Here’s where the Jets quarterback situation is at: the most positive thing Aaron Glenn had to say about Justin Fields on Monday was about an interception.
Fields was awful on Sunday against the Browns. He completed just two passes beyond the line of scrimmage and threw for 54 total yards on 6-of-11 passing, with 42 of those yards coming on a screen pass that Breece Hall turned into a touchdown.
Glenn had very little to say about Fields, and declined to say if Fields will start Thursday against the Patriots. But Glenn went out of his way to praise Fields on taking a shot down the field when he threw his first interception of the season — a second-quarter pick by Browns safety Ronnie Hickman that set up a Browns touchdown.
“I was happy that he tried to force the ball, get the ball down the field in that situation,” Glenn said. “I thought Cleveland did a hell of a job in their coverage.”
Even by Jets standards, it is bizarre that the highlight for a quarterback is an interception. The Jets beat the Browns 27-20 even with Fields’ poor play or maybe in spite of it. It was a down game for Fields after he played his best game of the season before the bye week against the Bengals.
Fields looked nothing like the confident quarterback who beat the Bengals. His timing was off and he looked hesitant to push the ball down the field. That raises the question of whether the Jets should turn to Tyrod Taylor, a question that Glenn does not want to hear.
“Please don’t ask me anything about the quarterback because you know I’m not going to tell you, and I don’t want to waste my time when it comes to that when it comes to who’s starting,” Glenn said.
Glenn has taken the secrecy tack for the last two games. Before the Bengals game, it appeared he was ready to turn to Taylor but then Taylor’s knee injury prevented him from playing. Glenn had benched Fields at halftime the week before against the Panthers.
After his strong performance in Cincinnati, it made sense for Glenn to give Fields another game against the Browns. But it was ugly.
Now, the Jets play the red-hot Patriots on Thursday night. It would be tough to make a quarterback change during a short week. The Jets will barely practice before Thursday. Taylor is a veteran, so he might be able to pull it off but it still feels unlikely.
Fields may have a short leash against the Patriots, though. Glenn could opt to pull him at halftime again if Fields struggles. Then, the Jets have extra time before facing the Ravens on Nov. 23.
Glenn remains protective of Fields. He was asked Monday if it is sustainable to play with a quarterback only throwing for 54 yards.
“He only threw 11 passes and here’s what I tell the coaches and players; as coaches we coach to win the game, as players you play to win the game however that may be,” Glenn said. “And sometimes it’s not pretty for fantasy players, sometimes it’s not pretty for the media, the only thing that matters is how we do it and the W is all that matters. It’s a by-any-means-necessary type of league, and my plan is continue to coach to win the game, you know, however that may be and we’re going to continue to do that.”
Glenn said his players will know who the quarterback is going to be on Thursday even if he does not make that public. He thought the offense was a bit disjoined on Sunday because of the two kick returns for touchdowns in the first quarter.
“You know what, collectively as an offense, I think we did some good things,” Glenn said. “The thing is when you get two returns like that on special teams the offense doesn’t have a good amount of plays especially in the passing game. We only threw 11 passes. I think he was 6-of-11. Obviously, there’s some things that we got to clean up there, but there’s also some good things that [Fields] did.”
