Maybe the Jets' Justin Fields is the quarterback the team needed after all
Jets quarterback Justin Fields carries the ball just short of the end zone during the fourth quarter against the Steelers on Sept. 7 at MetLife Stadium. Credit: Jim McIsaac
Justin Fields made the plays in his Jets debut last week, and that was encouraging.
Then there were the after-the-play plays. Those were the ones in which he was under pressure and either scrambled or broke containment, improvised and still was able to find a receiver down the field once the script for that particular snap had been crumpled up and tossed away.
That he was able to make those? That’s what really has this team charged up, believing that perhaps this quarterback they signed from the NFL’s recycling bin, who scuffled through the preseason looking lost and overmatched, might actually be the one who can carry them where they want to go.
The Jets lost their opener to the Steelers for a number of reasons, but they certainly weren’t out-quarterbacked. Do they have the potential to go into the rest of their games — including Sunday’s against reigning MVP Josh Allen and the Bills — with the chance to say the same?
Perhaps. Especially if Fields can continue to be a standout when the original play breaks down. If that can be one of his strengths, who knows how far he and the Jets can soar?
“For receivers, it’s like a dream,” Garrett Wilson said of playing with a mobile quarterback like his former Ohio State teammate. “All of a sudden, you are running routes and you get to break off and play streetball a little bit and it’s open. So yeah, we’re all excited.”
Wilson corrected himself. It’s not exactly “streetball,” he said. That connotes too much chaos and ad-libbing. There are actual rules to the second and third acts of each down if the play develops that far.
“We drill that,” Wilson said. “Talk about it once a week knowing where your spots are. It’s a whole game within a game. We have designated spots we have to be at . . . The reality is we have a whole operation and plan we have to be on when he does scramble. The opportunities are there. And when you get those opportunities, you want to take advantage because those can be big plays.”
For just a moment, let’s leave this world of praise for Fields and enter the realm of subtle disses between Wilson and one of his very famous former quarterbacks. Plenty of people took notice this week when Aaron Rodgers, now with the Steelers, heaped praise on DK Metcalf for studying so much video and coming to Rodgers’ locker looking for advice during the week.
“That’s unfortunately not the standard around the league,” Rodgers said.
Rodgers didn’t name names, but it’s clear he never had that kind of relationship with Wilson.
Not that it is a surprise. Rodgers is the kind of quarterback who will tell a receiver to run to a particular blade of grass, turn at 46.8 degrees to the north, then run at 17.3 miles per hour for seven strides and the ball will be right there.
Wilson isn’t that kind of receiver. Never has been. So of course he took glee in touting Fields for his mobility and flexibility — two things Rodgers lacks at this point in his career — without, naturally, naming names or making comparisons.
But back to Fields. His chemistry with Wilson had a difficult time showing itself throughout the summer, but as soon as the game started on Sunday, it was clear they were in sync. Wilson caught seven passes for 95 yards, including a 33-yard touchdown. He said it felt like 2019 again when they were tearing up college football in Columbus.
Heck, Fields even threw in a pair of passes to another former Buckeye, tight end Jeremy Ruckert, to keep those class reunion vibes going.
“It was good,” Fields said. “Of course, it’s always good when you get an in-game touchdown with an old teammate like that. Just like he said, it felt like old times, for sure.”
Old times may be exactly the kinds of memories Fields wants to bring with him because the more recent ones frankly aren’t that good. He struggled with the Bears, who had made him a first-round pick, and started out playing well for the Steelers last year before he was benched for current Giants starter Russell Wilson.
His NFL career has been bumpy and his erratic play has taken plenty of hits along the way. For one week, at least, all of that went away.
“This game, it rewards people who love it, that’s the way I see it, and he loves the game,” Wilson said. “He plays it the right way and has the right mindset every time he takes the field . . . The reality of it is this is a new opportunity, a new team, a fresh slate.”
That goes for Fields, for the Jets and for Wilson, too. He finally may have a quarterback with whom he can connect on a deeper level than just the X’s-and-O’s that are mapped out for them. Just like playing out in the street.
“I don’t want to make it bigger than what it is,” Wilson said. “It’s just playing good ball, and that’s what J. Fields does. He’s a baller.”
A street-baller? Not quite. But a Jets-baller? So far, that’s been a good play for everyone.
Tom Rock began covering sports for Newsday in 1996 and became its NFL columnist in 2022. He previously was Newsday's Giants beat writer beginning in 2008.
