Fans of the New York Jets are understandably excited for the 2025 season. The organization hired a new head coach, former Detroit Lions defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn, and also signed quarterback Justin Fields, who has provided the NFL with some of the most scintillating highlights over the past four years.
It’s easy to understand the hype around this head coach-quarterback pairing when taken at face value. Glenn led a highly respected defensive unit in Detroit with arguably much less talent than he now has at his disposal, and Fields, when at his best, looks like a guy about to take over the league by storm. Surely this will be an improvement over the Jets’ last two seasons, right?
Not so fast. As recently pointed out by NFL analyst Warren Sharp, Jets fans should be deeply concerned about Fields’ ability to win in less-than-ideal situations. As a starting NFL quarterback, Fields is 0-22 in games when his opponent scores at least 21 points.
Justin Fields has led his teams to an 0-22 record when opponents score at least 21 points
— Warren Sharp (@SharpFootball) June 30, 2025
NFL teams score 22.4 points/game the last 4 years
Fields is the only QB winless the last 4 years with at least 10 starts made
Considering how New York’s defense fared last season, that stat should absolutely terrify Jets fans. The Jets gave up 23.8 points per game in 2024, which means an 0-17 season with Fields would have been on the table.
Not winning a single high-scoring game almost seems unbelievable, but it’s true. We even saw this last year when Fields was sent to what many considered a much better situation in Pittsburgh. The Steelers went 4-2 with Fields as the starter, but the defense was allowing just 14.3 points per game in that stretch; the offense averaged barely more than 20 points per game.
What does this mean for Jets fans in 2025? For one, it shows that Fields has historically struggled at holding onto a lead. In Week 4 of the 2023 season, despite playing one of his best games statistically through the first three quarters, Fields turned the ball over twice in crunch time, resulting in a 28-31 loss.
Second, if Fields still cannot figure out how to play complete games, then the Jets are going to need Aaron Glenn to be the absolute best version of himself. As aforementioned, the Jets gave up nearly 24 points per game last year and that has proven to be too much for Fields to overcome in the past. If Glenn can coach up this defense to its full potential, they should be able to carry a lackluster Justin Fields-led offense.
Of course, the fans are hoping it doesn’t come to that. In an ideal season, Fields proves that he just needed a little more time and a little better situation to finally blossom into a franchise quarterback. But until he finally turns potential into production on the field, hopes and wishes will be all that Fields’ fans have to hold onto.