Justin Fields is still searching for his first win as a New York Jet.

To collect his first victory in the green and white, he is most likely going to have to accomplish a feat he has yet to pull off throughout his five-year NFL career.

The bar Justin Fields can’t clear

A primary factor behind the Jets’ winless start is their lackluster defensive play.

New York’s defense has been overwhelmed through five contests, allowing 31.4 points per game, the fourth-worst mark in franchise history to begin the season. Opponents are scoring on more than half of their drives, a rate that ranks third-highest in the league.

The numbers tell a grim story. The Jets sit near the bottom of nearly every defensive category. They’ve given up 11 passing touchdowns to zero interceptions, rank 27th in rushing yards allowed at 140.4 per game, and sit 28th in defensive DVOA.

These numbers are bad enough on their own, but what makes matters worse is that the Jets have a starting quarterback who has shown no ability to win shootouts in his career.

Throughout his NFL career, Fields-led teams are 0-26 when opponents score at least 21 points. He is the only winless quarterback among 46 in the past five seasons with at least 10 starts under those conditions.

There’s no excuse for that.

Fields has yet to prove he can win in the NFL without elite defensive support. It’s a significant reason he opened the 2024 season with a 4-2 record in six starts with Pittsburgh; he was buoyed by the Steelers’ dominant defense.

If a quarterback goes five years without a single victory when his defense allows at least 21 points, it becomes difficult to justify him as a starter in the league.

For Fields, today’s clash against the Denver Broncos offers a prime opportunity to flip the script on a familiar narrative regarding his performance. Playing opposite a putrid Jets defense, Fields has a chance to prove that he can keep up in high-scoring games, potentially saving his career as a starter.

The Jets’ defense has been a mess, but quality quarterbacks find ways to win anyway. That’s what separates legit starters from short-term stopgap options. Fields doesn’t need to be perfect, but he needs to prove he can successfully command the offense for four quarters when the defense forces him to.