Fitzmagic will still be part of the NFL but not in the way we used to experience it. Retired journeyman quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick is venturing into broadcasting and will serve as a studio analyst for Amazon Prime Video during the 2022 NFL season.

Amazon Prime Video is set to broadcast Thursday Night Football starting this upcoming season, and Fitzpatrick should be a big part of the program. He is expected to be involved in pregame, halftime, and postgame coverage, according to the streamer’s announcement.

Prime Video’s director of global live sports production Jared Stacy issued a statement to confirm the news and called Fitzpatrick “one of the great characters in the league.”

“We’re thrilled to now have him on our team and know our viewers will love seeing his sense of humor and intelligence on display every week,” Stacy added.

Besides Fitzpatrick, Amazon’s Thursday Night Football coverage will also include Hall of Famer Tony Gonzalez and legendary Seattle Seahawks corner Richard Sherman.

Ryan Fitzpatrick played 17 seasons in the NFL and suited up for nine different teams during that period. He spent 2021 with the Washington Commanders but was limited to just one game due to a hip injury. Fitzpatrick opted against a comeback this offseason and instead officially retired in early June. 

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Quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick is set to undergo arthroscopic hip surgery, thereby bringing a premature end to his NFL season. The Washington quarterback incurred a partial dislocation of his right hip during the second quarter of his team’s opening game against the Los Angeles Chargers which ended in a 20-16 loss.

Following his injury, the 39-year-old underwent an MRI in early November. Unfortunately, Fitzpatrick enjoyed little improvement in his situation, as the swelling and pain in the hip and groin area persisted, thereby preventing him from undergoing a proper rehabilitation.

While Fitzpatrick’s recovery timeline is yet to be confirmed, there is no possibility for the veteran quarterback to return this season, with only five games remaining.

Fitzpatrick signed a one-year, $10 million deal with the Washington Football Team in March, hoping to use his veteran knowledge and consistent gameplay to propel Washington to a playoff spot.

Since being recruited as an undrafted free agent from Harvard, Fitzpatrick has completed 223 touchdown passes and 169 interceptions in 147 games.

As a result of Fitzpatrick’s absence, Washington will now rely on backup quarterback Taylor Heinicke, who has impressed so far this season by helping his side to four consecutive wins, thereby putting them in a playoff spot.

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Ryan Fitzpatrick is bringing his “FitzMagic” to Washington for the 2021 NFL season. According to multiple reports, the veteran quarterback agreed to a one-year deal with the Washington Football Team.

ESPN’s Adam Schefter reports that Fitzpatrick will receive $10 million this season while being able to earn an additional $2 million through incentives. Schefter adds that Washington views the 38-year-old veteran as their top choice for starting QB ahead of Kyle Allen and Taylor Heinicke.

Fitzpatrick spent the last two seasons with the Miami Dolphins. He started 20 games, leading the franchise to a 9-11 record while throwing for 5,620 yards and 33 touchdowns.

While the Dolphins showed interest in bringing back Fitzpatrick for another year, he would almost certainly be a backup to last year’s No. 5 pick Tua Tagovailoa. Washington, on the other hand, offered him a clearer pathway to the starting role.

Washington is still on the lookout for their franchise quarterback, but the organization recognized the opportunity to compete in the NFC East even with a mid-tier starter like Ryan Fitzpatrick. They managed to win the divisional title in 2019 despite starting three different quarterbacks: Dwayne Haskins, Allen, and Alex Smith. They also put up great resistance to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the playoffs with Heinicke under center.

Ryan Fitzpatrick entered the NFL in 2005 and has since played for eight different organizations, including the Buffalo Bills, New York Jets, and Buccaneers. He has 34,977 career passing yards, 10th among all active QBs.

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The NFL is one of those leagues where players tend to be very fickle about their decision to retire. One huge example is when we watched legendary Brett Favre decide to retire, only to come back and play for the Minnesota Vikings.

More recently, Miami Dolphins quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick is surprising everyone by saying that he doesn’t feel like retiring.

This is obviously a lot less egregious than Favre’s case, since Fitzpatrick hasn’t even left the league yet, but there was a lot of talk surrounding him potentially handing over the metaphorical torch to young quarterback Tua Tagovailoa.

Indeed, there were rumors that Fitzpatrick was ready to retire—but he recently quashed those rumors in an interview on the Pat McAfee Show:

“For me personally, I have to take every offseason now and just reassess. I know these last two years have really re-lit that fire under me,” said the star quarterback. “I still want to play. I enjoy being out there playing.”

He went on to say that while a lot of thought needs to be put into retiring, he still loves playing the game of football. Considering he had a great last season, it’ll be interesting to see which teams try to sign him.

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“Fitzmagic” continues to live on in Miami. Well, at least for the next week.

Dolphins decided to remove any doubts about their starting quarterback in Week 5 against the San Francisco 49ers and announced that Ryan Fitzpatrick will start the game under center. The news comes after speculations that head coach Brian Flores is considering turning over the offense to Tua Tagovailoa, Miami’s No.5 pick in the 2020 NFL Draft.

Dolphins are 1-3 this season with Fitzpatrick as a starter, with the 37-year-old experiencing notable oscillations in his game in 2020. He is currently completing 69.0 percent of his passes, having thrown for 994 yards, four touchdowns, and five interceptions.

Still, Flores is hesitant to bench Fitzpatrick, believing that Tagovailoa could benefit from sitting behind the veteran before being thrown into the fire. Also, Alabama’s product underwent hip surgery, and the organization doesn’t want to rush his return to the field.

On the other hand, other teams that started rookie quarterbacks this season, Cincinnati Bengals and LA Chargers, greatly benefited from this decision. This likely increases the pressure on Miami to do the same, with their fan base already asking for a change at the position.

If Dolphins continue to underperform and Fitzpatrick struggles in Week 5, it shouldn’t be surprising that Flores backs on his decision and gives Tagovailoa a chance.

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Miami Dolphins quarterback Ryan Fitzgerald might be 37 years old, but you wouldn’t know it watching him dissect the Jacksonville Jaguars on Thursday night.

The veteran quarterback led the team with three touchdowns, throwing for two and running one in himself, to defeat the Jaguars 31-13.

Fitzpatrick also made history, becoming the first player since at least 1950 to beat one opponent with six different teams.

“Fitz-Magic” has now beaten the Jacksonville Jaguars as the quarterback of the Dolphins, Buffalo Bills, Tennessee Titans, Houston Texans, Cincinnati Bengals, and New York Jets. To say that Fitzpatrick has the Jags number would be an understatement.

The journeyman quarterback joined the NFL in 2005 as a backup QB for the then St. Louis Rams and has since played on seven other teams. Fitzpatrick has beaten the Jaguars in 2008, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, and now 2020.

He played lights out last night, completing his first 12 passes of the game. Going back to Miami’s game against the Bills last week, in which he completed his last nine passes, that’s a total of 21 straight completions over two games.

Fitzpatrick ended his impressive night going 18-20 with 160 yards and two touchdowns tosses, adding another on the ground.

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Miami Dolphins are going with experience over youth. The team just announced that veteran Ryan Fitzpatrick will be the team’s starting quarterback for Week 1, with second-year player Josh Rosen taking the backup role.

Both Fitzpatrick and Rosen made good cases for themselves during the training camp and preseason, and it seemed that Dolphins’ new head coach Brian Flores is in for a tough decision. Still, Flores didn’t want to postpone the matter for long and named Fitzpatrick the starter following the preseason game against New Orleans Saints.

“I found out before you guys,” – said Fitzpatrick while talking with reporters after the Saints game. “Just a quick conversation with coach Flo. He’s been great throughout the whole process. Not just with starters, non-starters, whatever. Just in terms of being upfront and just letting guys know how he sees things and what he feels.”

Although disappointed with the decision, Rosen handled it like a pro. “I’ll push him every single day for him to get better and if he doesn’t, I’ll surpass him,” – said Rosen.

While both QBs had their ups and downs in the first three preseason games, Fitzpatrick probably won the job thanks to his performance against Jacksonville Jaguars. In that game, the 36-year-old journeyman completed 12 out of 18 attempted passes, throwing for 126 yards and one touchdown.

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Since we’re halfway through this year’s regular season, you would expect that there aren’t many things left to learn about NFL teams. Well, Week 8 of the 2018 NFL Season showed us just the opposite.

For example, Houston Texans, who were 0-3 to start the season, are now on a five- games winning streak and look like they could secure a playoff spot in a really tough division. It’s the same with the Seattle Seahawks, who flipped the switch after a rough start and are now playing some of the best football in the league.

Let’s check out what else Week 8 of 2018 NFL Season has shown us.

FitzMagic is Back

Tampa Bay Buccaneers remain to be indecisive about who should be their starting quarterback, but that isn’t a bad thing for casual NFL fans. Bucs inserted Ryan Fitzpatrick in the second half of the game against Cincinnati Bengals, and he almost led them to an epic comeback win. He will be their starter this Sunday as well, so get ready for FitzMagic.

New Orleans Saints is the Best Team in NFL

“But what about the LA Rams?” – most of you will ask. Well, to be honest, although Rams are 8-0 they didn’t look like the best team in NFL for some time now. Their last few games came down to the wire, and they dodged a bullet against the Green Bay Packers on Sunday thanks to Ty Montgomery’s unfortunate fumble.

New Orleans Saints, on the other hand, are not only getting wins but are also destroying their opponents. And those were not wins against weak teams like San Francisco 49ers, Denver Broncos or Arizona Cardinals, which Rams pulled off. Saints have taken down Atlanta Falcons, Baltimore Ravens, and Minnesota Vikings, and did all of that away from home. So, yes. Saints are the best team in NFL at the moment.

Cleveland Browns are a Mess

Ok, it wasn’t something we didn’t know before, but Cleveland Browns are in such a mess that it should be repeated on a daily basis. While the start of the season looked good for the Browns, everything went downhill for them in the past couple of weeks which eventually got head coach Hue Jackson and offensive coordinator Todd Haley to clash. Browns responded by firing them both, and now it looks like this will be another painful season for Cleveland fans.

Adrian Peterson Still Has “Juice” Left in Him

Before the season started, most people thought that Adrian Peterson’s career is pretty much done at this point, given the fact that there were not many running backs who managed to be efficient at the age of 33. NFL teams shied away from giving him a contract in 2018, and Peterson only managed to land a job after Washington Redskins lost two of their running backs to injuries. Fast forward to Week 8 of 2018 NFL Season and Peterson managed to rush for 149 yards and a touchdown against NY Giants. He now has 587 rushing yards and four touchdowns this year, proving his doubters that he still has some “juice” left in him to compete on the highest level.

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It didn’t last long, but it sure was fun.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers announced that Jameis Winston is taking over as the team’s starting quarterback after the Week 5 bye which means that Ryan Fitzpatrick is back to being a backup. FitzMagic is officially gone.

Considered a journeyman and capable NFL backup, Ryan Fitzpatrick received a surprising chance to be a starter for Buccaneers when the Jameis Winston was handed a three-game suspension at the beginning of 2018 NFL season. Bucs were hoping that Fitzpatrick will at least make them stay competitive in games Winston is absent, but the 35-year-old did much more.

When Fitzpatrick passed for 417 yards and four touchdowns in Week 1 win against New Orleans Saints, it was a welcoming surprise, but many people thought it was an aberration. Then he added 402 yards and four touchdowns in Week 3 win against reigning Super Bowl champions Philadelphia Eagles, while almost orchestrating a comeback against Pittsburgh Steelers in Week 3 when he threw for 411 yards and three touchdowns. This tremendous stretch even got its own nickname; FitzMagic.

It was hard not to get caught up in the FitzMagic. It was a perfect underdog story about an aging veteran quarterback who comes to a team in the time of need and starts playing beyond everyone’s wildest expectations.

We didn’t care that analysts warned us that Ryan Fitzpatrick couldn’t keep such high playing level. And we didn’t care that he was known for occasional flashes of brilliance followed by long stretches of terrible playmaking. Like when he followed 5-2 start with Buffalo Bills in 2011 with a 1-8 finish. We hoped it would be different this time. That it will last longer. It wasn’t. It didn’t.

After captivating the attention of NFL fans all around the world for three weeks, FitzMagic suddenly ran out in the first half of Week 4 game against the Chicago Bears.

In that game, Fitzpatrick couldn’t find the inspiration as he did in previous three games. He completed just nine out of 18 passes for 126 yards, throwing one interception and couldn’t reach the end zone in two-quarters of play. Bucs were losing 3-38, and coach Dirk Koetter responded by benching Fitzpatrick and starting Jameis Winston in the second half.

You could even argue that Ryan Fitzpatrick set standards for himself in the first three games that were too high and that is what eventually got him to the bench. Bucs awful first half shouldn’t even be attributed to Fitzpatrick alone since the entire team was playing terribly.

But, on the other hand, there is a feeling that Koetter couldn’t wait to insert Winston back into the starting lineup. Winston is the future of the franchise and as such can’t be relegated to the bench in favor of a veteran that has a proven record of failures.

Maybe this first half against Bears was an aberration, and Fitzpatrick would wow us in the second half, and FitzMagic would go on in Week 5. Guess we’ll never know.

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Tampa Bay Buccaneers’ quarterback Jameis Winston returned to the team after serving his three-game suspension. But, lots of things changed since he left the Bucs following the start of the regular season and he might not have his job anymore.

Although Winston is their franchise quarterback, Buccaneers’ are seriously considering leaving Ryan Fitzpatrick as their starter. Fitzpatrick is 2-1 this season, and recently became the first quarterback in NFL history to have more than 400 passing yards in three consecutive games.

Bucs’ head coach Dirk Koetter is currently the only one who knows the Week 4 starter and isn’t ready to spill the beans just yet. But Jameis Winston isn’t too worried about that at the moment.

“My passion for this team, my love for the team, goes beyond where I’m out there throwing the football for this team or not,” – Winston told reporters on his first day back. “Like I said, it’s my first day back. Let me enjoy that before I start answering any more questions about that.“

According to the 24-year-old, the most important thing is the success team is having.

“It’s about the team’s success,” – he added. “I’m not a selfish player; it’s about our team. We’re out here doing big things, and we have to continue doing it.“

The overall feeling around the league is that Tampa Bay Buccaneers will continue Ryan Fitzpatrick as the starting QB as long as he plays well. So, you can expect the 35-year-old veteran to start the game against the Chicago Bears on Sunday even if Koetter doesn’t want to say it right now. He will remain at the position as long as “Fitzmagic” continues. But after it runs out, Winston will be ready to step in.

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Fitzmagic will still be part of the NFL but not in the way we used to experience it. Retired journeyman quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick is venturing into broadcasting and will serve as a studio analyst for Amazon Prime Video during the 2022 NFL season.

Amazon Prime Video is set to broadcast Thursday Night Football starting this upcoming season, and Fitzpatrick should be a big part of the program. He is expected to be involved in pregame, halftime, and postgame coverage, according to the streamer’s announcement.

Prime Video’s director of global live sports production Jared Stacy issued a statement to confirm the news and called Fitzpatrick “one of the great characters in the league.”

“We’re thrilled to now have him on our team and know our viewers will love seeing his sense of humor and intelligence on display every week,” Stacy added.

Besides Fitzpatrick, Amazon’s Thursday Night Football coverage will also include Hall of Famer Tony Gonzalez and legendary Seattle Seahawks corner Richard Sherman.

Ryan Fitzpatrick played 17 seasons in the NFL and suited up for nine different teams during that period. He spent 2021 with the Washington Commanders but was limited to just one game due to a hip injury. Fitzpatrick opted against a comeback this offseason and instead officially retired in early June. 

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Quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick is set to undergo arthroscopic hip surgery, thereby bringing a premature end to his NFL season. The Washington quarterback incurred a partial dislocation of his right hip during the second quarter of his team’s opening game against the Los Angeles Chargers which ended in a 20-16 loss.

Following his injury, the 39-year-old underwent an MRI in early November. Unfortunately, Fitzpatrick enjoyed little improvement in his situation, as the swelling and pain in the hip and groin area persisted, thereby preventing him from undergoing a proper rehabilitation.

While Fitzpatrick’s recovery timeline is yet to be confirmed, there is no possibility for the veteran quarterback to return this season, with only five games remaining.

Fitzpatrick signed a one-year, $10 million deal with the Washington Football Team in March, hoping to use his veteran knowledge and consistent gameplay to propel Washington to a playoff spot.

Since being recruited as an undrafted free agent from Harvard, Fitzpatrick has completed 223 touchdown passes and 169 interceptions in 147 games.

As a result of Fitzpatrick’s absence, Washington will now rely on backup quarterback Taylor Heinicke, who has impressed so far this season by helping his side to four consecutive wins, thereby putting them in a playoff spot.

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Ryan Fitzpatrick is bringing his “FitzMagic” to Washington for the 2021 NFL season. According to multiple reports, the veteran quarterback agreed to a one-year deal with the Washington Football Team.

ESPN’s Adam Schefter reports that Fitzpatrick will receive $10 million this season while being able to earn an additional $2 million through incentives. Schefter adds that Washington views the 38-year-old veteran as their top choice for starting QB ahead of Kyle Allen and Taylor Heinicke.

Fitzpatrick spent the last two seasons with the Miami Dolphins. He started 20 games, leading the franchise to a 9-11 record while throwing for 5,620 yards and 33 touchdowns.

While the Dolphins showed interest in bringing back Fitzpatrick for another year, he would almost certainly be a backup to last year’s No. 5 pick Tua Tagovailoa. Washington, on the other hand, offered him a clearer pathway to the starting role.

Washington is still on the lookout for their franchise quarterback, but the organization recognized the opportunity to compete in the NFC East even with a mid-tier starter like Ryan Fitzpatrick. They managed to win the divisional title in 2019 despite starting three different quarterbacks: Dwayne Haskins, Allen, and Alex Smith. They also put up great resistance to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the playoffs with Heinicke under center.

Ryan Fitzpatrick entered the NFL in 2005 and has since played for eight different organizations, including the Buffalo Bills, New York Jets, and Buccaneers. He has 34,977 career passing yards, 10th among all active QBs.

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The NFL is one of those leagues where players tend to be very fickle about their decision to retire. One huge example is when we watched legendary Brett Favre decide to retire, only to come back and play for the Minnesota Vikings.

More recently, Miami Dolphins quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick is surprising everyone by saying that he doesn’t feel like retiring.

This is obviously a lot less egregious than Favre’s case, since Fitzpatrick hasn’t even left the league yet, but there was a lot of talk surrounding him potentially handing over the metaphorical torch to young quarterback Tua Tagovailoa.

Indeed, there were rumors that Fitzpatrick was ready to retire—but he recently quashed those rumors in an interview on the Pat McAfee Show:

“For me personally, I have to take every offseason now and just reassess. I know these last two years have really re-lit that fire under me,” said the star quarterback. “I still want to play. I enjoy being out there playing.”

He went on to say that while a lot of thought needs to be put into retiring, he still loves playing the game of football. Considering he had a great last season, it’ll be interesting to see which teams try to sign him.

The post Ryan Fitzpatrick Expresses Desire to Continue Playing appeared first on SportzBonanza.

“Fitzmagic” continues to live on in Miami. Well, at least for the next week.

Dolphins decided to remove any doubts about their starting quarterback in Week 5 against the San Francisco 49ers and announced that Ryan Fitzpatrick will start the game under center. The news comes after speculations that head coach Brian Flores is considering turning over the offense to Tua Tagovailoa, Miami’s No.5 pick in the 2020 NFL Draft.

Dolphins are 1-3 this season with Fitzpatrick as a starter, with the 37-year-old experiencing notable oscillations in his game in 2020. He is currently completing 69.0 percent of his passes, having thrown for 994 yards, four touchdowns, and five interceptions.

Still, Flores is hesitant to bench Fitzpatrick, believing that Tagovailoa could benefit from sitting behind the veteran before being thrown into the fire. Also, Alabama’s product underwent hip surgery, and the organization doesn’t want to rush his return to the field.

On the other hand, other teams that started rookie quarterbacks this season, Cincinnati Bengals and LA Chargers, greatly benefited from this decision. This likely increases the pressure on Miami to do the same, with their fan base already asking for a change at the position.

If Dolphins continue to underperform and Fitzpatrick struggles in Week 5, it shouldn’t be surprising that Flores backs on his decision and gives Tagovailoa a chance.

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Miami Dolphins quarterback Ryan Fitzgerald might be 37 years old, but you wouldn’t know it watching him dissect the Jacksonville Jaguars on Thursday night.

The veteran quarterback led the team with three touchdowns, throwing for two and running one in himself, to defeat the Jaguars 31-13.

Fitzpatrick also made history, becoming the first player since at least 1950 to beat one opponent with six different teams.

“Fitz-Magic” has now beaten the Jacksonville Jaguars as the quarterback of the Dolphins, Buffalo Bills, Tennessee Titans, Houston Texans, Cincinnati Bengals, and New York Jets. To say that Fitzpatrick has the Jags number would be an understatement.

The journeyman quarterback joined the NFL in 2005 as a backup QB for the then St. Louis Rams and has since played on seven other teams. Fitzpatrick has beaten the Jaguars in 2008, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, and now 2020.

He played lights out last night, completing his first 12 passes of the game. Going back to Miami’s game against the Bills last week, in which he completed his last nine passes, that’s a total of 21 straight completions over two games.

Fitzpatrick ended his impressive night going 18-20 with 160 yards and two touchdowns tosses, adding another on the ground.

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Miami Dolphins are going with experience over youth. The team just announced that veteran Ryan Fitzpatrick will be the team’s starting quarterback for Week 1, with second-year player Josh Rosen taking the backup role.

Both Fitzpatrick and Rosen made good cases for themselves during the training camp and preseason, and it seemed that Dolphins’ new head coach Brian Flores is in for a tough decision. Still, Flores didn’t want to postpone the matter for long and named Fitzpatrick the starter following the preseason game against New Orleans Saints.

“I found out before you guys,” – said Fitzpatrick while talking with reporters after the Saints game. “Just a quick conversation with coach Flo. He’s been great throughout the whole process. Not just with starters, non-starters, whatever. Just in terms of being upfront and just letting guys know how he sees things and what he feels.”

Although disappointed with the decision, Rosen handled it like a pro. “I’ll push him every single day for him to get better and if he doesn’t, I’ll surpass him,” – said Rosen.

While both QBs had their ups and downs in the first three preseason games, Fitzpatrick probably won the job thanks to his performance against Jacksonville Jaguars. In that game, the 36-year-old journeyman completed 12 out of 18 attempted passes, throwing for 126 yards and one touchdown.

The post Ryan Fitzpatrick Will Be Dolphins’ Starting QB In Week 1 appeared first on SportzBonanza.

Since we’re halfway through this year’s regular season, you would expect that there aren’t many things left to learn about NFL teams. Well, Week 8 of the 2018 NFL Season showed us just the opposite.

For example, Houston Texans, who were 0-3 to start the season, are now on a five- games winning streak and look like they could secure a playoff spot in a really tough division. It’s the same with the Seattle Seahawks, who flipped the switch after a rough start and are now playing some of the best football in the league.

Let’s check out what else Week 8 of 2018 NFL Season has shown us.

FitzMagic is Back

Tampa Bay Buccaneers remain to be indecisive about who should be their starting quarterback, but that isn’t a bad thing for casual NFL fans. Bucs inserted Ryan Fitzpatrick in the second half of the game against Cincinnati Bengals, and he almost led them to an epic comeback win. He will be their starter this Sunday as well, so get ready for FitzMagic.

New Orleans Saints is the Best Team in NFL

“But what about the LA Rams?” – most of you will ask. Well, to be honest, although Rams are 8-0 they didn’t look like the best team in NFL for some time now. Their last few games came down to the wire, and they dodged a bullet against the Green Bay Packers on Sunday thanks to Ty Montgomery’s unfortunate fumble.

New Orleans Saints, on the other hand, are not only getting wins but are also destroying their opponents. And those were not wins against weak teams like San Francisco 49ers, Denver Broncos or Arizona Cardinals, which Rams pulled off. Saints have taken down Atlanta Falcons, Baltimore Ravens, and Minnesota Vikings, and did all of that away from home. So, yes. Saints are the best team in NFL at the moment.

Cleveland Browns are a Mess

Ok, it wasn’t something we didn’t know before, but Cleveland Browns are in such a mess that it should be repeated on a daily basis. While the start of the season looked good for the Browns, everything went downhill for them in the past couple of weeks which eventually got head coach Hue Jackson and offensive coordinator Todd Haley to clash. Browns responded by firing them both, and now it looks like this will be another painful season for Cleveland fans.

Adrian Peterson Still Has “Juice” Left in Him

Before the season started, most people thought that Adrian Peterson’s career is pretty much done at this point, given the fact that there were not many running backs who managed to be efficient at the age of 33. NFL teams shied away from giving him a contract in 2018, and Peterson only managed to land a job after Washington Redskins lost two of their running backs to injuries. Fast forward to Week 8 of 2018 NFL Season and Peterson managed to rush for 149 yards and a touchdown against NY Giants. He now has 587 rushing yards and four touchdowns this year, proving his doubters that he still has some “juice” left in him to compete on the highest level.

The post Four Biggest Takeaways from Week 8 of 2018 NFL Season appeared first on SportzBonanza.

It didn’t last long, but it sure was fun.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers announced that Jameis Winston is taking over as the team’s starting quarterback after the Week 5 bye which means that Ryan Fitzpatrick is back to being a backup. FitzMagic is officially gone.

Considered a journeyman and capable NFL backup, Ryan Fitzpatrick received a surprising chance to be a starter for Buccaneers when the Jameis Winston was handed a three-game suspension at the beginning of 2018 NFL season. Bucs were hoping that Fitzpatrick will at least make them stay competitive in games Winston is absent, but the 35-year-old did much more.

When Fitzpatrick passed for 417 yards and four touchdowns in Week 1 win against New Orleans Saints, it was a welcoming surprise, but many people thought it was an aberration. Then he added 402 yards and four touchdowns in Week 3 win against reigning Super Bowl champions Philadelphia Eagles, while almost orchestrating a comeback against Pittsburgh Steelers in Week 3 when he threw for 411 yards and three touchdowns. This tremendous stretch even got its own nickname; FitzMagic.

It was hard not to get caught up in the FitzMagic. It was a perfect underdog story about an aging veteran quarterback who comes to a team in the time of need and starts playing beyond everyone’s wildest expectations.

We didn’t care that analysts warned us that Ryan Fitzpatrick couldn’t keep such high playing level. And we didn’t care that he was known for occasional flashes of brilliance followed by long stretches of terrible playmaking. Like when he followed 5-2 start with Buffalo Bills in 2011 with a 1-8 finish. We hoped it would be different this time. That it will last longer. It wasn’t. It didn’t.

After captivating the attention of NFL fans all around the world for three weeks, FitzMagic suddenly ran out in the first half of Week 4 game against the Chicago Bears.

In that game, Fitzpatrick couldn’t find the inspiration as he did in previous three games. He completed just nine out of 18 passes for 126 yards, throwing one interception and couldn’t reach the end zone in two-quarters of play. Bucs were losing 3-38, and coach Dirk Koetter responded by benching Fitzpatrick and starting Jameis Winston in the second half.

You could even argue that Ryan Fitzpatrick set standards for himself in the first three games that were too high and that is what eventually got him to the bench. Bucs awful first half shouldn’t even be attributed to Fitzpatrick alone since the entire team was playing terribly.

But, on the other hand, there is a feeling that Koetter couldn’t wait to insert Winston back into the starting lineup. Winston is the future of the franchise and as such can’t be relegated to the bench in favor of a veteran that has a proven record of failures.

Maybe this first half against Bears was an aberration, and Fitzpatrick would wow us in the second half, and FitzMagic would go on in Week 5. Guess we’ll never know.

The post Saying Goodbye to FitzMagic appeared first on SportzBonanza.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers’ quarterback Jameis Winston returned to the team after serving his three-game suspension. But, lots of things changed since he left the Bucs following the start of the regular season and he might not have his job anymore.

Although Winston is their franchise quarterback, Buccaneers’ are seriously considering leaving Ryan Fitzpatrick as their starter. Fitzpatrick is 2-1 this season, and recently became the first quarterback in NFL history to have more than 400 passing yards in three consecutive games.

Bucs’ head coach Dirk Koetter is currently the only one who knows the Week 4 starter and isn’t ready to spill the beans just yet. But Jameis Winston isn’t too worried about that at the moment.

“My passion for this team, my love for the team, goes beyond where I’m out there throwing the football for this team or not,” – Winston told reporters on his first day back. “Like I said, it’s my first day back. Let me enjoy that before I start answering any more questions about that.“

According to the 24-year-old, the most important thing is the success team is having.

“It’s about the team’s success,” – he added. “I’m not a selfish player; it’s about our team. We’re out here doing big things, and we have to continue doing it.“

The overall feeling around the league is that Tampa Bay Buccaneers will continue Ryan Fitzpatrick as the starting QB as long as he plays well. So, you can expect the 35-year-old veteran to start the game against the Chicago Bears on Sunday even if Koetter doesn’t want to say it right now. He will remain at the position as long as “Fitzmagic” continues. But after it runs out, Winston will be ready to step in.

The post Jameis Winston Returns to the Bucs: “It’s About the Team’s Success “ appeared first on SportzBonanza.