No Fitzmagic in Week 7

Until a few days ago, the most fans looking forward to Sunday evening’s primetime NFL matchup between the San Francisco 49ers and Tennessee Titans thought that backup quarterback and Harvard alum Ryan Fitzpatrick ’05 would be making his third-straight start for the Titans.

But Tennessee starter Jake Locker took snaps during the week and was cleared to play, giving the Harvard graduate the same view of the game as those of us sitting on couches back home—from the sidelines.

Fitzpatrick has certainly seen far more success in previous years than in this brief winless stint as a starter for the Titans. After throwing for at least 23 touchdowns and 3,000 yards in each of the past three seasons as the Buffalo Bills’ starter, he threw for two touchdowns and four interceptions, with all four turnovers in two losses against the Seattle Seahawks and Kansas City Chiefs.

2004 Ivy League MVP also fumbled the ball three times and has the fifth-worst quarterback rating in the NFL. Even with these statistics, there is a chance that Fitzpatrick will see some game time sometime this season—in his return to the lineup, Locker did not get into an offensive rhythm until the game was far out of reach. The Titans were shut out in the first three quarters, with Locker throwing an interception and failing to toss a score in those periods.

With Tennessee reeling after three straight losses, it may reevaluate the quarterback position with neither Fitzpatrick nor Locker doing much on offense. In Fitzpatrick’s most recent start against Seahawks, he threw for 171 yards on 17-of-29 passes with two interceptions, though he did rush for 33 yards on six attempts.