Ryan Fitzpatrick – December 22, 2019 (Postgame)
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Sunday, December 22, 2019
Postgame – Cincinnati
QB Ryan Fitzpatrick
(WR DeVante Parker had his first 1,000-yard season. What do you credit his success to this year with you?) – “I think hard work. He’s definitely showed a lot of determination throughout his career, and he just, he’s a playmaker. When you put the ball in his area, he makes plays. He wants the ball in the tough situations, and I’ve been extremely proud of him all year, the way that he’s played. But that’s a great – as a receiver, that 1,000-mark is a great accomplishment and was very happy to see him get it today.”
(You were leading 35-12 with 6:11 to play, and then you’re not. You’re thinking what as you’re seeing their numbers tick up on the scoreboard?) – “I’m thinking, ‘No way. No. No way. Well, they’ve got to get the 2-point conversion. Well, they’ve got to get an onside kick. Well, they’ve got to score again. Well, they’ve got to get the 2-point conversion (again).’ And it all happened. That’s tough. That was tough for us to kind of reset. As an offense, we ran the ball a bunch on our last drive and really hadn’t been out there. I don’t know what the real time was, but we hadn’t been out there for a while. So it was tough to hit reset. I think our defense, whatever happened at the end of the game, they really stepped up in overtime because we didn’t come out. We won the toss, so you’ve got to come out, bring it down the field and score some points, hopefully a touchdown, and we didn’t do either. They made a couple big stops, got some good punts. Then we took advantage of it at the end, but I would also say Isaiah Ford stepped up huge today, made some huge plays in overtime, and he’s just a guy that’s been so consistent and a guy that has been so determined since he’s been here, and it was nice to see him today make some plays.”
(When you throw for 400 yards and four touchdowns, how does it make you feel about where you are in your career?) – “I truly don’t care about that. I mean, I know it’s cool and like, my kids are excited about it and they’re excited about their fantasy teams and all that; but winning is what it’s all about, and we got off to a great start and then slowed down a little bit. But I think the fact, the five touchdowns and being able to get that today and scoring seven rather than three was a nice change of pace for us because the last few weeks we had struggled with that. It’s fun because we fought through a lot this year, so it’s fun to be in a game like that.”
(You won some fantasy football championships today. Today was the championship round or week. I don’t know if you know that.) – “Yeah, I don’t; but I’m sure my kids will tell me all about it.”
(Do you guys practice that play with DT Christian Wilkins catching the ball in the end zone?) – “I’ve probably thrown it to him once, maybe twice, and –“
(Did DT Christian WIlkins drop it?) – “No, the first time I threw it to him I threw it as hard as I could just to – not that that’s real fast – but I threw it as hard as I could just to see what kind of athlete he was, and I think we all knew what kind of athlete he was, but it was natural. He’s a natural pass catcher, so I’m very comfortable with him in that situation. He did a nice job. That was fun for everybody.”
(They showed video of a crawling baby on the field before the game.) – “That’s one of mine, yeah. (laughter)”
(What was it like to have everybody out there?) – “It was awesome. Yeah, I usually don’t do the field pass thing before the game, but they were out there today on the field, and we all got to play around and throw the ball around a little bit. My kids are claiming that they got to come out for the Eagles game before the game, too, so maybe there’s a trend there, and we’ll get them out a little bit more.”
(Can you talk a little bit about TE Mike Gesicki and WR DeVante Parker and what they meant and when you needed a big play, you get it from another guy WR Isaiah Ford that’s really had an in-and-out year and really stepped up big like before?) – “Yeah, DeVante, a great job again today. He made some catches down the field, made some tough catches. That’s something we’ve come to expect out of him every week, and I know that he expects that out of himself. Mike had a good game. There was some up-and-down stuff in the second half that we worked through a little bit, but he made some nice catches and got open a few times where all he had to do was not drop it, which is nice. Mike is stepping up. He’s had a good year, but he’s just got to continue to get better, and he’s showing that. So it’s nice for him to get in the end zone a couple times today. Then I touched on Isaiah Ford, but I’m so proud of a kid like that that has just fought his butt off all year long, and for me as a quarterback in those situations, I’m throwing to the guys that I trust, and I think I maybe was 0-for-3 to DeVante on the first drive or whatever it was, and Isaiah is a guy that I have full and complete confidence in, and I think that showed in overtime there. He stepped up and made some big plays.”
(You talked about you had all your seven kids out on the field before the game. Anything can happen in this league – I know you’re under contract for another year. Is a part of that being “I don’t know this is going to be the last ride, I want my kids to…”) – “A little bit. Probably the last four years it’s been like that, where you just never know in this business and in this league. At the end of the season, it’s always nice to have them down there to experience it.”
(I know from a perspective standpoint it’s a four-win team. I get that, but do you feel like you’ve lifted this team?) – “I mean, I just think back to when we were 0-7 or whatever it was and the spirit at practice, the way the guys were still coming in and working hard and buying in and believing, and really, I guess, since the end of that Washington game, it’s been that way. I’m just – I’m happy. I’m so happy that ‘Flo’ (Head Coach Brian Flores) trusted to put me back in the lineup and trusts me in there. I work every day, not just for him but for my teammates and for everybody to try to make sure and prove him right, that he made the right decision. We’ve only won four games, but it’s been a fight, and it’s been a lot of fun these last 9-10 weeks to work with these guys.”
(Can you describe the change of emotions in that fourth quarter up until that overtime drive?) – “Crazy. I mean, it was – it wasn’t even disbelief because there was no way it was going to happen, and then all of a sudden it became disbelief because it did happen. We just had to loosen up a little bit and get back out there and do it. But you never know in this league. That’s a wild, crazy finish – one that I’ve probably never seen one like that. ESPN has got their win probability stuff. I’d love to see what it was with six minutes left. But yeah, it was a crazy game, and it was nice for us to step up at the end.”
(Is that the wildest one you’ve played in?) – “I’ve played in some pretty wild ones. It’s a lot more fun and a lot more wild when you’re the one coming back than it is sitting there watching the scoreboard get closer and closer.”
