A lot of things went wrong for the New York Jets in their 31-12 preseason loss to the New York Giants.
At the top of the list was a porous passing attack that struggled to get anything going at a consistent rate. Whether it was Justin Fields, Adrian Martinez, or Brady Cook, the Jets struggled mightily to compete through the air on Saturday.
That has been the case in many training camp practices since Fields was brought in as the starting quarterback. The former first-round pick is learning a new offense with a first-time play-caller, and the growing pains shown have been apparent.
Saturday’s loss at MetLife Stadium was just the latest example of that.
But while New York continues to try and find answers to their struggles through the air, the organization remains confident the issues can be fixed.
Jets address passing woes
None of New York’s three starting quarterbacks carried a completion percentage over 60%. Fields, as the starting quarterback, went just 1-of-5 passing on the day for four yards in two series of action.
In contrast, the Giants saw all four of their quarterbacks throw for over 50 yards. The trio of Russell Wilson, Jameis Winston, and first-round rookie Jaxson Dart produced 346 yards.
That contrast doesn’t look good for a team like the Jets.
“I thought we were sloppy, and the guys know that,” head coach Aaron Glenn said after the loss. “We had too many dropped passes. Our passing game, we have to be better. We all know that, and it will be better.”
Glenn later pointed out how strong the group looked in their 30-10 win last Saturday against the Green Bay Packers as an example of the group being able to play at a high level.
“I think it’s up and down, alright, and there’s been a lot of ups in camp that I really like,” Glenn said. “Today was not one of those days, but I still have a lot of confidence in what those guys can do because they’ve shown it to me.”
Those sentiments were echoed by Fields shortly after Glenn walked off the podium.
“I think it has to be better, it wasn’t up to our standard,” the former Bear and Steeler said. “I think you can really just keep it simple when playing like that.”
Fields’ numbers were well below pedestrian on Saturday night against the Giants. A big reason for that has been the struggling connection between the signal-caller and his former college teammate, Garrett Wilson.
The former first-round receiver was over the moon when the Jets first brought his college quarterback in. Despite his poor NFL numbers, Wilson believed Fields was walking into the perfect situation, and their relationship wouldn’t miss a beat.
Through two preseason games, though, the Jets have targeted Wilson five times with Fields throwing the ball.
They haven’t completed a pass yet.
The connection between Fields and Wilson will make or break the Jets’ offense in 2025. Their ability and affinity to run the football will most assuredly keep them in many games.
But if they want to actually start winning the close games they struggled to win in 2024, Fields will have to become a better passer. He showed that in spurts throughout training camp, and in the Jets’ preseason opener against the Packers.
Against the Giants, though, the offense, and Fields in general, seemingly took a major step back.
