For Rex Ryan, Week 4 began with a chance to troll Patriots receiver Julian Edelman by posing as a reporter, "Walt Patulski" of the Buffalo News, and asking him which quarterback would start against the Bills. Ryan's week ended with a win over the Patriots and another chance to troll.
This time, Ryan claimed -- most likely jokingly -- that he was told by sources within the Patriots' organization that Jacoby Brissett would be the Patriots' starter.
Rex: "My sources inside the Patriots building said Jacoby Brissett would be their quarterback."
— Ryan Hannable (@RyanHannable) October 2, 2016
Rex insisted his sources knew who was playing QB for the Pats. Also said they knew Edelman would get snaps
— Michael Giardi (@MikeGiardi) October 2, 2016
And so, cue the angry Patriots fans asking the NFL to investigate Ryan's claim:
@RyanHannable So he cheats?
— InsufferablePatsFan (@PatsVigilante) October 2, 2016
@RyanHannable So....wait. Is the league going to investigate?
— PatsFanCam (@PatsFanCam) October 2, 2016
@RyanHannable so he's spying on the patriots? If I recall the last person accused of spying got a hefty fine and lost draft picks
— 4Rings (@MVPTB12) October 2, 2016
Ryan's probably joking -- because he's Rex Ryan -- but hopefully there's a funny Departed-esque scenario taking place in Foxborough right now that involves Bill Belichick questioning every member of the Patriots' staff. You know the scene -- the one where Leo convinces Jack Nicholson that he's not the (expletive) rat.
Anyway, Ryan trolled the Patriots in more than just one way. He also stole Belichick's line in his postgame press conference.
First words out of Rex Ryan's mouth after finally beating the Patriots in Foxboro: "Onto LA, I guess." Hilarious.
— Bob Glauber (@BobGlauber) October 2, 2016
Ryan deserves to have his fun. After a disastrous 0-2 start, his team knocked off the Cardinals and Patriots in consecutive weeks. His defense just pitched the first shutout at New England since 1993. His job used to be on life support, now he's just a game behind the Patriots in the AFC East.
With that being said, Ryan's had big wins in the past -- last year's win over the Jets to keep them out of the postseason comes to mind. That's not the issue. He's had, however, issues building a consistent winner.
At 2-2, he still has a chance to do that. But with Tom Brady returning to the AFC East leading Patriots and with his own team lacking Sammy Watkins for possibly the remainder of the season, there's a good chance that the Bills' win over the Brady-less Patriots ends up being Ryan's highlight of the season.