Glenn’s False Equivalency On Fields’ Big Play Troubles
From all indications, the Jets will be mostly grounded this season. Three yards and a cloud of field turf rubber pellets.
Head Coach Aaron Glenn seems to have no problem with that, pointing to the reigning Super Bowl Champion Eagles as the model during his Tuesday media availability. Philadelphia placed 29th in passing yards per game last season while still averaging the 7th-most points per game.
What Glenn has yet to address, however, is how the Jets can mirror the NFL’s top offensive clubs, including the Eagles, in terms of generating explosive plays. According to NFL analyst Warren Sharp, only six teams boasted more than Philly’s 43 plays that gained over 25 yards last season. Of those six (plus Washington, which also hit on 43 explosives), only San Francisco failed to qualify for the playoffs. Conversely, just two of the bottom 18 teams in the category made the bracket.
During the second half of 2024, when quarterback Aaron Rodgers had both Davante Adams and Garrett Wilson at his disposal and involved running back Breece Hall more in the passing game, the Jets weren’t that inept offensively. They ended up in the middle of the pack in passing plays over 20 and 40 yards, per NFL.com.
Well, Adams moved on, as did Rodgers. Quarterback Justin Fields still has college teammate Wilson on the outside, but he probably will have scant opportunities to beat single coverage given Gang Green’s question marks behind him at the position.
Preseason results are meaningless, so I’m less concerned with the fact that the Jets totaled exactly one play that went for over 25 yards in the two games, a nifty 26-yard contested catch by Quentin Skinner during the second half of the opener in Green Bay. Fields’ long, by the way, was a 24-yard catch-and-run to fullback Andrew Beck.
Still, such a plodding attack that Glenn may have in store will be unsustainable over the course of a 17-game regular season. Maintaining long drives is arduous. You’re always risking a penalty, a sack, or even a misstep like a dropped pass on a manageable third down. It’s obviously much easier to score when you can grab a large chunk of yards on a single snap.
This isn’t all on Glenn or his offensive staff. Fields is the ultimate decision-maker. There can be plays called that are designed to open opportunities for bigger gains, but if the QB doesn’t see it or deliver the ball accurately and on time, it is for naught. Without the benefit of 11-on-11 film review, I can’t even make a second guess on whether Fields missed any reads during his reps.
The Jets spent the last few days spinning Fields’ comment after passing for four yards on five attempts in Saturday’s loss to the Giants that “we’re fine with taking the 8, 10-yard completion” as opposed to forcing balls downfield. Both offensive coordinator Tanner Engstrand and passing game coordinator Scott Turner doubled down on Wednesday by reiterating the importance of checkdowns.
Only it’s a false choice. More teams are playing with two safeties high, so everyone’s passing games have adjusted to “taking what the defense gives you.” Just look at the supposedly high-octane Chiefs—with elite All-World Patrick Mahomes calling signals for 16 games, only five teams had fewer passing plays that netted at least 20 yards last season.
Fields, though, isn’t Mahomes, who ranked third in the league in expected points added per play during one-score games in fourth quarters and overtimes last season, per rbsdm.com. He routinely makes winning plays, even if KC fans would rather he got to them earlier in contests. No Chiefs opponent wants him to have the ball at the end of a game with a chance to win it, no matter the field position. Mahomes is magic when it comes to conjuring explosives. Fields, on the other hand, has two fourth quarter comebacks on his pro-football-reference.com career resume.
The Jets, of course, could do Fields—and the entire offense—a big favor by upgrading their WR2 opposite Wilson. The Athletic’s Dianna Russini tweeted on Wednesday that New York is among “several teams monitoring the trade market for potential WR additions.” Josh Reynolds is a poor band-aid to plug the Adams hole, Allen Lazard is unreliable even when his shoulder heals, and rookie Arian Smith likely isn’t ready for prime time. It makes defending the Jets pretty easy—load the box, double Wilson, and squeeze the middle of the field.
New General Manager Darren Mougey brought in reinforcements for his lagging defensive tackle room on Wednesday by dealing a bunch of sixth round picks for former Viking Harrison Phillips and former Brown Jowon Briggs. But Mougey isn’t going to mortgage high future picks or upset the team’s salary cap sheet to land a true impact receiver. This is not last year’s “win-now” club. The Jets were willing to take a flyer (no pun intended) on Fields, whose free agent contract called for an $8 million 2025 cap number that ranks 31st among NFL QBs, because they understand that this is a transition year.
Again, Jets fans shouldn’t panic over practice and exhibition stats. Fields, of whom Glenn said will get Friday’s preseason finale versus Philadelphia off along with most of the other Jets’ starters, will be judged soon enough. When the games count and the bubble wrap is removed, you have to believe that Engstrand & Co. will dial up more schemes that make better use of Fields’ exceptional speed and athleticism. The sole measuring stick, though, will be how often he can produce points, which is hard to do four yards at a time.
The reporter who went at Glenn on Monday by stating that the NFL is a passing league was merely imprecise. It’s a quarterback’s league. And until we see Fields develop an ability to hit on big gains downfield in key moments, the Jets can’t possibly know that they have a capable one.