Jets Coach Sticks With Fields After Painful London Defeat

Fields had 45 yards passing, but was sacked nine times for 55 yards, leading to a total of negative 10 net passing yards, in the Jets’ 13-11 loss to Denver.

Justin Fields of New York Jets runs out prior to the NFL 2025 game between Denver Broncos and New York Jets at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in London, England, on Oct. 12, 2025. Harry Murphy/Getty Images

New York Jets head coach Aaron Glenn is sticking with his quarterback, even after a historically abysmal performance.

Justin Fields passed for just 45 yards in the Jets’ 13-11 loss to the Denver Broncos in London on Sunday. He was sacked nine times for 55 lost yards, meaning he himself accounted for negative 10 net passing yards. Speaking to reporters after the game, Glenn defended his quarterback and said the loss fell on the whole team.

A reporter asked if Fields would be the starter next week for the Jets’ game against the Carolina Panthers.

“Come on, man, what kind of question is that?” Glenn responded, his face visibly shifting.

The reporter responded that it was a fair question, noting that Fields did not have a good game.

“Sometimes this league is like this, and there are guys that have bad games. That doesn’t mean you just bench them. Come on. You know better than that.”

Another reporter pressed him on how Fields has contributed to the Jets’ offensive woes.

“Everybody’s played a role in that,” Glenn said. “So, it’s not just Justin, because I understand where you guys are trying to take this. But listen, there’s a number of other guys that [have] got to pick their game up, too. So, I don’t want to sit there and pin this all on Justin.”

Field struggled mightily in London on Sunday. He went nine of 17 passing for just 45 yards. But he was sacked nine times by the Broncos’ league-leading defense for a total of 55 yards lost, which led to a total contribution of -10 passing yards. That figure was the lowest in a game in franchise history and the first time in 27 years that such a stat has been seen. All-time draft bust Ryan Leaf went one of 15 passing for 4 yards and was sacked twice for 23 yards lost, with a net passing stat of -19 yards, in the San Diego Chargers’ 23-7 loss to the Kansas City Chiefs on Sept. 20, 1998.

Nearly all of Fields’ sacks came from him simply holding onto the ball for too long. They also happened frequently at key moments. On a 3rd and nine midway through the second quarter, Fields stood in the pocket for more than 3 seconds before he rolled under a tackle by defensive lineman John Franklin-Myers, but was then taken down by edge rusher Jonathon Cooper.

At the end of the first half, he stood in a collapsing pocket before Cooper, DL Zach Allen, and edge Nik Bonitto all collided with him.

On a 3rd and five at the end of the third quarter, Fields again held the ball for 3+ seconds before safety Talanoa Hufanga crashed into him from behind; the same scenario happened again in the final seconds, with Cooper accidentally knocking Fields’s helmet off before linebacker Justin Strnad took him to the ground.

In the fourth quarter, on 3rd and 10, Fields held on long enough to spin away from an ankle tackle by Bonitto, but once again Cooper and Allen closed in on him. With just over a minute left to play and the game on the line, Fields spun out of a sack by Cooper, but was hit by safety Brandon Jones, Cooper, and LB Alex Singleton to seal the deal for Denver.

Taking the podium after Glenn on Sunday, Fields credited the Broncos’ secondary for forcing him to hold on to the ball.

“I thought they did a good job on defense covering,” he said. “They have a good defense and that’s what it is...I probably could have got the ball out on some, but I think most of the time they pretty much covered us well.”

Glenn said Fields needed to be decisive in attacking Denver’s man coverage.

“When you have a team that pressures that much and play that much man coverage, sometimes you’ve just got to give your guys a chance to win a one-on-one,” he said. “I don’t want to just stamp that. But I would think—because the way they play, and I know how [Broncos DC] Vance [Joseph] calls a game—that sometimes you’ve got to give guys a chance in those one-on-one situations.”