New York Jets owner Woody Johnson made it clear that he’s fed up with the team’s passing offense that was led by quarterback Justin Fields before his benching in Sunday’s 13-6 loss to the Carolina Panthers.
While speaking to reporters at the NFL’s fall meetings, Johnson called out Fields’ substandard play, saying, “If we could just complete a pass, it would look good.”
The Jets remain the NFL’s only winless team at 0-7, and their offense hit a wall in recent weeks. Sunday’s loss against Carolina marked the second straight game that New York’s defense held its opponent to 13 points, but the offense couldn’t muster a single touchdown in either game. Things came to a head when first-year head coach Aaron Glenn benched Fields in the second half against the Panthers in favor of veteran backup Tyrod Taylor, who was more effective in moving the ball despite throwing a pair of interceptions.
While media pundits and fans have blasted Glenn for the team’s struggles so far, Johnson maintained confidence in his ability to turn things around, though he pointed to Fields’ performance as the key reason why the season has gone this way.
“It looks like he’s turning around parts of it,” Johnson said of Glenn before referencing Fields, adding, “It’s hard when you have a quarterback with a rating that we got. He has the ability, but something just is not jiving. But if you look at any head coach with a quarterback like that, you’re gonna see similar results across the league. You have to play consistently at that position, and that’s what we’re gonna try to do.”
ESPN’s Rich Cimini noted that while Johnson chose not to weigh in on whether Fields or Taylor should be the starter for Sunday’s game against the Cincinnati Bengals, “it’s clear where this is going,” as it seems like Fields has fallen out of favor within the organization.
The Jets signed Fields to a two-year, $40 million contract this past offseason with $30 million guaranteed. After a tough start to his career with the Chicago Bears and Pittsburgh Steelers, the hope was that he would be able to find a groove with a coaching staff that was committed to developing him as a pocket passer.
Unfortunately, that plan has gone completely awry, and it appears that Fields has a lot of work to do before he sees the field for the Jets again.
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