Chapter 767: The Wandering Veteran
"0-47."
When the referee blew the final whistle, the score on the scoreboard was so shocking that even some of the San Francisco 49ers fans felt a bit of sympathy. The New York Jets fans, on the other hand, vented their anger at the home team players. Angry curses poured down, and the entire MetLife Stadium fell into chaos.
ESPN jokingly called this game the "retaliatory revenge massacre."
In January, the 49ers unfortunately lost to the New York Giants in the NFC Championship Game after overtime, and their magical season came to a sudden end. Now, facing another team from New York, and at the shared home stadium of MetLife Stadium, the 49ers went all out and went on a killing spree.
Throughout the game, from offense to defense and special teams, the entire team maintained a high level of concentration. They were unstoppable, scoring two passing touchdowns, two running touchdowns, and one interception return touchdown. They were completely in control and didn't give the Jets any room to breathe, firmly holding the victory in their hands.
Although the 49ers were undoubtedly the favored team against the New York Jets this week, especially after the adjustments in the first three weeks of the regular season, everyone thought that the Jets would be able to cause some trouble for the 49ers and at least add more excitement to the game. Revis's absence was a huge void, but their overall strength was still enough to put up a fight.
But the fact was that the game process and the result were a one-sided massacre.
Throughout the game, the New York Jets were like a small boat tossing in a storm, with no hope in sight, which was far more than anyone expected.
A crushing defeat! A miserable defeat! A complete rout!
This was the second time the New York Jets had been shut out at MetLife Stadium since they were shut out by the Green Bay Packers at home in 2010. The problem was that the score of that game two years ago was "0-9," while the score of today's game was "0-47." Such a painful loss was truly heartbreaking.
For the second consecutive week, against a team with relatively weak overall strength, the 49ers showed the fierce style of a strong team, winning the game cleanly and not giving their opponents any chance. Compared to the stumbling and bumbling way they won games last season, this was a clear change.
After an offseason of adjustments and improvements, this team was further unlocking its potential.
After a resounding victory on the road, the 49ers returned home on October 7 to Candlestick Park to face the challenge of another team from the AFC East, the Buffalo Bills.
This Buffalo Bills team had not made the playoffs for thirteen consecutive years, and they were challenging the record for the longest playoff drought. Furthermore, in the short term, they did not show any potential for a comeback to break this streak. After the new century began, with the strong rise of the New England Patriots, the Buffalo Bills were becoming a weak team with no presence.
In fact, the Buffalo Bills were one of the super teams that were once rich in history.
Founded in 1946, they were officially renamed the Buffalo Bills in 1947. Before the Super Bowl era, they won the American Football League championship two years in a row in 1964 and 1965, and they were a traditional powerhouse.
After the Super Bowl era began, they started an offensive frenzy in the 90s. The offense led by Hall of Fame quarterback Jim Kelly had a star-studded lineup. In 1990, 1991, 1992, and 1993, they made it to the Super Bowl for four consecutive years, which could definitely be called a golden age.
But they were also known as one of the most unfortunate strong teams in history.
In 1990, the Super Bowl was between the New York Giants and the Buffalo Bills.
With eight seconds left in the game, the Giants were leading "20-19," but the Bills had a chance for a forty-seven-yard field goal. This was the first time in history that a "game-winning field goal" situation occurred, and it was the only one until 2018.
If Scott Norwood, the Bills' kicker at the time, had made that field goal, he would have won the game.
Norwood, who had been performing consistently well throughout the game, missed the field goal at a crucial moment, ruining the Bills' best chance to win the championship and starting a curse from then on. They made it to the Super Bowl for four consecutive years and lost all four, becoming the second team after the Minnesota Vikings to lose all four of their Super Bowl appearances.
After winning their last division title in 1995, Hall of Fame quarterback Jim Kelly retired in 1996, and Hall of Fame defensive end Bruce Smith was traded to the Washington Redskins in 1999. After that, the Buffalo Bills quickly declined and officially began their embarrassing record of a thirteen-year playoff drought.
Now, when people mention the Buffalo Bills, the first thing that comes to mind is heavy snow. They are the team with the highest latitude in the league, and a snow game in winter is a high-probability event.
And then, nothing else. If you had to say something, it's that they always get extra fired up when they play against the New England Patriots. They have lost more than they have won over the years, but in every matchup, the Bills always make the Patriots work hard and have to go through a lot to win.
Last season, the Bills had a record of six wins and ten losses, finishing at the bottom of the AFC East. This season, the Bills currently have a record of two wins and two losses.
Last week, they just played against the New England Patriots and forced the Patriots' offense to have its best performance of the season. Two wide receivers had over 100 receiving yards, and two running backs had over 100 rushing yards, making them the second team in history to achieve such a feat after the 2008 Green Bay Packers. The final score was "28-52," and the Bills lost the game.
As mentioned before, the Bills have a hard time winning, but they always push the Patriots to their limits, and the Patriots have to go through a lot to win. This time was no exception.
This week, on the road against the San Francisco 49ers, the overall mediocre Buffalo Bills were undoubtedly the underdog.
However, when you talk about the Buffalo Bills, there is one player you absolutely cannot overlook, and that is their current quarterback, Ryan Fitzpatrick. He and another quarterback, Josh McCown, are famous examples of immortal veteran players and also famous examples of wandering quarterbacks.
Discussing these two players in 2018 makes it even more interesting.
At that time, Fitzpatrick's nickname was "the beard," and McCown's nickname was "the old gun." One was thirty-four years old, and the other was thirty-eight. They had never had a 4,000-yard season, never been to the Pro Bowl, and never been to the playoffs. Their career ratings were 80.2 and 79.9, respectively. It seemed like there was nothing interesting to discuss about them, but their resumes were very rich.
McCown was the player who had played for the most teams among active quarterbacks, with a total of eight. He was like a plaster that could be put wherever there was a need. And Fitzpatrick had played for seven teams, which was also a lot. They were rarely a long-term option for a team, but they could also bring a surprise from time to time and always stepped up when they were needed.
Interestingly, Fitzpatrick, who graduated from Harvard University, always became the starting quarterback after joining a new team, which made him better than McCown.
It wasn't because Fitzpatrick was better than McCown. It was because... he had the "Fitzpatrick Curse."
Since joining the league in 2005, if Fitzpatrick was the backup quarterback for a team, the starting quarterback of that team would be injured 100% of the time. If the starter was injured and Fitzpatrick was not made the new starter, then the other backup players would also get injured. This curse was true until 2018.
In 2005, the St. Louis Rams drafted Ryan Fitzpatrick as the 250th pick in the seventh round. The Rams' starting quarterback, Marc Bulger, had a shoulder injury, and then his backup, Jamie Martin, had a concussion. In the end, Fitzpatrick became the starter.
In 2007, he was traded to the Cincinnati Bengals, and their starting quarterback, Carson Palmer, had a torn elbow ligament.
In 2009, he came to the Buffalo Bills, and their starting quarterback, Trent Edwards, had a concussion. Then Fitzpatrick became the starting quarterback and has been for three years now.
In 2013, he joined the Tennessee Titans, and their starting quarterback, Jake Locker, had a foot injury and missed the rest of the season.
In 2014, he went to the Houston Texans, and their starting quarterback, Ryan Mallett, had a torn pectoral muscle and missed the rest of the season.
In 2015, he was traded to the New York Jets, and their starting quarterback, Geno Smith, had his jaw broken and missed the rest of the season. Then in 2016, Geno Smith came back to be the starter and then had a torn ligament, missing the rest of the season again. The backup quarterback, Bryce Petty, had a torn joint. In the end, Fitzpatrick took over.
In 2017, he was traded to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, and their starting quarterback, Jameis Winston, had a shoulder injury. Fitzpatrick came in as the backup.
The "Fitzpatrick Curse" has never been disappointing. But the problem is that every time Fitzpatrick gets to play, he starts off strong and then fizzles out. He can't be consistent or last long, so he continues to wander around the NFL without a home. Someone once interviewed Fitzpatrick, and he said that he didn't have a home team or a family, and that the NFL was his home.
It is now 2012, and Fitzpatrick has already "caused" four quarterbacks to be injured and has secured his position as the starting quarterback for the Buffalo Bills. After the preseason ended last year, Colin Kaepernick also suffered an injury, following in the footsteps of Alex Smith. Coupled with the quarterback injuries in college, Lu Ke's first thought was:
Could it be that the Fitzpatrick Curse also worked on me?
Now, Lu Ke is about to face Fitzpatrick head-on, which is a very interesting matchup.
Over Candlestick Park, the referee blew the whistle to start the game on time at 4:25 p.m. Eastern Time and 1:25 p.m. Western Time.
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