After falling to 2-8 this past Thursday against the New England Patriots, the New York Jets are mixing things up with a quarterback change.
Justin Fields has been benched for the second time this season in favor of a well-known veteran backup, Tyrod Taylor, for when the team faces the Baltimore Ravens this Sunday, as part of Week 12.
This will be the first start of the season for Taylor, but the second appearance since he came in for relief in the second half of Week 8 against the Carolina Panthers after Fields was benched in the 13-6 loss.
With the loss, the Jets dropped to 0-7, leading to first-year head coach Aaron Glenn announcing the change, in which Taylor was supposed to start the next week, but after suffering an injury, allowing Fields to get his position back, where he led a fourth-quarter comeback against the Cincinnati Bengals and also picked up another win the following week.
However, with another underwhelming performance for Fields and the Jets this past week, Taylor gets the nod once again, and it shouldn’t come as too much of a surprise, considering that the organization has made it clear they are open to exploring other options they have under center.
Sunday will be Taylor’s first full game since January 7, 2024, with the New York Giants, where he started 11 games in 2023.
Fields was able to make a difference with his ability to run the ball per usual this season but has had trouble getting things going in the passing game, recording only 1,259 total passing yards. Now, one thing worth noting is that the Jets have been without star wide receiver and former college teammate of Fields, Garrett Wilson, who went down with a knee injury.
Not having the team’s best receiver available will affect the offense’s efficiency. Still, the Jets are seeking to see what works in a season, which is nearly guaranteed to mean they will miss the playoffs for the 15th consecutive season after losing in the conference championship back-to-back years in 2009-10.
