It was the worst pass ever New York Jets history, and yet the central element of the fiasco is the defender Justin Fields — received a strong vote of confidence from coach Aaron Glenn, who scolded a reporter for asking whether he would consider changing the quarterback.
“What kind of question is this?” Glenn said that after the Jets fell to 0-6 with defeat with a score of 13-11 To Denver Broncos on Sunday at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
“There are guys who play poorly,” the coach added. “It doesn’t mean you just wait for them. Come on, you know better.”
It wasn't just a bad game; it was always bad.
After this the star receiver Garrett Wilsonwho made just three catches for 13 yards questioned the validity of the play. To make matters worse, Wilson, arguably the team's best player, suffered a knee ligament injury, a source told ESPN. He will have an MRI when he returns to New Jersey.
The NFL's only winless team finished with a franchise-low minus-10 net passing yards, the worst of any team in nearly three decades. On September 20, 1998, the San Diego Chargers recorded minus-19 yards in a game against the San Diego Chargers. Kansas City Chiefs.
Fields completed 9 of 17 passes for 45 yards and lost 55 yards on nine sacks, resulting in a negative net total. Several factors contributed to this, including offensive coordinator Tanner Engstrand's conservative play and occasional hiccups in pass protection.
“The passing game didn't exist,” Glenn said.
According to NFL Next Gen Stats, Fields was pressured 14 of 29 times (48%), but that was largely a result of him holding the ball in the pocket too long. At times he didn't see open receivers.
This was not a new trend. Last week he was sacked five times in the loss to Dallas Cowboys.
“I understand where you guys are going with this, but listen,” Glenn said when asked about Fields’ job status. “There are a number of other guys who have to develop their game as well, so I don’t want to sit there and put it all on Justin.
“You just can't sit there and say, 'Oh man, we'll bench him,' because I thought he played well in some other games. So I don't just look at it like, “Man, he played a bad game, we're going to bench him.” I don't see it that way.”
The worst episode came late in the first half when the Jets had a fourth-and-1 at their 47-yard line and didn't make another play with 32 seconds on the clock. The offense showed no urgency during a 10-play drive that included a successful conversion on a fake punt.
It was confusing. An angry Wilson berated Glenn as they walked off the field at half-time. Glenn excused Wilson's outburst by chalking it up to competitive shooting.
After this, Wilson was still seething with disappointment.
“I just didn't know exactly what the plan was,” he said, explaining his conversation with Glenn. “Once I realized that, I was disappointed. I'll just say it.”
Wilson also said, “I think we really have to have the mentality of, 'We've got nothing to lose.' If we feel this way, it should be obvious. If you're playing as a player, you should feel like, “Oh yeah, here we go.”
“I feel like you all should be able to see this even on TV. As fans watching the team and the media, you should all be able to say that we're playing like we have nothing to lose. I don't think that was obvious today. I think that's what we have to do… we're 0-6. Let's let it fly. That's what I'll say.”
Glenn's explanation for the failed two-minute drive was questionable. Essentially, he said he didn't want to give the ball to the Broncos before halftime, knowing the Jets would get the second-half kickoff. Glenn wanted back-to-back possessions, content with a 10-6 lead at the interval.
“I think the biggest thing is we didn’t want to let them finish the half with the ball,” Fields said. “We wanted to finish the half with the ball. That's how we tried to play.”
It was one of many curious decisions for the Jets, who fell to 0-6 for only the third time in franchise history. Their longest pass was 11 yards and their net yards total was 82, the third-lowest single-game total in franchise history.
“It wasn't good enough, and it started with me,” Fields said. “I need to get the ball out. They have a good D-line. They quickly get to the field. Once you get into that rhythm, you have to do one, two, and get out of there.”
Guard John Simpson added: “Not running a total of 100 yards is kind of crazy.”
