FTW: Jets repeated Bills' mistake with Fitz

"Those who do not know history's mistakes are doomed to repeat them."

George Santayana's famous quote was apparently lost on the Jets, who now sit at 1-5 and seem to be committed to Ryan Fitzpatrick finishing out the season as their starter. After all, if his last four games (2 touchdowns, 10 interceptions) didn't get him benched, what will it take?

This could have been avoided if the Jets had only learned from the mistake the Bills made in 2011 when they gave Fitzpatrick a big extension after an impressive six-game stretch. Buffalo was 4-2 at the time. It finished 2-7 down the stretch and Fitzpatrick's passer rating plummeted 25 points as he threw 17 interceptions over the final nine games. He lasted one more season with the Bills before they cut him two years into a six-year contract.

Fitzpatrick didn't even give the Jets six good games. His time in New York has been propped up by one five-game stretch late in the 2015 season.

Here are Fitzpatrick's numbers from those five games:

COMP%: 64.5
TD: 13
INT: 1
YD/ATT: 7.5
RATING: 104.1
RECORD: 5-0

And here are his stats from the other 16 games he's played as a Jet:

COMP%: 57.2
TD: 23
INT: 24
YD/ATT: 6.6
RATING: 71.0
RECORD: 6-10

Those look more like the numbers of a journeyman quarterback.

The 2016 Jets have imploded after finishing 10-6 a year ago. While the defense has certainly regressed, the offense has been the team's biggest problem. New York is dead last in scoring at 15.8 points per game. The offense has scored only two touchdowns since Week 2, and Fitzpatrick hasn't thrown a second-half touchdown all season.

Bowles has not been deterred by those ugly numbers. He said Fitzpatrick would be his starter in Week 7 shortly after the team's 28-3 loss to the Cardinals. He is all-in on the Ryan Fitzpatrick Experience and it could end up costing his job.