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Jets Owner Ripped By Ex-NFL QB for ‘Cowardly’ Words About Justin Fields

Andy Nesbitt

Woody Johnson took a shot at his own QB earlier this week.
Woody Johnson took a shot at his own QB earlier this week. / John Jones-Imagn Images
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The Jets are in the middle of yet another lost season as they are 0-7 heading into Sunday's road game against the Bengals. The franchise had hoped that quarterback Justin Fields, who they acquired in free agency in the offseason, would be able to help turn things around but that hasn't been the case as he has struggled mightily with his new team.

Jets owner Woody Johnson, made news earlier this week when he had some harsh words for Fields, saying, "It’s hard when you have a quarterback with a rating that we got."

Johnson didn't stop there, however, as he had another rough line about his QB: "If we could just complete a pass, it would look good."

Former NFL QB Alex Smith didn't love hearing that from Johnson and he went off on the Jets owner during a discussion on ESPN's NFL Sunday Countdown.

"Maybe the problem is you, Woody. Maybe you look in the mirror," Smith said. "You have the longest playoff drought in all of the NFL. It starts at the top, and it trickles down. This is cowardly. This is an owner that's deflecting because his organization is terrible and he drove the bus over a 26-year-old quarterback. Right over the back of him. I don't think Justin Fields has played great at all this season but you're telling me his the only problem? You don't have a win. It's everywhere."

Here are Smith's full comments:

Many fans were quick to agree with Smith:

Fields hasn't been great this year as he has thrown for just 845 yards in six games and has just four touchdown passes. But this entire Jets team has been bad and it feels like things might only get worse from here.

Fields will start Sunday against the Bengals. It will be interesting to see if he's able to raise his level of play against a banged up team that has Joe Flacco under center.

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Andy Nesbitt
ANDY NESBITT

Andy Nesbitt is the assistant managing editor of audience engagement at Sports Illustrated. He works closely with the Breaking and Trending News team to shape SI’s daily coverage across all sports. A 20-year veteran of the sports media business, he has worked for Fox Sports, For the Win, The Boston Globe and NBC Sports, having joined SI in February 2023. Nesbitt is a golf fanatic who desperately wants to see the Super Bowl played on a Saturday night.

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