FLORHAM PARK, N.J. -- Ryan Fitzpatrick played one of his better games of the season, but he didn't receive an endorsement from coach Todd Bowles, who was tight-lipped on his quarterback plans Sunday night.

"I will evaluate everything as the week goes forward," the New York Jets' coach said after losing to the New England Patriots 22-17. "I'm not going to make a rash decision today one way or the other. For the most part, he did a good job."

Ryan Fitzpatrick was 22-for-32 for 269 and two touchdowns, without an interception, against the Patriots, but he's not a lock to start in Week 13. Al Bello/Getty Images

Fitzpatrick (22-for-32, 269 yards) threw two touchdowns and played turnover-free football for 58 minutes. That changed after the two-minute warning, when Chris Long beat left tackle Ben Ijalana for a strip sack, and the Patriots recovered the fumble to seal the win.

If Bowles applies past reasoning to the current decision, he'll stick with Fitzpatrick, who certainly didn't do anything to lose the job and probably still gives the Jets the best chance to win games. But at some point, he'll have to think about 2017 and give Bryce Petty a chance.

Has Bowles reached that point with a 3-8 record? The hunch is that he's probably not ready to pull the plug on 2016.

You can almost hear the fan base starting to groan, anticipating his decision to stick with Fitzpatrick.

Fitzpatrick, for one, is tired of talking about it.

"I feel like I'm just not going to answer that question anymore," he said. "I know you had to ask it, but I'm going to work as hard as I can. Every time I get an opportunity, I'll do the best I can to lead the team."