Despite two humiliating defeats in a row, the Bills are 3-3 and tied for first place in the AFC East.
With every other team in the AFC East also 3-3, the Bills are also tied for last place and that’s where you’d imagine they’d be when listening to quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick’s comments about the state of the passing game. Fitzpatrick says that the passing game hasn’t been as effective as it has needed to be this season and points the finger squarely at himself as the reason why.
“It has just been very inconsistent all year. A lot of that falls on me and my play. I did not and have not started the year the way I wanted to. I think starting out with the three interception game, having another four interception game -- there has to be a happy medium there in terms of not going out there and trying to throw touchdowns on every play, but not being too conservative,” Fitzpatrick said, via the team’s website. “I think right now we are still trying to find ourselves in the passing game. A lot of that is me just playing more consistent. That is where we are at right now.”
The Bills have dialed things way back in the last two weeks with Fitzpatrick averaging 4.8 yards per pass attempt in each game after being over 7 yards per attempt in the first four weeks of the season. That would suggest that the offensive balance they’d like doesn’t include a lot of risky plays down the field because they don’t believe their quarterback can make them often enough to justify the risk. With two strong running backs and a long enough history with Fitzpatrick to know what kind of quarterback he is, it’s hard to argue too much with that approach.
That history with Fitzpatrick is significant. While he might feel he’s “just been very inconsistent” this year, Fitzpatrick’s results have actually been right in line with what he’s previously done as a starting quarterback in Buffalo. If the last two games are any judge, the Bills have come to that conclusion and adjusted their offense accordingly.