Justin Fields only has to do one thing to make the Jets a playoff team

It's easy to poke fun at the New York Jets. It always has been and may always will be. Pete Prisco of CBS did just that when he went on the Pardon My Take podcast on Wednesday.

However, in the midst of making some friendly jokes at the expense of our ill-begotten franchise, he stumbled upon the most concise and accurate assessment of where the Jets stand that I have heard all offseason.

He was asked about the Jets' season outlook, and his comment was pointed yet simple. Justin Fields just has to do something.

"If Justin Fields can do anything, they're a wild card team."

Pete Prisco, CBS Sports

Obviously, it’s a little insulting to tell a starting NFL quarterback to simply do “anything.” But the truth is that while Fields has shown flash after flash, he’s never put together a full season of above-average play. The one year he came close — last season — the Steelers still stripped the job from him in favor of Russell Wilson.

So with a relatively talented roster surrounding him, all eyes are on what he can do to launch the Jets into playoff contention. And according to Prisco, he doesn't have to do a whole lot to get there.

The bar to clear is very low for Justin Fields and the Jets

It's been spoken to death about how Fields has talent, but we haven't seen what it can turn into. You'll find plenty of detractors. This is fair, given that he has shown severe struggles in recognizing when to get rid of the football, and has also shown he isn't exactly the most accurate starting passer in football.

You’ll also find plenty who believe he’s a talented quarterback who just needs a real chance. His first two “opportunities” were that in name only. Fields entered the NFL as a 22-year-old and was immediately mismanaged by the abysmal Matt Eberflus-led Bears regime.

Then, just as he finally landed in a stable situation, the rug was pulled out from under him. In six games with Pittsburgh, Fields posted a 65.8% completion rate, a 5-to-1 touchdown-to-interception ratio, and a 42.9% success rate. These were all career-bests for Fields.

Despite this, the Steelers opted to sit him down for the veteran Wilson. Whether this was the right decision or not, it didn't give Fields any chance to show what he can do with a full season of work under a competent coaching staff. The last time we saw him, he was performing well. That's all we know right at this moment.

The roster surrounding him in New York is solid. Sure, there are problems at the wide receiver position (to say the least), and sure, the offensive line has already been ravaged by injury thanks to Alijah Vera-Tucker's triceps.

But the Jets hope their defense will finish as a top-10 unit. The running game should hopefully follow suit. Functionally, this leaves the passing game to hold up its end of the bargain, and this is where the "anything" that Pete Prisco referred to comes in.

Granted, a lot of this will hinge on his wideouts. You can't pin all the results on him, no matter what happens. But he's also a QB who relies on his legs more than almost anyone else. He controls his fate more than other quarterbacks would.

If he performs well — just well — the Jets can move the ball enough to keep the defense off the field. If you keep this defense off the field and rested, it'll be tough for teams to score points on them.

All Fields and the offense have to do is move the ball methodically (which will certainly be their game plan), put up a reasonable number of points on the board, and then watch the team's defense go to work.

I don’t know if Fields will seize this opportunity or if he’ll fall back into taking unnecessary sacks because he can’t read when receivers are open. But it won’t take much from him to push the Jets into wild-card contention. As Prisco put it, at this point, it will really just take “anything.”

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