Buffalo Bills quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick, who will try to beat the Chicago Bears when the two teams meet at the Rogers Centre tomorrow, is refreshingly sensible.

He’s got a good head on his shoulders — despite the fact that in his line of work, everyone is trying to knock it off.

Voted the fifth smartest professional athlete by The Sporting News, the 27-year-old Harvard economics graduate has both brains and brawn. And although he earns more than $2-million-a-year by playing football in the NFL, he’s still driving the first car he bought — a 2005 storm-grey Nissan Pathfinder.

“I just got drafted [by the Rams] and I moved out to St. Louis and I needed a vehicle. I bought it shortly after I signed my contract and just got the cheapest one possible: no four-wheel drive, no bells and whistles — but I still drive it today. It gets me around pretty good.”

Originally from Arizona, Fitzpatrick, (who enunciates each syllable of the word ‘ve-hic-le’ with a southern drawl) comes from a tight-knit family that emphasized not only athletic achievement but academic accomplishment.

He was a star athlete in high school and graduated at the top of his class, earning him a Presidential Award of Excellence before attending Harvard University.

“Growing up — especially in high school — my parents always stressed the utmost importance of the academic side of things.”

Carefully noting the precise cost of his car down to the exact dollar — $22,050 — it’s clear they also stressed the importance of living within your means.

“I didn’t need any extravagant car. I mean, I was a seventh-round draft pick so it’s not like I had a lot of money and it was something where I wanted to pay cash for (it); I didn’t want to have any debt to my name.

“That’s something I’ve lived by, since I’ve been in the NFL. That’s something I’ve been fortunate . . . to basically live debt-free. So that was a big thing for me — finding something in my price range that I would be able to pay off without having any strings attached.”

At home in the off-season, Fitzpatrick says he drives a 2009 Ford F150 King Ranch pickup truck and confesses, “I’m a truck-guy. I haul stuff around, mulch the yard — [it] makes me feel a little more manly.”

It’s clear he also enjoys a good joke.

Fitzpatrick, who says his Irish heritage is still celebrated at home — “I definitely eat my corned beef and cabbage and have a big St. Patrick’s Day celebration” — adds that hard work, self-discipline and a steadfast nature is at the root of his success.

“You have to learn to manage your time correctly — especially at Harvard, with all the work we had to do. That was something I learned quickly: being able to not cheat myself in the classroom but also not cheat myself on the field — giving [myself] the proper time necessary to do both.”

In his five years playing professional football, Fitzpatrick has worked his way up starting from the near-bottom as the 250th pick overall and a third-string injury-replacement quarterback to a full-time starting quarterback.

It’s a journey that required not just physical prowess but an emotional maturity.

“You have to stay level-headed; you can’t get too high or too low emotionally. It’s a tough thing because you put so much hard work into it (the game) every week and when things go well it’s great but when things don’t go well every move is questioned by the media, by friends, family — whoever it is.

“You’ve got to continue to work hard and celebrate the victories but also don’t get too low on the defeat.

“You’re not going to go out and win every game and win the Super Bowl every year so it’s a matter of learning from those failures and growing and eventually using them as a lesson.”

Snapping a photo of his SUV with his iphone for this article, “Fitzy” — as he was known on campus — translates lessons from the business world to the gridiron.

A huge fan of Apple (“the best company in the world”) and its founder Steve Jobs, he says success takes patience — something that’s hard to find in today’s “what-can-you-do-for-me-now” corporate culture. Like a CEO, a quarterback is expected to “step in and win right away.” But at the same time to be successful, “you have to have continuity.”

Like a CEO, Fitzpatrick sees his role as one defined by leadership,

“The quarterback is responsible for getting everyone on the same page and that is one of the unique things about the position is that you get a lot of the credit and you get a lot of the blame when you’re (the team’s) not doing well.”

That said, the mantle of responsibility is tempered by a natural affability and earnestness: it’s only been a little over a month since he was named the Bills’ starting quarterback.

“You need to make sure that other people believe in you and that’s how you get your chance: through your work ethic, your dedication, [your] knowledge of the game.

“Eventually you run out of chances if you don’t perform but, that being said, I feel like this year I’ve got a terrific opportunity in front of me to perform and take it to the next level.”

And there’s always the off-season to drive the pickup and haul some mulch.