Justin Fields Very Impressive in Debut as Jets Fall 34-32

Justin Fields played one of the best games of his career.  The Jets offensive line paved the way for 182 yards on the ground and allowed just one sack.  But in the end, the Jets defense and special teams killed any chance of an upset victory over the Pittsburgh Steelers.

As head coach Aaron Glenn said after the game, “there are no moral victories” in football.  But let’s be honest, if you’re a Jets fan who just wrapped up the Robert Saleh/Jeff Ulbrich era, there were some very encouraging signs in this game.

Let’s review:

1) The Jets put up 32 points against a quality opponent.  When was the last time you could say they did that?  Seriously…look it up.  It’s been quite some time.

2) Justin Fields was fantastic.  He completed 73% of his passes, marking the sixth-best rate in his career.  He kept his eyes down the field, didn’t get rattled under pressure and made some big boy throws in third down.

3) Armand Membou didn’t allow a single sack in his pro debut.  In fact, a late sack surrendered by Olu Fashanu was the only one of the game.  But Membou vs TJ Watt had fans worried before the game.  The kid held up.

4) Brandon Stephens was atrocious at cornerback.  There’s no sugar coating how bad he was.  If Stephens, the team’s $12 million free agent keeps playing like this, he won’t be starting for long.

5) Big start to the season for Will McDonald who logged a pair of sacks.  Quinnen and Quincy Williams also picked up a sack each.

6) The addition of Harrison Phillips was huge.  The Jets defense was stout against the run, allowing just 53 rushing yards.

7) Sauce Gardner looked like the Sauce of old, and possibly better.  No rest reps for Gardner as he followed DK Metcalf all day and locked him down.  Metcalf’s biggest play came out of the slot on a catch at the LOS after making Michael Carter miss.

8) It’s time to end the Xavier Gipson experiment.  His fumble as a kickoff returner gave the Packers the lead and was a huge factor in the loss.

9) Aaron Glenn is the anti-Saleh.  At one point in the game we saw DB Isaiah Oliver pushing and shoving after a play and Glenn covered 20+ yards of real estate to get on the field, get in Oliver’s face and give him a talking to.

10) It was fun.  Yes, it was a loss, but there was some entertaining football and perhaps the best all-around performance on offense in many years thanks to Justin Fields and the offensive line.

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