The Jets‘ offense throughout training camp has been hit or miss.
This week against the Giants, the Jets’ performance was the latter, whether it was during practices or the actual game.
Gang Green lost to Big Blue in the annual Snoopy Bowl 31-12, but the results during the preseason are non-consequential. What is essential is what stood out, the good and bad, when it came to the Jets.
Here are this week’s takeaways from the Jets’ second preseason game.
FIELDS & PASS OFFENSE STILL A WORK IN PROGRESS
Justin Fields and the Jets’ first-team offense came out after just one series in their preseason victory against the Packers last week. While they were able to find the end zone early in Green Bay, that was far from the case against the Giants.
Fields completed just 1-of-5 passes for four yards, with his only completion coming to rookie tight end Mason Taylor on the first drive. After his pass to Taylor, Fields had three straight incompletions before the Jets had to punt and squandered good field position. He passed one time on his second and final drive, which featured nine designed running plays and two pass plays, one of which Fields scrambled for five yards.
Throughout the summer, Fields has had an uneven training camp. He has struggled at times with accuracy issues and holding onto the ball too long. It has also been noted that Fields appears hesitant to throw the ball down the field.
Against the Packers, Fields was decisive after taking what the defense gave him, completing 3-of-4 passes and rushing for a touchdown. He displayed none of those attributes against the Giants, who feature a vaunted pass rush.
Fields finished with more rushing yards (five) than he did passing. When the Jets signed Fields to a two-year, $40 million contract in March, head coach Aaron Glenn said they wanted him to “play quarterback” and would build an offense around his talents, including utilizing his exceptional running ability. But the results have been mixed thus far.
“I think it’s up and down, alright, and there’s been a lot of ups in camp that I really like,” Glenn said about the passing game. “Today was not one of those days, which was obvious, but listen, I still have a lot of confidence in what those guys can do because they’ve shown it to me. Once you show it, I feel like you can continue to do it, so we just got to go back to work next week and continue to hone in on those areas where we got to just be better at.”
Fields struggled in both joint practices against the Giants after he was sacked a combined eight times in two days. He is still learning offensive coordinator Tanner Engstrand’s system and trying to gain chemistry with his teammates. With the regular season opener against the Steelers in three weeks, the Jets have to hope Fields’ play will be better in the team’s preseason finale against the Eagles next Friday.
LEAN ON RUSHING ATTACK EARLY IN THE SEASON
With Fields’ unevenness throughout training camp, the Jets may have to lean on their rushing attack to win games.
During the Jets’ second drive, they rushed for 47 yards and got into field goal range by running 10 of 11 plays. But their drive eventually stalled when Fields’ pass on a 3-and-10 play was incomplete, and they settled for a 38-yard field goal by Nick Folk.
Since Glenn became their head coach, the Jets have sought to establish themselves as a dominant football team, focusing on a run-heavy approach. They have invested heavily in their offensive line in recent years, which figures to be one of the strengths of their team. Also, Fields is a dynamic runner, one of three quarterbacks (Michael Vick and Lamar Jackson) who have rushed for over 1,000 yards in a season.
While it looks like their passing offense is a work in progress, the Jets’ ground game may have to carry the load, especially considering their early schedule. The Jets’ four out of six opponents to begin the season made the playoffs last year (Steelers, Bills, Buccaneers, and Broncos). So there could be a lot of Breece Hall, Braelon Allen, and Isaiah Davis while Fields continues to learn the offense.
“I thought our guys did a really good job of that,” Glenn said about rushing the ball. “Man, we know that if we can just hunker down and get our guys to run the ball, that’s an advantage for us. But just overall still, I mean, it just wasn’t good enough.”
SECONDARY STRUGGLED WITH GARDNER
No Sauce Gardner was a big problem for the Jets’ secondary early against the Giants. Russell Wilson completed 4-of-7 passes for 108 yards, including an 80-yard deep pass play to Beaux Collins. Both Andre Cisco and Qwan’tez Stiggers were in coverage but were unable to prevent the Wilson to Collins connection.
That set up a one-yard touchdown by Devin Singletary, which gave the Giants an early 7-0 lead.
Gardner did not play due to calf soreness. He also missed Wednesday’s joint practice because of the injury. The injury doesn’t sound serious, but Gardner is one of the Jets’ best players, so there’s always concern.
The issue could be at safety for the Jets. Tony Adams was benched last season after struggling. Cisco signed with the Jets after the Jaguars allowed him to walk in free agency.
Stiggers also continued to struggle most of the night, but he did pick off Wilson in the end zone for a touchback in the second quarter.
YOUNG WRS CONTINUE TO STAND OUT
There are several questions about the Jets’ receiver corps outside of Garrett Wilson. However, they have some interesting, talented players who could make the final roster.
Among them is Arian Smith, who was the Jets’ fourth-round pick out of Georgia. He entered the league with issues with drops, but Smith finished with two catches for 39 yards. Jets coaches have been impressed with Smith during training camp. But he did have one drop against the Giants, so this is an area he will need to continue to clean up.
Undrafted free agent Brandon Smith and Quentin Skinner have also been impressive. Brandon Smith finished with five catches for 48 yards. Skinner scored the only Jets touchdown of the night after he held onto a one-handed catch in the back of the end zone for a touchdown.
Xavier Gipson left before halftime due to a shoulder injury. Because of the uncertainty at receiver, the Jets will have difficult decisions ahead of cutdown day, which is Aug. 26.
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