By Tim Graham
Ryan Fitzpatrick is passable again.
He was considered unacceptable after that opening-day calamity, but the Buffalo Bills have won two games in a row and snapped their eight-game road losing streak last Sunday.
Let's see if he can defy another trend this week, when the Bills play the New England Patriots in Ralph Wilson Stadium.
Fitzpatrick has enjoyed nominal success against AFC East opponents. In 14 divisional starts for Buffalo, he is 3-11 and never has won more than one start a year. Those victories were against the Patriots last year, at the Miami Dolphins in 2010 and against the Dolphins in 2009.
He also won a game off the bench against the New York Jets in 2009.
"It isn't him only," said Chan Gailey, who is 2-11 against the AFC East since he became Bills head coach in 2010. "None of us are playing that great when it comes time to play. That's the challenge, is to win our division. That's the first challenge."
Fitzpatrick's numbers aren't good against the AFC East.
He has completed 58 percent of his passes and averaged 6.8 yards per attempt with 22 touchdowns and 26 interceptions. He has a 71.1 passer rating. He has been sacked 32 times.
