Fitzpatrick benched after throwing league-leading 11th interception

New York Jets quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick was benched in the fourth quarter of Monday's game against the Arizona Cardinals after throwing his league-leading 11th interception of the year.

The move was addressed following the game by head coach Todd Bowles, who said the team simply turned to backup Geno Smith after the game was out of reach.

"Smith played (the role of) a relief pitcher," Bowles said. "Fitz will be back next week."

Bowles also reiterated his opinion that the poor offensive performance was not Fitzpatrick's fault, saying "he barely had any time to throw."

Still, Fitzpatrick entered and left the game as the league-leader in interceptions, and concluded his evening by tossing an errant pass to Cardinals safety D.J. Swearinger.

Smith didn't fare much better in his brief performance, throwing an interception to Tyrann Mathieu.