Justin Fields’ starting role for Jets hangs in balance

Justin Fields is on the clock.

The Jets quarterback is coming off one of the worst passing performances in franchise history, and the question entering Sunday’s game against the Panthers is whether he will be the starting quarterback when it finishes.

Coach Aaron Glenn has fiercely defended Fields this week and given no indication he is thinking of benching him. But the team is 0-6, and Fields is coming off a game in which he took nine sacks and the offense had minus-10 passing yards. You have to think that if Fields struggles again against Carolina, Glenn would have to turn to backup Tyrod Taylor.

Not that you can get Glenn to even come close to saying that.

“When you look at what Justin did, the games that he played, listen, I didn’t think he was bad at all,” Glenn said of the four games Fields played prior to last week’s debacle against the Broncos. “I actually thought he did some pretty good things in those four games. In this fifth game, he took a step back, you know, and I’m with you guys 100 percent, and we can’t have that, you know. We have to get better at that, and he knows that. He knows that better than anyone, so I don’t think you just try to bench a player after having one true bad game, because I thought the other games he played fairly well.”

The big topic this week has been how long Fields takes to throw the ball. There also has been discussion of whether Fields needs to be more aggressive taking shots downfield, something he agreed with.

“I feel like I’ve been a little bit too conservative in a sense,” Fields said. “Probably just be a little bit more aggressive. I’ve always just been big on ball security and not putting the ball in jeopardy, but it comes to a point where you just got to find that healthy balance between trying to maybe fit it in smaller windows and just letting it rip.”

The Panthers beat the Cowboys last week to improve to 3-3, winning their second straight game. They have not won three in a row since 2021. They are 0-3 on the road this season.

Glenn and the Jets desperately need their first win to quiet the noise around the team. Glenn repeatedly said this week he is undeterred.

“I understand how it looks on the outside, and the thing is, I told you guys and I told the fans, man: Do not let go of the rope,” Glenn said. “The thing I know we’re doing is we’re trying to build a solid foundation so we can consistently try to win.”