"David Nelson provided a reason as to why Ryan Fitzpatrick's play was so woefully inconsistent in the second half of the season.

During an interview Friday with NBC Sports, the Buffalo Bills' receiver confirmed long-rumored suspicions that Fitzpatrick suffered cracked ribs in the Washington Redskins game in Toronto, an injury caused by a hit by former Bills linebacker London Fletcher.

"A lot of people don't know, but Fitz, during the Washington game, actually cracked a couple of ribs," Nelson said. "So after that he was playing hurt."

Fitzpatrick didn't miss a game after the injury -- he started all 16 games for the first time in his career -- but in the days following the Washington game, Fitzpatrick was seen with his torso wrapped tightly with a bandage. Fitzpatrick had one of his worst games of the season against the New York Jets the following week.

He completed just 48.4 percent of his passes and was picked off twice in a 27-11 loss that started a seven-game losing streak and ended the Bills chances at a postseason berth."