualifying for the postseason. I started questioning myself: was our "dream season" an illusion after all? Was it not an ideal season? Had I been too optimistic?

❝ 𝐦𝐚𝐠𝐢𝐜 || 𝟏.𝟎𝟒.𝟏𝟔❞

———♢ ♢ ———

The tranquill and nonchalant atmosphere struck the practice facility; the final days before the prelude of the preseason between Detroit and the Big Apple. A nonchalant atmosphere; one that consisted of unruffled practice heading into the game. Smiles and laughs filled up the training center. Heading into the coverage by the media, Todd Bowles sought a bevy of media outlets asking about their tactics regarding their upcoming outing, updates on injuries and the performance of players at practice. Moreover, prior to the arrival of the media outlets—a conspicuous male entered the vicinity, with adequate height and size. One that roughly seemed to be around thirty years of age, and contained a colossal amount of facial. Many could trace his name merely by his face; he wasn’t any stranger by any means, he was a veteran and esteemed by his fellow peers.

Countless amounts of players went to be drug-tested, an annual test that didn’t seem abnormal. Forgetting his ID and wallet, the male marched back to his truck—searching the car for the following objects for the test. Seconds went by, then minutes, and the male found his resources. The results for the test weren’t released, however, it was quite evident that he didn’t take any substances to refine his play on the field. As the male left the room, his face turned pale, informed of something that involved conflict and tension within the team.

〝𝐘𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐛𝐨𝐲 𝐣𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐠𝐨𝐭 𝐤𝐧𝐨𝐜𝐤𝐞𝐝 𝐨𝐮𝐭.〞

Turbulence struck the team. Confusion and chaos arose—the cacophony of questions and anger remained constant for quite a while. The veteran couldn’t contain himself, feeling irate, knowing that once again, he had to flaunt his play and prove himself. He knew his time was limited, at merely 32 years of age. He had developed charisma and traveled throughout the country in over a decade of professional sports. Ryan Fitzpatrick. An illusion, a myth, an urban legend.

While glancing at the unit—and the team as a whole, egos clashed against one another. A coach—infamously known for his defensive savvy tactics, and relying on his defense, did not flourish calling plays on the offensive end. He was rather conservative on the offensive end, going by the philosophy of passing the ball to score, and running the ball for a victory. On the other side, stood an experienced veteran. One who was bold, adventurous, and careless. He took risks, and fluctuated, rather than being predictable. His life wasn’t stable; it was full of risks.

How others work with one another while having opposing views on things? How can they possibly co-exist?

Having no fit is similar to having two receivers with minimal speed—known for their ability to grasp the ball. For instance, Kenny Golladay and AJ Green on the same team. In spite of being eminent players for their respective teams, both simply cannot co-exist due to their lack of speed, and similar play styles that will only go so far.

Yet, their 𝐩𝐚𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧 for the beloved game propelled them to success. In numerous sports, a substantial amount of teams value not only talent, but fit.

-——♢ ♢ ———

Practice came to an abrupt end, and Fitzpatrick was approached by none other than his coach, Todd Bowles. Despite Bowles having a completely different perspective, Bowles worked across the aisle. Having an unquenchable desire for winning, Bowles had to build his image and build chemistry within his starters.

𝐓𝐨𝐝𝐝 𝐁𝐨𝐰𝐥𝐞𝐬: 𝐅𝐢𝐭𝐳, 𝐰𝐡𝐚𝐭'𝐬 𝐠𝐨𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐨𝐧? 𝐇𝐨𝐰 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐝𝐨𝐢𝐧𝐠?

𝐑𝐲𝐚𝐧 𝐅𝐢𝐭𝐳𝐩𝐚𝐭𝐫𝐢𝐜𝐤: 𝐇𝐢 𝐂𝐨𝐚𝐜𝐡, 𝐈'𝐯𝐞 𝐝𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐨𝐤𝐚𝐲. 𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐚𝐛𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐲𝐨𝐮?

𝐓𝐨𝐝𝐝 𝐁𝐨𝐰𝐥𝐞𝐬: 𝐘𝐨𝐮 𝐤𝐧𝐨𝐰, 𝐈'𝐯𝐞 𝐛𝐞𝐞𝐧 𝐠𝐞𝐭𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐲. 𝐈'𝐯𝐞 𝐛𝐞𝐞𝐧 𝐥𝐨𝐨𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐰𝐚𝐫𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐛𝐢𝐠 𝐠𝐚𝐦𝐞 𝐚𝐠𝐚𝐢𝐧𝐬𝐭 𝐃𝐞𝐭𝐫𝐨𝐢𝐭. 𝐈𝐧 𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐮𝐚𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐲, 𝐈'𝐦 𝐚𝐧𝐱𝐢𝐨𝐮𝐬.

𝐑𝐲𝐚𝐧 𝐅𝐢𝐭𝐳𝐩𝐚𝐭𝐫𝐢𝐜𝐤: 𝐖𝐡𝐲? 𝐖𝐚𝐬 𝐢𝐭 𝐚 𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐮𝐥𝐭 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐨𝐝𝐚𝐲'𝐬 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐬 𝐢𝐧 𝐩𝐫𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐜𝐞?

𝐓𝐨𝐝𝐝 𝐁𝐨𝐰𝐥𝐞𝐬: 𝐈 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐞𝐱𝐜𝐢𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐚 𝐫𝐞𝐥𝐚𝐱𝐞𝐝 𝐩𝐫𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐜𝐞 𝐝𝐚𝐲 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝐟𝐢𝐞𝐥𝐝 𝐪𝐮𝐢𝐜𝐤 𝐪𝐮𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐩𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐬. 𝐑𝐚𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫, 𝐆𝐞𝐧𝐨—𝐩𝐨𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐛𝐥𝐲 𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐦𝐨𝐬𝐭 𝐢𝐦𝐩𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐚𝐧𝐭 𝐩𝐥𝐚𝐲𝐞𝐫𝐬—𝐢𝐬 𝐬𝐢𝐝𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐞𝐝 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐚𝐧 𝐞𝐱𝐭𝐞𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐝 𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐨𝐝 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐢𝐦𝐞. 𝐌𝐨𝐬𝐭 𝐥𝐢𝐤𝐞𝐥𝐲 𝐬𝐢𝐱 𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐞𝐧 𝐰𝐞𝐞𝐤𝐬 𝐚𝐬 𝐚 𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐮𝐥𝐭 𝐨𝐟 𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐟𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐈𝐤𝐞.

𝐑𝐲𝐚𝐧 𝐅𝐢𝐭𝐳𝐩𝐚𝐭𝐫𝐢𝐜𝐤: 𝐘𝐞𝐬, 𝐈 𝐝𝐢𝐝 𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐫. 𝐈 𝐭𝐫𝐮𝐥𝐲 𝐝𝐢𝐝 𝐠𝐞𝐭 𝐚𝐥𝐨𝐧𝐠 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐆𝐞𝐧𝐨, 𝐬𝐨 𝐈'𝐦 𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐲 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐝 𝐚𝐛𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐡𝐢𝐦 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐈'𝐦 𝐡𝐨𝐩𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐚 𝐪𝐮𝐢𝐜𝐤 𝐫𝐞𝐜𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐲.

𝐓𝐨𝐝𝐝 𝐁𝐨𝐰𝐥𝐞𝐬: 𝐖𝐢𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐚 𝐝𝐨𝐮𝐛𝐭. 𝐈'𝐦 𝐡𝐨𝐩𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐩𝐥𝐚𝐲 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐟𝐢𝐫𝐬𝐭 𝐟𝐞𝐰 𝐰𝐞𝐞𝐤𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐨𝐧, 𝐛𝐮𝐭 𝐈 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐤 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐚𝐥𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐲 𝐤𝐧𝐨𝐰 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭. 𝐃𝐞𝐬𝐩𝐢𝐭𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐟𝐚𝐜𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐰𝐞 𝐝𝐨𝐧'𝐭 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐦𝐮𝐧𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐚𝐬 𝐦𝐮𝐜𝐡 𝐚𝐬 𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐩𝐥𝐚𝐲𝐞𝐫𝐬 𝐝𝐨, 𝐈 𝐚𝐦 𝐚𝐰𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐯𝐚𝐥𝐮𝐞 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐢𝐧𝐟𝐥𝐮𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐍𝐅𝐋. 𝐘𝐨𝐮 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐧𝐚𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐲 𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐢𝐬𝐦𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐜, 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐛𝐞𝐞𝐧 𝐚𝐛𝐥𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐰𝐢𝐧 𝐩𝐞𝐨𝐩𝐥𝐞 𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐚𝐥𝐦𝐨𝐬𝐭 𝐞𝐥𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐧 𝐲𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐬, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐩𝐨𝐬𝐬𝐞𝐬𝐬 𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐩 𝐪𝐮𝐚𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐞𝐬. 𝐅𝐢𝐭𝐳𝐩𝐚𝐭𝐫𝐢𝐜𝐤, 𝐈 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐟𝐚𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐢𝐧 𝐲𝐨𝐮. 𝐘𝐨𝐮 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐜𝐚𝐩𝐚𝐜𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐭𝐨 𝐢𝐧𝐬𝐩𝐢𝐫𝐞 𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐠𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐩 𝐭𝐨 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐜𝐡 𝐧𝐞𝐰 𝐡𝐞𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭𝐬.

𝐑𝐲𝐚𝐧 𝐅𝐢𝐭𝐳𝐩𝐚𝐭𝐫𝐢𝐜𝐤: 𝐘𝐞𝐬, 𝐜𝐨𝐚𝐜𝐡, 𝐈 𝐰𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐠𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐢𝐭 𝐦𝐲 𝐚𝐥𝐥, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐈 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐟𝐚𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐢𝐧 𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐩𝐥𝐚𝐲𝐞𝐫𝐬 𝐭𝐨 𝐝𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐚𝐦𝐞. 𝐀𝐬 𝐚 𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐮𝐥𝐭, 𝐈'𝐥𝐥 𝐠𝐫𝐨𝐰 𝐚𝐬 𝐚 𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐨𝐧 𝐢𝐧 𝐚𝐝𝐝𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐭𝐨 𝐟𝐨𝐥𝐥𝐨𝐰𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐢𝐧𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐮𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬. 𝐅𝐨𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐟𝐢𝐧𝐚𝐥 𝐭𝐢𝐦𝐞, 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐮𝐧 𝐜𝐚𝐬𝐭 𝐢𝐭𝐬 𝐥𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭.

𝐋𝐢𝐟𝐞 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐥𝐢𝐤𝐞 𝐚 𝐜𝐲𝐜𝐥𝐞, 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐡𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐥𝐨𝐰𝐬. 𝐀 𝐛𝐫𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐟𝐮𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐞 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐠𝐥𝐢𝐦𝐩𝐬𝐞𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐢𝐭 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐝𝐢𝐬𝐩𝐥𝐚𝐲𝐞𝐝. 𝐬𝐢𝐠𝐧𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐬𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐩𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐚𝐧𝐭 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐛𝐞𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐫. 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐝𝐞𝐜𝐢𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬 𝐦𝐚𝐝𝐞 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐩𝐚𝐬𝐭 𝐰𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐛𝐞 𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐠𝐨𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐧 𝐚𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐮𝐧 𝐬𝐞𝐭, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐝𝐞𝐜𝐢𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬 𝐦𝐚𝐝𝐞 𝐧𝐨𝐰 𝐰𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐝𝐞𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐬𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐬 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐟𝐮𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐞.

———♢ ♢ ———

In his tenure with Buffalo, Fitzpatrick was erratic. Coined by many as a gunslinger. Notoriously known for his fluctuating play, along with his underwhelming arm strength, you couldn’t bank on Ryan for victories nor losses. Inconsistency at its finest. However, he could maneuver through reads and find an open receiver. Careless at times, he developed an aggressive trait—one of the most aggressive quarterbacks in the league at the time. The Harvard alumnus generally went downfield, tucking the ball and running. His decision making was subpar at times; he made throws in tight windows, and defenses capitalized upon that. His stint lasted four seasons, and he struggled at times with the lack of receivers. The only adequate receivers were an aging Terrell Owens and Steve Johnson. His tenure lasted four prolonged seasons, prevailing twelve times out of 33 contests. In essence, he was a reputable player, one that possessed leadership and esteemed by many.

His next endeavor took place in the Music City, Tennessee. With some offensive weapons in Kendall Wright, Delanie Walker, Chris Johnson, and Nate Washington, the Titans had a decent season going 7-9. Their offense didn’t necessarily consist of passing, they relied heavily on running. Their wide receivers lacked too amid quarterback controversy between Jack Locker and Ryan Fitzpatrick. Fitzmagic started the remainder of the season after week nine due to a gruesome season-ending foot injury. Following up on the 2013 season, he went off to Houston for another journey.

In Houston, Fitzpatrick found himself as the starter initially, until benched for his putrid play. Then, Ryan Mallet faced a ghastly injury, resulting in a torn pectoral muscle. Fitzpatrick closed out the season, finishing with a 6-6 record.

Surely he’ll eventually find a home…right?

Incorrect, he departed once again, leaving his short and unimpressive stint behind him--being traded for a conditional 7th round pick. And here we are...the Big Apple.

While immersing ourselves in the 2015 Jets roster, many concluded that there was a plethora of talent. The Jets receiving corps contained Brandon Marshall, Eric Decker and Quincy Enunwa. The tandem of Chris Ivory and Bilal Powell proved to be effective throughout the season. The immense success came from their defense, arguably their biggest asset. In the season prior, the Jets allowed roughly 45.2 percent conversion rate on third-down. In the red zone, howbeit, the Jets couldn’t contain the opposition 59.2 percent of the time — with their defensive unit ranking 25th, and allowing 401 total points (24th in the league). The 2015 season, which was subsequent to the 2014 season, had their opponents scoring 314 total points (9th) against them. In addition to that, the Jets merely allowed 35 percent of red zone attempts — a 24 percent dropoff. Cue to their depth on the defensive end with Marcus Williams, Darrelle Revis, Muhammad Wilkerson, Sheldon Richardson, Marcus Gilchrist, and company with their 3-4 defensive alignment.

How about their offensive line?

Regardless of procuring Nick Mangold, their offensive line clearly wasn’t premier by any means. Their offensive line—graded by PFF, ranked 26th in the entire league. In pass blocking, their unit finished 22nd, whereas in run they finished 25th, and 19th in penalties. Leaving many to ponder how Fitzpatrick only found himself sacked a mere nineteen times.

Albeit having his best season, Fitzpatrick struggled at an innumerable amount of facets in his game, especially reads. For example, Ryan Fitzpatrick struggled on second reads. First reads involve the quarterback looking to their designated receiver—looking to one receiver initially. If the receiver isn’t open, then, the quarterback looks for a second receiver, and so on.

Whether Chan Gailey would call Vertical-Outs, or In-Verticals—Fitzpatrick found minuscule success. He threw an interception for every thirteen passes, as he seemed timid whilst doing so. To add onto that, Fitzpatrick never experimented with his arm strength; attempting mostly checkdowns that didn’t go far. Ergo, Fitzpatrick established himself as a predictable player on second reads. Meanwhile, he was more efficient on first read checks — converting around 65 percent. He didn’t attempt too many “short passes” with eight yards per pass attempt. His rate, fortunately, was better with one interception for every fifteen plays. Fitzpatrick finished fifth in the NFL in interceptions, throwing fifteen. Simply put, the definition of a roll out is when a quarterback maneuvers outside to the pocket to heave a ball to his receivers. In roll outs, Fitzpatrick threw an interception for every fourteen passes attempted. Aforementioned earlier, one of his primary weaknesses was his arm strength, though, he improved upon that — averaging nearly 8.7 yards per attempt.

Akin to second and first reads, Fitzpatrick flourished — unlike second reads. He had a stupendous conversion rate of 87 percent and averaged around 8.5 yards per attempt. In the zone, Fitzmagic didn’t throw any interceptions.

How did Fitzpatrick fare as a whole?

The ‘15 campaign brought glimpses of prosperity, and established one of the more memorable Jets’ seasons in recent memory. The man, the myth, the legend propelled his team to an impressive 10-6 record. Fans from the Big Apple were jubilant throughout the season. Their team prevailed against reputable teams such as the New England Patriots led by Tom Brady.

Thanks to competent play by Ryan Fitzpatrick, the New York Jets finished second in the AFC East Division—partially for the imploding Dolphins, and subpar Buffalo Bills. Fitzpatrick tossed for nearly 4,000 yards, with Marshall playing an instrumental role. Brandon Marshall caught 109 passes, with a catch percentage of 63 percent along with 13.8 yards per catch, and led the league with 14 touchdowns. Though Marshall had a stellar season, Eric Decker felt his impact throughout the organization. Decker hauled 80 catches with a catch percentage of 60.6 percent.

How did Fitzpatrick play, though?

The aforementioned play above demonstrates a prime example of Fitzpatrick connecting on a first-read; staring down Decker, then proceeds to scramble, and heaves one towards Decker — Decker haules it in and scores. Despite being inefficient for first-reads, Fitzpatrick thrived in terms of completion percentage. Fitzpatrick converted approximately 65 percent of his first-reads, with an interception every fourteen attempts.

Fitzpatrick never had the reputation of performing adequately under pressure, in his 2015 campaign, Fitzpatrick’s completion percentage plummeted down, from 59 percent to 52 percent. His yards per attempt decreased by one. His release, delayed when hit — left the defenses rejoicing, knowing it was quite simple to exploit Fitzpatrick’s tactics while being blitzed. In addition to that, he never completed his throwing motion in the midst of being blitzed. The following play, however, depicts Fitzpatrick connecting to Marshall in spite of the blitz in a mere three seconds.

In his earlier days in the league, Fitzpatrick garnered attention for his mobility. A common misconception is that Fitzpatrick is some erratic player — one that decides to throw for 400 yards, then proceeds to throw five interceptions while throwing 300 yards. Though the latter is true, he could be mobile and maneuver his way throughout the pocket.

'𝟏𝟓 𝐑𝐲𝐚𝐧 𝐅𝐢𝐭𝐳𝐩𝐚𝐭𝐫𝐢𝐜𝐤

•𝐏𝐚𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐘𝐚𝐫𝐝𝐬: 𝟑,𝟗𝟎𝟓.

•𝐓𝐨𝐮𝐜𝐡𝐝𝐨𝐰𝐧𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐈𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐜𝐞𝐩𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬: 𝟑𝟏 || 𝟏𝟓.

•𝐂𝐨𝐦𝐩𝐥𝐞𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐏𝐞𝐫𝐜𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐚𝐠𝐞: 𝟓𝟗.𝟔%.

•𝐈𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐜𝐞𝐩𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐏𝐞𝐫𝐜𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐚𝐠𝐞: 𝟐.𝟕.

Chris Ivory arguably had the greatest season of his career, with 1,287 scrimmage yards, with 4.3 yards per down. Powell, too, contributed immensely—Powell and Ivory combined for 1,383 yards and proved to be a force to be reckoned with, when the postseason came.

Wait a minute…playoffs?

Without a doubt, the New York Jets had a stellar season. However, before facing their rival, the Buffalo Bills—the Jets boasted a record of 10-5. With one more victory, or a loss by the Steelers—the New York Jets would possibly find themselves in the most crucial time of the year: January…the postseason. The Jets had an unquenchable desire of qualifying for the postseason, a feat they hadn’t accomplished since 2010. Fitzmagic, the Harvard alumni, was 33 years of age—33 damn years, and he couldn’t find himself in the postseason. His fellow peers could, his former teammates...just not him.

Yet, a younger version of myself, merely an adolescent, one that was just a child, saw chaos unfold at its finest. In dismay and despair, I saw the team I loved fall apart. Mayhem prevailed and conquered hope. Havoc over hope. Chaos over hope. It was over -- the player I saw throughout the season seemed to not exist, showing glimpses of his earlier days.

❝𝐀𝐧 𝐞𝐫𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐜 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐦𝐚𝐧…𝐦𝐚𝐠𝐢𝐜 𝐚𝐭 𝐢𝐭𝐬 𝐟𝐢𝐧𝐞𝐬𝐭. ❞