The New York Jets finally have their win. With their 39-38 victory over the Cincinnati Bengals, the emotions on the sideline were naturally high as everyone came up to hug head coach Aaron Glenn. But post-game, the atmosphere was different. After all the criticism around starting quarterback Justin Fields, including some jibes from Jets’ co-owner Woody Johnson, Coach Glenn took a sly shot at all the question marks.

Speaking about Fields, coach Glenn noted, “He’s primed to be able to handle situations like this. It’s so unfair to him that he gets criticized so much. But on the other hand, I told him, ‘being a high pick, being a quarterback, especially in the New York Area, meant criticism, responsibility, expectation… all those things follow you. So, handle it.’ Some of it is unwarranted, I would say that, but we understand. – He’s the perfect person to be able to handle everything that’s been thrown at him.”

These words come as a soothing salve to Fields, whose future with the Jets seemed to be on a rocky road following Woody Johnson’s comments. Johnson recently made headlines when he said, “It’s hard when you have a quarterback with a rating that he’s got. I mean, he has ability, but something just is not jiving. If we can just complete a pass, it would look good.” But the 0-7 nightmare is broken, and Fields has silenced all of that criticism at last.

Johnson wanted Fields to complete a pass. And that’s exactly what he did. In their Week 8 victory, Fields went 21-of-32 with 244 yards and a touchdown. Running back Breece Hall ignited the offense like never before, adding to Fields’ victory. Hall rushed for 133 yards and hauled in two scores, and even tossed a 4-yard passing touchdown to Mason Taylor late in the fourth quarter, sealing the victory.

Post-game, even Fields addressed the comments made by Woody Johnson. Taking a similar approach to Aaron Glenn, Fields noted: “That’s outside noise at the end of the day. I get that he’s the owner of the team, but that’s outside noise. The biggest thing was my teammates believing in me and my coaches still believing in me.”

But before this subtle shot calling the owner an “outside noise,” Fields had notably opened his heart out and spoken about what a critical game this was.

Justin Fields’ post-game emotions

Fields navigates a world of speculation throughout the first 7 weeks. The situation became so grim that even Aaron Glenn made a call to bench Fields in Week 7 in favor of Tyrod Taylor to give the offense a spark. Still, Coach Glenn remained confident in Fields’ ability and refused to address the questions around the Week 8 starter. And after this hard-earned victory, Fields only had words of thanks for everyone.

“It’s been a lot for me, emotionally, spiritually. When I was out on the field, I was damn near about to start crying. But not because we won. Just because of the goodness of God, and just how everything worked for the greater good. Everything that I’ve been through this past week, everything that we’ve been through as a team these past seven weeks, there were a lot of ups and downs. I got a lot of support from my teammates, from my brothers, from my family, from my friends, and most of all, I’m just thankful. – Yesterday I started praying, praying like crazy, just for a win.”

Justin Fields now gets a bye week to celebrate this victory. The negative chatter dies down a little around Aaron Glenn and the Jets. The big question now: Can they keep building on this win as they face the Cleveland Browns in week 10?