Aaron Glenn does not commit to Justin Fields at QB despite Jets' comeback win over Bengals

The New York Jets finally found the win column on Sunday, as they defeated the Cincinnati Bengals, 39-38, thanks to an incredible, 15-point fourth-quarter comeback. The Jets scored 23 points in the final quarter after going four straight games without scoring 23 points, as New York exorcised some demons following a week of turmoil.

Just six days ago, Jets owner Woody Johnson publicly criticized the play of quarterback Justin Fields, who looked like he was about to be benched for Tyrod Taylor. However, Taylor could not suit up on Sunday due to a knee injury, which gave Fields another opportunity to hold onto the job. He responded by completing 21 of 32 passes for 244 yards and one touchdown, and rushed 11 times for 31 yards while his offense racked up an incredible 502 total yards. 

Jets coach Aaron Glenn was complimentary of his quarterback after the win, saying that Fields was built to handle the adversity. 

"I've said this on a number of occasions, who he is as a person, his faith and the way that he goes about his business, he's primed to be able to handle situations like this. It's so unfair to him, it really is, that he gets criticized so much," Glenn said. "He's the perfect person to be able to handle everything that's been thrown at him. He's a special person. A special person." 

'I'm going to get pretty vulnerable': Justin Fields details emotional week leading up to Jets' first win

Carter Bahns

However, when Glenn was asked on Monday if Fields would be his starter next game against the Cleveland Browns, the coach indicated he's still considering a change. Glenn said he was going to take the bye week to think about it.

"I think you know what my answer's going to be on that," Glenn said. "This is the bye week and we're going to focus on us. I have time to make that decision, and that's one of the good things of the bye week. But seriously, this gives us a chance to really just hone in on the good, bad and ugly, and try to get those things worked out, because we know we have a ways to go."

If Taylor was healthy enough to play on Sunday, it's hard to imagine him not playing over Fields. The veteran replaced Fields during the Week 7 loss to the Carolina Panthers, and completed 10 of 22 passes for 126 yards and two interceptions. Taylor started the Jets' Week 3 loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers after Fields suffered a concussion in the second game of the season. He completed 26 of 36 passes for 197 yards, two touchdowns and one interception.

So far this season, Fields has completed 64.1% of his passes while averaging 155.6 passing yards per contest. In seven games, he's thrown five touchdowns and zero interceptions. The former No. 11 overall pick of the Chicago Bears in 2021 revealed that he was emotionally struggling in the days leading up to New York's first win. 

"I've been praying like crazy just for a win," Fields said. "I'm going to get pretty vulnerable right here. This week, I found myself in my closet crying on the ground, laying down. Not because of the hardships, not because of the troubles. I felt like I was built to handle that and I was put in a place to handle this situation. But in that moment when I was talking to my best friend how hard it was and just not wavering faith-wise."

The victory over the Bengals was a big win for the Jets in more ways than one, but a quarterback change may still be on the horizon.