This week's Thursday Night Football matchup doesn't merely pit the Jacksonville Jaguars against the Miami Dolphins.
It’s Gardner Minshew versus Ryan Fitzpatrick. Minshew Mania versus Fitzmagic. The mustache versus the beard.
The epic showdown of facial hair isn’t lost on the opposing quarterbacks either.
“I think the beard is cooler,” Fitzpatrick quipped to reporters Tuesday. “Guys that grow mustaches have patchy sides.”
The 24-year-old Minshew, 13 years Fitzpatrick’s junior, wasn’t fazed by the fellow Florida man.
"I think I've shown I can grow a beard with no patchy sides,” the Jags starter responded. “You know, I have a lot of respect for my elders ... especially when they're much older."
This will be the first and perhaps only bout between the follicly-inclined QBs. Fitzpatrick’s starts figure to be numbered with Tua Tagovailoa waiting in the South Beach wings, while Minshew is still trying to earn his keep in Duval. For now, they’re both coming off multi-touchdown, 300-yard performances, albeit in losses, and are unabashed gunslingers, if not facial groomers.
Here’s to a hair-raising battle on TNF.