Dolphins bench Rosen in fourth quarter vs Redskins. Fitzpatrick’s response: A TD drive
The Miami Dolphins, trailing by two touchdowns to the Washington Redskins, made a quarterback change at the start of the fourth quarter Sunday.
Josh Rosen to the bench. Ryan Fitzpatrick back under center.
And the move paid immediate dividends.
Fitzpatrick led the Dolphins on an nine-play, 55-yard touchdown drive capped by a one-yard rush by Kalen Ballage. It was the first points the Dolphins had scored in the second half this season. Miami had been outscored 91-0 in the second half before that touchdown.
Fitzpatrick completed 3 of 4 passes on that drive for 35 yards, highlighted by an 18-yard catch and run by Mark Walton.
The drive, which cut Miami’s deficit to 17-10 against the visiting Redskins with 11:07 left in regulation, started after the Redskins missed a 55-yard field goal attempt to open the fourth quarter, giving the Dolphins a short field.
The mid-game change also came four days after first-year coach Brian Flores said the starting quarterback job was “settled” and Rosen would be their guy.
Rosen had a rough go through the first three quarters. The second-year quarterback threw for just 85 yards on 15-of-25 passing with two interceptions and was sacked five times on 30 dropbacks.
The Dolphins, as a result, had just three points through three quarters in the battle of winless teams.
Fitzpatrick started the first two games of the season before the Dolphins opted to go all in on Rosen. The 36-year-old journeyman quarterback entered Sunday with 303 passing yards on a 51.9 percent completion with one touchdown and four interceptions.
This story was originally published October 13, 2019 at 3:34 PM.
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