It was only a matter of time before Bucs quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick was going to come down to earth. He had thrown eight touchdowns and only one interception heading into Monday’s game against the Steelers, and regression toward the mean was expected.
Monday appeared to be that day, when the 35-year-old veteran essentially ran out of “FitzMagic.”
The Bucs quarterback did throw the first touchdown pass of the game, on a 4-yard strike to tight end Cameron Brate, midway through the first quarter. But the Steelers responded soon after, with a 75-yard catch-and-run for a touchdown by Vance McDonald, who was aided by a brutal stiff-arm he put on Bucs safety Chris Conte (watch here).
The Bucs then elected to abandon the run game in the second quarter, which put a lot of pressure on Fitzpatrick, and that proved to be a bad idea. Fitzpatrick threw three interceptions in a span of roughly five-and-a-half minutes — the first of which came at the 8:11 mark of the quarter. The third interception was thrown out of the back of his own end zone, which Steelers linebacker Bud Dupree picked off and ran in for a touchdown.
Social media immediately exploded with reactions, memes and also a few hot takes. Here are some of the best ones.
FITZMAGIC
SEPTEMBER 2018-SEPTEMBER 2018
— Jeremy Bergman (@JABergman) September 25, 2018
fitzpatrick is jeopardizing his rookie of the year campaign
— Mina Kimes (@minakimes) September 25, 2018
Fitzmagic turning back into Ryan Fitzpatrick right as Jameis Winston is set to come out of his suspension. You knew it was only a matter of time
— Larry Brown (@LBSports) September 25, 2018
"There is literally no performance terrible enough by Ryan Fitzpatrick to get Jameis Winston the start in Week 4."
*narrator voice*
"There was."
— Will Brinson (@WillBrinson) September 25, 2018
I love that Ryan Fitzpatrick has been doing this for over a decade. His inconsistency is unbelievably consistent pic.twitter.com/jMcu4VkWUw
— Big Cat (@BarstoolBigCat) September 25, 2018
Ryan Fitzpatrick now has 15 career games with 3+ INT.
His last 3-interception game came in Week 4, 2016 after throwing 6 interceptions in Week 3, 2016.
Fitzpatrick is 0-14 when throwing 3+ INT in a game. #PITvsTB
— NFL Research (@NFLResearch) September 25, 2018
And here are some great memes.
When you started Ryan Fitzpatrick in fantasy pic.twitter.com/I3eeFbhQE4
— Yahoo Fantasy Sports (@YahooFantasy) September 25, 2018
— ProFootballTalk (@ProFootballTalk) September 25, 2018
"Are you worried about losing the starting job to Ryan Fitzpatrick?"
Jameis Winston:pic.twitter.com/DMjvoLn9Qf
— The Rush (@therushyahoo) September 25, 2018
The wrong Fitzpatrick showed up tonight… pic.twitter.com/9tzNlzteRT
— UNSPORTSMANLIKE Radio (@UnSportsESPN) September 25, 2018
Fitzpatrick finished the first half with 184 yards on 11-of-21 passing, but it was the turnovers that really changed the entire scope of the game.
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