Justin Fields Delivers When It Matters Most

It’s not an overstatement to say that Sunday’s matchup with the Cincinnati Bengals was a make-or-break game for Justin Fields. After being benched the previous week against the Carolina Panthers due to poor play, it was unclear whether Fields would get another shot under center if the Jets fell to 0–8.

With his back against the wall and major question marks surrounding his name, Fields answered his critics by delivering arguably his most efficient performance of the year, helping lead the Jets to a thrilling 39-38 victory to move to 1-7 on the season. 

“Fields gave a clinic on how an embattled athlete should handle adversity. Rebounding from two dismal performances, he completed 21 of 32 passes for 241 yards and a touchdown, rallying the Jets from a 15-point deficit at the start of the fourth quarter. He also ran for a 2-point conversion and made a brilliant, falling-down throw to Isaiah Davis on another 2-point play,” Rich Cimini of ESPN wrote on Sunday, October 26th.  

“It has been a lot for me: emotionally [and] spiritually. When I was on the field, I was damn near about to start crying. Not because we won, but just because of the goodness of God. Just how everything worked for the greater good, and everything that I had been through this past week, everything that we have been through as a team these past seven weeks, it was a lot of ups and downs,” Fields said following the win on Sunday, October 26. 

Fields’ ability to persevere with an impressive performance despite criticism from fans, the media, and even Jets owner Woody Johnson was a true test of both his football skills and mental toughness.

 

Teammates, Coaches Rally Behind Fields After Gutsy Performance:

 

Following the victory against Cincinnati, Fields’ teammates and coaches had nothing, but great things to say about Field’s character and football abilities.  

Defensive tackle Harrison Phillips said, “Back against the wall and that’s what you do, that’s somebody that I want to play with. There’s a reason there’s a C on his chest” (SNYJets on X).

Center Josh Myers added, “That’s who I’ve known him to be this whole time, is someone who bounces back like that. I just couldn’t be happier for him. What an amazing person” (SNYJets on X).

Head Coach Aaron Glenn said, “I’m proud of him. I’m not shocked and I expect for him to continue living his life like that” (SNYJets on X). 

Jets safety Isaiah Oliver added,“It seemed like the world was kind of crashing in around him, and he just went out there with football in his mind, locked in, played a hell of a game and led us to the win.” (via ESPN’s Rich Cimini)

 

How the Jets will Handle the QB Position Following the Win:   

 

Even after Field’s bigtime performance, it is still unclear who the Jets will roll with at quarterback after the bye week when they host the Cleveland Browns in Week 10.  

Glenn told reporters, “I think you know what my answer’s going to be on that. This is the bye week and we’re going to focus on us. I have time to make that decision” (SNYJets on X).

Although it is a question mark if Justin Fields will get the start after the bye, it would be pretty hard to not give Fields another start after leading the team to their first win of the season.  

The Jets posted 502 yards in total offense with Fields behind center. In the fourth quarter, the offense scored 23 points, proving that when the former Ohio State quarterback has a good game, the offense can really boom.  

Another thing to note is that Fields was an efficient passer without two of his top targets, wide receivers Garrett Wilson and Josh Reynolds.

Due to these factors, it seems more likely than not that Fields has earned himself another start behind center. 

Fields seemed ready to continue to block out negative energy around his play.  When asked about Woody Johonson’s comments about his poor performance Fields said, “That’s outside noise at the end of the day. I get that he’s the owner of the team but that’s outside noise. The biggest thing was my teammates believing in me and my coaches believing in me,” wrote Zach Rosenblatt.   

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