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It’s so far, so good for Justin Fields in the NFL preseason. Making his unofficial New York Jets debut, Fields led — and, with a 13-yard scramble, capped — a touchdown drive on his lone possession of the night.
“I think, with a new team like this, everybody’s kind of new, new offense and everything, I think it was important for us to get out on the field,” Fields said after the 30-10 win over the Green Bay Packers. “Practice isn’t the same as a game, so it was nice getting out there and [getting] the stadium feel.”
The Jets covered 79 yards in 10 plays on their opening drive, with Fields completing three of his four pass attempts for 42 yards and rushing for 14 yards. Here’s the touchdown run, in which Fields stepped up through a muddy pocket and raced to the corner of the end zone.
“I thought Justin got the guys in and out of the huddle,” coach Aaron Glenn said. “I thought [offensive coordinator] Tanner [Engstrand] did a really good job getting the play calls in so the guys could play with tempo and play fast. It was good to see Justin use his legs also. We know he has that in his bag. The thing I think he showed for the most part, is we can call the play, we have a shot, and it’s a shot out there, he can check it down. He did a really good job of that, so he was patient. He did everything that we needed to get this win, and for him to be the quarterback that we know that he can be.”
Fields’ three completions were fairly straightforward: a 12-yard completion to Tyler Johnson on third-and-5 and completions to Andrew Beck of 12 and 24 yards, with much of the damage coming after the catch. His lone misfire was just out of the reach of Garrett Wilson on an out route.
“My biggest thing was taking what the defense gave me,” Fields said, later noting he was pleased to see the operation running smoothly.
Fields’ athleticism has never been a question, but negative plays — his 9.0% sack rate last year ranked 37th out of 44 quarterbacks who took at least 150 dropbacks — have been a persistent issue throughout his career. The Jets, who led the league in penalties last year, weren’t flagged once on Fields’ drive.
Fields’ performance was especially heartening after reports of some difficult practices going against the Jets’ talented defense. Preseason and training camp are perfect times for overreactions of course, but it’s worth noting especially for a player like Fields that practices really aren’t indicative of overall talent. With quarterbacks wearing no-contact jerseys, quarterback rushing isn’t really a factor, and often quarterbacks are trying to test out what throws they can or can’t make. Plus, defenses in general are usually ahead of offenses early on.
“I’ve learned over the years that no matter what you do, everyone’s going to have an opinion on you,” Fields said. “Opinions don’t matter, whether they’re good or bad, you just have to take a reality check sometimes, and the only people’s opinions that matters to me is the guys in the building.”
Overreacting to one positive drive — much like overreacting to negative practices — isn’t necessarily productive, either. But Saturday’s performance can only be viewed as a step forward.
“There’s so much noise on the outside,” Glenn said. “I’ve told you guys this, and I’ll tell him this: ‘He’s going to get criticized for every little thing,’ and the good thing about him is he is so mature, and we talk about this on a consistent basis. He doesn’t care. The only thing that we care about is how is he operating and is he getting better, and we see that in house. We love where he’s at right now. Does he have a way to go? Absolutely he does. Is he going to continue to work? Absolutely he will, because that’s just who he is. We know exactly where he’s at, we know exactly where he’s going, and we’re going to continue to work our ass off until we get there.”
