Will he be ‘Fitzmagic,’ or will QB Fitzpatrick bring more bad juju to Jets’ passing game?

It was Wednesday. Both New York Jets quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick and coach Todd Bowles had reviewed film on the team’s putrid performance in the passing game Sunday at Kansas City.

Known for extended stretches of careless football throughout his NFL career, Fitzpatrick certainly hit a new low against the Chiefs — a career-high six interceptions.

And when it came to assigning specific blame for each turnover, Bowles could not get past the overall enormity of the miscues.

“Six interceptions is six interceptions,” Bowles said. “It was a bad day at the office.”

If there is a silver lining for Jets fans to latch onto, it is that some of the best quarterbacks in NFL history have thrown six picks in one game. Kenny Stabler did it. George Blanda did it. Peyton Manning did it. Even Broadway Joe Namath did it.

Seattle’s secondary sees its own silver lining in the situation: If Fitzpatrick is prone to doing it once, he can certainly do it again.

“It was definitely good seeing that going into this next game,” Seahawks cornerback DeShawn Shead said. “It should lead to some opportunities out there. And we’re a smart secondary. We go in expecting his best, but at the same time, we’ll be trying to get some turnovers and take full advantage.”

Fitzpatrick, the scrappy, overachieving scrambler from Harvard, showed the NFL very early what he was capable of. As a rookie for the St. Louis Rams in 2005, he threw five interceptions in a loss at Minnesota.

But Fitzpatrick said his showing Sunday against the Chiefs was worse. Way worse.

“That was new territory for me,” Fitzpatrick said. “It is hard. As a quarterback, whether it is six interceptions, or you play well but don’t finish on the last drive to win the game — if you are not winning football games, it is hard to come in Mondays and watch film.

“That was an especially tough one to come in, watch it, try to get better from it, learn from it and put it behind you. That is the most difficult part of it, not letting it linger, not letting it affect my confidence.”

The 33-year-old is coming off a career year with New York last season — 3,905 passing yards and 33 touchdowns.

Fitzpatrick held out for a new deal, which caused him to miss some offseason workouts. He finally signed a one-year, $12 million deal in late July right before training camp opened.

“It made for a long offseason, not being able to be with the guys,” Fitzpatrick said. “I was in town, with my kids in school and stuff, so that part was frustrating. But we got it done ... and I don’t think it has affected us too much.”

What has affected the Jets’ offense is injuries, especially in the receiving corps. Eric Decker has already been ruled out Sunday with a partially torn rotator cuff, and is expected to be out an extended period. Brandon Marshall sprained his knee and dinged up his foot two weeks ago against Buffalo, and has not played at 100 percent.

The Seattle defense wants to strike the iron while it is hot.

“It’s a Catch-22,” Seahawks defensive end Cliff Avril said. “You’re excited they threw six picks, but it wasn’t against you. They’re going to change a lot of things.

“Hopefully they go out there and try to throw it a lot. As a pass rusher, you want to get after them as much as possible.”

This story was originally published October 1, 2016 at 5:38 PM with the headline "Will he be ‘Fitzmagic,’ or will QB Fitzpatrick bring more bad juju to Jets’ passing game?."