Buffalo Bills: Ranking the quarterbacks in the AFC East entering 2020
By Rob Spehar
2. Ryan Fitzpatrick/Tua Tagovailoa
This is a pretty good QB duo. The Miami Dolphins 2019 season started with a coined phrase, “Tank For Tua”! The way things were unfolding, that is what it most definitely looked like posting an 0-7 record out the gate and became the laughing stock of the league with a non existent defense.
Things were a mess, trades were being made, but one thing that stayed consistent was Ryan Fitzpatrick. However, it turned around midseason, and the Dolphins finished 5-4 and ended up holding the fifth overall pick in the draft. There was no tanking and no trading up needed because Tua fell to the Dolphins much to the delight of the fans in Miami.
Tua was the runaway #1 projected draft pick half way through his season at Alabama until his hip injury derailed a promising season. Then came Joe Burrow and shook the world with his play at LSU making him the new top draft pick at the QB position. Fitzpatrick is a hot and cold QB, but when he is on fire, he is tough to stop. He is the main reason that this Dolphin QB tandem is at number 2 on this list. It’s because “Fitzmagic” is a veteran and has shown that he can produce even with his overgrown beard.
The numbers that Fitzpatrick produced in 2019 were not eye popping but were pretty good considering what he had to work with. He ended the season with a 61.9% completion percentage, throwing for 3529 yards with 20 touchdowns and 13 interceptions. He had a very porous offensive line and a weak running game after the departure of Kenyan Drake to Arizona. The emergence of Devante Parker at wide receiver and Mike Gesicki at tight end helped his numbers on an otherwise anemic offense.
The world cannot forget and appreciate what happened in Week 17 at Foxborough where Fitzpatrick performed his magic and the Dolphins defeated the Patriots to keep home field advantage through the playoffs out of the hands of Tom Brady and Co. It is stuff like that, that makes Fitzmagic who he is. It is inevitable, but it remains to be seen when Tua will take control of the Miami offense. But until he proves he was worth the fifth overall pick, it will be a Ryan Fitzpatrick led offense that will take the field at Hard Rock Stadium.