New York City had two quarterbacks make their debuts on Sunday. One was good, and the other not so good, but here’s one thing they had in common: both quarterbacks lost.
The Jets, who fell to the Steelers 34-32 in their home and season opener, played well, especially Justin Fields.
In his Jets debut, Fields completed 16-of-22 passes for 218 yards and a touchdown, and he added 48 rushing yards and two touchdowns, becoming the third Jets QB to record one-plus passing touchdown and two-plus rushing touchdowns in a single game. His 48 rushing yards also marked the most ever by a Jets QB in a season opener.
The 26-year-old, who signed a two-year deal with the Jets in the offseason after playing for the Steelers in 2024, did his part. He was turnover-free, and he helped New York accumulate 394 total yards, including 182 yards rushing.
However, Fields was overshadowed by former Jets quarterback Aaron Rodgers, who completed 22-of-30 passes for 244 yards and four touchdowns. With the Steelers trailing 32-31, Rodgers would lead Pittsburgh on the game-winning drive that would end with a 60-yard Chris Boswell field goal with just over a minute to go.
Fields and the Jets had one final chance, but Jalen Ramsey broke up his fourth-down pass to Garrett Wilson, and the Steelers would hold on.
While he does not believe in moral victories, Fields was pleased with the way the team performed on offense.
“I think we played well,” he said. “I think we ran the ball well. Offensive line did a great job. I think we only allowed 1.0 sack, and that was in the red zone. As a team, I think we were bouncing and kind of keeping each other in the fight. That one turnover, they scored, offense, we came back and didn’t let that phase us. Like I said, a lot of fight from our team. I don’t think a lot of people expected us to come out like that. Like you said, no moral victories. At the end of the day, we lost. We got to get better. That’s what we’re going to do this week.”
New Jets coach Aaron Glenn, who made his head coaching debut on Sunday, liked what he saw out of Fields.
“I thought he did an outstanding job, outstanding,” Glenn said. “Again, I want to go back and look at the tape and really dissect everything. But just from the naked eye, I thought he did a really good job.”
If Fields can maintain this level of performance throughout the season, the Jets could be a force to be reckoned with in 2025.
However, the New York Giants could have a big problem at that quarterback position. Veteran quarterback Russell Wilson, who made his 200th career appearance and start on the road against the Commanders on Sunday, really struggled.
The 14-year veteran completed only 17-of-37 passes for 168 yards; he led the Giants on two scoring drives, but he couldn’t get the team in the end zone.
New York finished the game with only 231 total yards.
After the game, Giants head coach Brian Daboll said the loss was not all on Wilson, but he was noncommittal on whether Wilson will start in Week 2 against the Cowboys.
“I got confidence in [QB] Russell [Wilson], so we’re going to go back, we’ll evaluate the tape,” he said. “This game isn’t on [QB] Russell Wilson. It’s not on [QB] Russell Wilson. Want to make that clear. I have confidence in [QB] Russel [Wilson], we got to do a better job all the way around.”
The 36-year-old Wilson believes the Giants need to improve in the red zone moving forward.
“I think the game was simple in the sense that we didn’t convert in the red zone,” he said. “We had two chances down in the red zone to make it a close game, a really close game. The game was close all the way throughout the whole game, really, to be honest with you. I thought our defense did a good job battling. I thought, for us, when we get down to the red zone and the ball is on the one or two yard line, we got to score. They stopped us; they played well. We got back down there again, and then they stopped us again. I think that changes the complexion of the game tremendously.”
Daboll’s post-game responses hinted at the potential for change. If Wilson continues to struggle, it’s likely we’ll see rookie quarterback Jaxson Dart take the field sooner rather than later.
**UPDATE**: Giants coach Brian Daboll announced on Monday that Wilson get the start against the Cowboys.
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