FLORHAM PARK, N.J. (AP) — Justin Fields wants to start letting loose a little.
Good thing, too, since the New York Jets' struggling offense can certainly use something different.
Fields is taking care of the football this season with no interceptions through his first five starts, a statistical oddity in what has been an otherwise rough go for the quarterback. The passing game has been anything but threatening during the Jets' 0-6 start, with the team's
franchise-worst minus-10 net yards passing in its 13-11 loss to Denver last Sunday in London a glaring example.
So, Fields thinks he might need to take a few more risks down the field, starting Sunday against Carolina.
“Yeah, most definitely,” he said. “I feel like I’ve been a little bit too conservative, in a sense. 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've just got to find that healthy balance between trying to maybe fit it in smaller windows and just letting it rip.”
Fields has thrown only nine of his 123 passes this season for 20 or more yards, while completing four of them for 108 yards and two touchdowns, according to Sportradar. That's just 7.3% of his throws, nearly 4% fewer than the NFL average.
He's 14 of 32 for 265 yards and the two scores on throws of 10 or more yards, making up 26% of his attempts vs. an average of 31.9% by league on similar passes.
“I think I can be more aggressive and throwing no interceptions is a great thing,” Fields said. “But taking some shots down the field and trying to stretch the field a little bit, I think that’s important for us as an offense to create explosive passes.”
Fields’ longest completion this season was a 33-yard touchdown toss to Garrett Wilson in the opener against Pittsburgh. Otherwise, it has been a lot of dink, dunk — and duck.
In the loss to Denver, he was sacked nine times, matching the number of completions he had while going 9 of 17 for a mere 45 yards.
“Everybody is going to throw picks, that’s just a part of playing quarterback,” Fields said. “I looked at myself at this past game and really over the season and kind of just told myself that I can be a little bit more aggressive. This Sunday, probably going to be a little bit more aggressive, but also not being reckless at the same time. So, just being smart when pushing the ball downfield.”
Coach Aaron Glenn acknowledged Fields took “a step back” last Sunday, but is sticking with him as the starter. He said it was Fields' first truly bad game and several things contributed to it, including the quarterback holding onto the ball too long at times — a knock throughout his career — the offensive line not providing sufficient enough protection and receivers failing to get open enough.
Fields said he focused this week on his footwork, attributing that to many of his struggles against Denver.
“I think my feet, starting from the ground up, caused me to play a little bit slower, get through my progressions a little bit slower," he said.
First-year offensive coordinator Tanner Engstrand agreed with Glenn and also is on the same page with Fields about his new approach.
“I loved exactly what he said,” Engstrand said. "He said, ‘I can be more aggressive, but aggressive doesn’t mean reckless.’ And he’s exactly right. He can go ahead and push the ball down the field. He’s got confidence in his receivers that they’re going to go make a play.
“And I don’t have a problem whatsoever with him having that mindset going forward, saying, ‘Hey, I’m going to go on ahead and I’m going to just let this thing fly and our guys are going to go make a play,’ absolutely.”
Fields has been effective using his legs to make plays most of the season, ranking second among quarterbacks to Buffalo's Josh Allen with 235 yards rushing despite missing Week 3 with a concussion.
Against Denver, Fields was mostly bottled up as the Broncos sniffed out designed runs with the quarterback getting 31 yards on seven carries, mostly on scrambles.
“The past couple of weeks, my legs haven’t been feeling the best,” Fields acknowledged. “I got kind of a huge contusion vs. Miami (in Week 4), so was working through that the past couple of weeks. But over time, I’m getting better and my legs are kind of getting back under me.”
With his right arm ready to join in on more of the playmaking.
“He’s responding great,” Engstrand said. “He’s ready to go."
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AP Pro Football Writer Josh Dubow contributed.
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