Justin Fields benched, Tyrod Taylor no improvement as Jets drop to 0-7
Jets quarterback Justin Fields gets helped up after a late hit during an NFL game against the Carolina Panthers at MetLife Stadium on Sunday. Credit: Ed Murray
Aaron Glenn made a quarterback change at halftime, but the result remained the same.
Starter Justin Fields was benched after a rough first half as Glenn gave the football to Tyrod Taylor, hoping he could ignite the Jets’ struggling offense. It didn’t work.
Neither quarterback led a touchdown drive on Sunday as the winless Jets suffered a 13-6 loss to the Carolina Panthers before a sparse crowd at MetLife Stadium.
“We needed a spark at that time,” Glenn said. “I felt it was the right time to do it.”
He wasn’t ready to say who will start next week in Cincinnati. He said he will talk to his coaches, but ultimately the decision will be his.
The Jets are 0-7 and regressing offensively. They haven’t scored a touchdown in the past two games. Their last two losses were by nine points total.
“I’m trying to put the guy out there that gives us the best chance to win,” Glenn said.
The Jets were down 13-3 when Taylor replaced Fields. Taylor moved the ball better than Fields but matched him by leading one field-goal drive. Taylor was 10-for-22 for 126 yards and two interceptions, both by Jaycee Horn.
“I thought he did move the ball fairly well,” Glenn said. “Obviously not enough to give us a chance to win.”
Taylor had two chances in the last 4:41 to lead a tying drive. He threw an interception on the first and the Jets went three-and-out on the second.
“I tried my best to come in and create a spark,” Taylor said. “We’re on the losing side of that game, so no one’s pleased in the locker room.”
That’s been a common theme, and now the Jets may be making the change full-time from Fields to Taylor. That’s a major shift, considering Glenn and the Jets believed that Fields was the right quarterback to lead this team.
The Jets gave him a two-year contract and $30 million guaranteed. He was 6-for-12 for 46 yards and was sacked three times on Sunday.
“I can’t blame him,” Fields said. “We only scored three points in the first half, so it is what it is and that’s life.”
Glenn could have made the move to Taylor in last week’s game against Denver, but he stuck with Fields, who completed only nine passes for 45 yards. The Jets had a franchise-low minus-10 net passing yards in that game.
“We all have different opinions,” Fields said. “It’s not up to me. Of course, I wish things would have went a little bit different. Not only for me but for this team.”
The Jets, who were without top playmaker Garrett Wilson (knee injury), never got anything going offensively. Breece Hall ran 11 times for 38 yards and got hurt late in the first half on a hip-drop tackle by D.J. Wonnum but finished the game. Tyler Johnson was the Jets’ leading receiver with three catches for 60 yards.
Cornerback Sauce Gardner exited in the second half with a concussion. It could knock him out of Sunday’s game, when the Jets will have to try to contain Cincinnati receivers Ja’Marr Chase and Tee Higgins.
Carolina’s Bryce Young was 15-for-25 for 138 yards and one touchdown before leaving in the third quarter with an ankle injury. Andy Dalton finished the game and was 4-for-7 for 60 yards.
Dalton iced the game by completing a 33-yard pass to Xavier Legette on third-and-8 with about 90 seconds remaining. The Panthers (4-3) then knelt and ran out the clock.
“It’s frustrating,” left guard John Simpson said. “I don’t want to be in a situation like this, but I want to be a part of the change.”
The Panthers’ Rico Dowdle, who rushed for 389 yards the previous two games, ran for 79 yards on 17 carries. He split backfield work with Chuba Hubbard, who returned from a calf injury.
The Jets were more aggressive trying to throw downfield with Taylor. He took back-to-back deep shots on his second series but didn’t complete either.
They ran a flea-flicker and had Allen Lazard open deep down the right sideline, but he couldn’t make the catch. On the next play, Taylor’s pass to Josh Reynolds was intercepted in the end zone. Horn made a great one-handed grab to take the ball away.
The Panthers drove to the Jets’ 29, but Jamien Sherwood sacked Dalton for a 9-yard loss on third down, knocking Carolina out of field-goal range.
The Jets closed to 13-6 on the next series on Nick Folk’s 47-yard field goal with 6:26 left. Arian Smith misplayed a pass in the end zone that would have been a 29-yard touchdown on second down.
After the defense forced a three-and-out, Taylor was picked off by Horn on second down at the Carolina 40 with 4:28 left, but the Jets’ defense forced another punt.
The offense had one last chance with 2:49 left from the Jets’ 14. Taylor was sacked on first down and the Jets went three-and-out and punted.
“The defense did a hell of a job holding this team to 13 points,” Glenn said. “Obviously not good enough. We gave up too many points.”
Al Iannazzone covers the Jets for Newsday after spending nearly two decades on the NBA beat with Knicks and Nets.
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