Jets coach Aaron Glenn is still committed to Justin Fields as his starting QB
One day after the worst passing performance in Jets history, Aaron Glenn isn’t changing quarterbacks.
After the Jets’ 13-11 loss to the Broncos on Sunday, dropping their record to 0-6, Glenn chastised a reporter when asked if he might bench Justin Fields.
“What kind of question is this?” » said Glenn.
After watching game film and seeing his performance, Glenn said Monday he stuck with Fields.
“I thought about the question that was asked and when you look at what Justin did, the games he played,” Glenn said. “Look, I didn’t think he was bad at all. I actually thought he did some really good things in those four games.
“In that fifth game, he took a step back. And I’m with you 100 percent. And we can’t have that. And he knows that. And he knows that better than anyone, you know? So, I don’t think you’re just trying to bench a player after he had a real bad game, because I thought the other games he played pretty well.”
Judging purely by stats, Fields has been serviceable after passing for 799 yards and four touchdowns in five games. [he missed Week 3’s game against Tampa Bay due to a concussion]. However, since the Jets’ Week 1 loss to the Steelers, Fields’ play has been poor.
Fields had an all-time outing against the Broncos. He completed 9 of 17 passes for 45 yards. He also lost 55 yards after being sacked nine times, giving the Jets a -10 passing yardage for the game. In Week 2 against the Bills, Fields also completed just 3 of 11 passes for 27 yards.
Additionally, Garrett Wilson, the Jets’ leading receiver, had just three catches for 13 yards against the Broncos. He entered Week 6 as the AFC’s leading receiver in catches.
It wasn’t just that Fields lacked open receivers on the field, but he was once again holding the ball too long. This has been a concern for Fields since his time with the Bears, after they drafted him in 2021.
Fields’ average time to throw against the Broncos was 3.95 seconds, according to TruMedia. For context, the average throw time for quarterbacks in the league this season has been 2.65 seconds. Keeping the ball in the pocket too long usually results in sacks, which happened Sunday after Fields was knocked down nine times.
Unlike some games this season, the Jets had every opportunity to defeat the Broncos. Their special teams and defense played arguably their best games of the season, but Fields and the Jets offense couldn’t move the ball down the field.
“We have to play complementary football,” Fields said Sunday. “They had a heck of a game today. The offense needs to do a better job to complement that. Yeah, like I said, overall we didn’t have a good day on the offensive side of the ball.”
Seven of the Jets’ 12 possessions failed to produce first downs. When they were able to move the ball, much of the work was done on the ground, where the Jets finished with 92 rushing yards.
The worst drive of the game came just before halftime when they had the ball on 4th and down at their own 47 yard line with 32 seconds left. Instead of trying to get at least a field goal or touchdown before halftime, Glenn let the clock run out and the Jets went into the locker room 10-6 at that point.
Glenn says if he had to do it again, he would have made a play before halftime.
“Thinking about it, and I think the question was asked on the confusion part, when you look at it, man, it was, the ref said first,” Glenn said. “And that’s why we want to respect the ball. And someone else said, No, it’s not. It’s fourth down. And at that point, man, if we tried to run and play, I thought it was going to cause real confusion.
“But you know what, to be honest with you? I wish I could slow the clock down to five seconds and just do a Hail Mary, to be honest with you. But at this point, I don’t want any confusion. Let’s get out of the half, guys. Let’s get the ball in the second half and get ready to go.”
At 0-6, the Jets are just hoping to keep their season from spiraling out of control. This is the third time in franchise history that the Jets have started a season without a win in their first six games (1996, 2020).
Despite the Jets’ record, Glenn remains confident in the direction of the team.
“Obviously, everyone wants to make sure they have a winning record,” Glenn said. “But here’s what a lot of things haven’t been heard from the very beginning, man, we’re not talking about the Super Bowl, we’re not doing it, man, we’re trying to build a foundation to make sure we win consistently.
“How do you do that? Man, you can’t just throw things out there and have an unstable foundation. I know that, there’s got to be improvement. And for me, I’ve seen improvement in this game. Does that mean we’re going to continue this momentum and win every one of our games? No, but I know that. It gives us a better chance to win.”
Glenn will provide an injury update on Wilson on Wednesday
Glenn said Monday that Wilson (knee) was still having his injury evaluated and would provide an update on his star player Wednesday. Wilson played 48 of 57 snaps against the Broncos, but it appeared he was injured during the Jets’ final drive.
On a 3rd and 8, Fields threw a pass to Wilson that knocked it out of his hands. Wilson then headed to the sideline and was not in the game on the Jets’ final play when Fields was sacked for the ninth time.
Glenn did not say whether Wilson would miss significant time due to his injury.
“Well, I don’t really want to talk about it right now, to be honest with you, because I just don’t know what it is,” Glenn said. “And today I have a better understanding of that, and I came to let you know on Wednesday. But it’s always concerning to lose one of your best players. I will say that.”
