The Jets have lost four of their last five games, hurting their position in the race for an AFC Wild Card spot with six games left to play in the season.
Quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick has played poorly in their last two losses to the Bills and Texans, which led to questions for coach Todd Bowles about a potential quarterback change for this week’s game against the Dolphins. Bowles is sticking with Fitzpatrick, but the quarterback did something this week in hopes of changing his fortunes.
It’s not an on-field tweak, however. Fitzpatrick reported to work on Wednesday without the familiar beard -- best described as the look of someone trapped in a well for several weeks -- he’s sported all season.
“Just seemed like it was time to switch up the mojo a little bit,” Fitzpatrick said, via the team.
We’ll see whether it has the desired effect on the field, but one upside is that Fitzpatrick is unlikely to wind up finding Thanksgiving leftovers under his facial hair while trying to call a play against the Dolphins on Sunday.