Where Are They Now? Late Fitzpatrick Pick Proves Costly

In a new weekly feature, The Crimson will be tracking the successes (and potential failures) of some of Harvard’s most successful graduates not to use their Harvard degrees. While a tour through professional sports is not exactly a who’s who of Harvard alumni, a few athletes have taken their game to the next level. From Jeremy Lin to Ryan Fitzpatrick, the Crimson maintains a presence outside of the labs and law offices of the world.

This past Sunday, Buffalo Bill’s quarterback, Ryan Fitzpatrick ’05, was hoping to build off of his momentum from a good start to the season with a win against division rival, the New York Giants—but in the end, a couple of costly mistakes from the Harvard alum proved too much for Buffalo to overcome.

The loss pushed the Bills to a record of 4-2 on the season.

On Sunday’s showing, Fitzpatrick threw for two touchdowns and 244 yards against the Giants. Despite making some good plays, the former Harvard quarterback’s errors in the second half ultimately were too much to oversome.

With 4:10 left in the fourth quarter and the game tied at 24, Fitzpatrick was driving his offense deep in New York territory when he under-threw wide receiver Stevie Johnson and the ball was picked off by the Giants at their four-yard line—ending the Bill’s chances of improving to 5-1.

Whether or not this was a factor on Sunday’s game, Fitzpatrick holds the distinction of being the only quarterback in the NFL to play with his wedding ring. Most quarterbacks either take their rings off or tape them before games. While it is unclear whether the ring affected his play, it is apparent that the former Crimson is quite the family man.

This upcoming week, Fitzpatrick and the Bills will have a bye.

Elsewhere in the league, Baltimore Ravens’ center, Matt Birk ’98, contributed to a successful Baltimore offensive line.  Against the Houston Texans, Baltimore’s offensive line enabled a solid running game that rushed for 113 yards.

The Ravens comfortably beat the Texans 29-14, putting Baltimore 4-1 on the season—good enough for first place in the AFC North.