Bryce Petty will be the Jets’ starting quarterback the rest of the way, coach Todd Bowles told reporters after last night’s 41-10 loss on national TV. Bowles added that the plan was to hand things off to Petty for the final month of the season heading into Monday night’s game and he insists that the decision was not based on the team’s embarrassing loss to the Colts. 
Ryan Fitzpatrick got the start last night and completed five of 12 passes for 81 yards and an interception. In the second half, the Jets turned to Petty, and he completed 11-of-25 passes for 135 yards and a score. Now, as the back pages of New York tabloids are calling for Bowles’ head, the Jets will evaluate their 25-year-old signal caller over the last four games of the season.
Fitzpatrick, for all intents and purposes, will be a free agent after this season. The Jets can’t blame him solely for their 3-9 mark, but his performance hasn’t exactly helped them this year either. Gang Green will move on from Fitzpatrick this spring and they want to know exactly what they have in Petty before they survey the market for available quarterbacks. If Kirk Cousins is retained by the Redskins, the Jets and other QB-needy teams will be left with the Jay Cutlers of the world and a weak slate of options to choose from in the draft.