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Ryan Fitzpatrick was an interception-slinging machine Sunday

Playing quarterback in the NFL is like dancing on the blade of a knife. It’s always going to be tricky, but if it goes wrong, it can go very, very wrong. For Ryan Fitzpatrick, Sunday went very, very wrong.

Fitzpatrick’s New York Jets came into Sunday’s game against the Kansas City Chiefs looking competent, effective, balanced. They left a shattered wreck, on the wrong end of a 24-3 stomping, limping away from one of those losses that’s so ugly it should count as more than one.

Ryan Fitzpatrick was a turnover machine on Sunday against the Chiefs. (Getty Images)
Ryan Fitzpatrick was a turnover machine on Sunday against the Chiefs. (Getty Images)

Fitzpatrick’s line: 20-of-44, 188 yards, zero touchdowns (obviously), and six – SIX! – interceptions. Derrick Johnson returned one for a 55-yard pick-six; Marcus Peters snagged two; and Eric Berry, Daniel Sorensen, and D.J. White each got souvenirs as well. Two of the interceptions came in the end zone, and another came in a desperation drive inside the final two minutes, but no matter: six interceptions will kill you even if they all come in the opening 10 minutes.

If there’s any salvation, other than the fact that at least Fitzpatrick can complete passes, it’s that six interceptions aren’t a record. No, the record for interceptions in a game is seven. Six QBs, including the legendary Ken Stabler, hit that mark, most recently Ty Detmer in 2001.

The Jets sure could use a game against a team without a strong secondary. Next week, they face off against … well, against the Seattle Seahawks. At least Fitzpatrick now knows the mark he needs to hit to set that record.

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Jay Busbee is a writer for Yahoo Sports and the author of EARNHARDT NATION, on sale now at Amazon or wherever books are sold. Contact him at jay.busbee@yahoo.com or find him on Twitter or on Facebook.