Sportsnaut
The New York Jets are winless through seven games, and various members of the organization are starting to point fingers. Now it’s Jets owner Woody Johnson’s turn to take shots, and he’s starting with the team’s starting quarterback, Justin Fields.
Fields inked a two-year, $40 million contract with the Jets this offseason, and New York hoped they could find some untapped potential in the former first-round pick. Yet, the 26-year-old just hasn’t been able to be consistent enough through the air.
For the record, Fields’ QB rating is 91.1, which is actually pretty respectable. It’s good enough to rank 17th in the NFL, just below the league average of 93.3.
Still, there’s no debating that Fields isn’t living up to the standard. He’s completing a sub-par 63.7% of his passes for just 845 yards in six starts. That’s an average of just 140.8 yards per game. Plus, Fields has just four passing touchdowns, though he’s yet to toss an interception. Another big drawback is that Fields has taken a whopping 22 sacks for a loss of 169 yards.
He is, however, still producing as a rusher. In fact, he’s been the top rushing QB in the NFL thus far. Fields is up to 257 rushing yards and three rushing touchdowns, but he needs to be far more productive as a passer, and now they could be pondering a switch to veteran journeyman Tyrod Taylor instead.
Either way, the Jets are learning that Fields is not their long-term franchise QB, which will send them back to the drawing board when the offseason kicks off. But that’s nothing new in New York.
Related: NFL Report Card: Grading All 32 Teams Ahead of NFL Week 8
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