The Tampa Bay Buccaneers made the decision coming out of the half to bench Ryan Fitzpatrick and go with Jameis Winston for the remainder of the game.
The Buccaneers finished the first half down 35-3 to the Bears with Fitzpatrick throwing for 126 yards and an interception.
Earlier in the day, Ian Rapoport reported that Buccaneers HC Dirk Koetter told his team this week that Fitzpatrick’s third interception against the Steelers nearly caused him to bench Fitzpatrick in favor of Ryan Griffin, so he was clearly on a short leash in Week 4.
Fitzpatrick, 35, is a former seventh-round pick of the Rams back in 2005. He’s played for several teams over the course of his 13-year NFL career including the Bengals, Bills, Titans, Texans and Jets before he signed on with the Buccaneers last year.
Entering today’s game, Fitzpatrick had appeared in three games for the Buccaneers and completed 70.3 percent of his passes for 1230 yards, 11 touchdowns and four interceptions. He has also rushed for 62 yards and touchdown. Pro Football Focus has him rated as the No. 1 quarterback out of 32 qualifying players.
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