Only the Jets could make Tyrod Taylor look like their best QB option

The New York Jets finally pulled the plug on the Justin Fields experiment in Week 7, inserting veteran backup Tyrod Taylor into the lineup at halftime of the team's 13-6 loss to the Carolina Panthers.

The change was long overdue, as Fields had been virtually unplayable for much of his Jets career to this point. He followed up one of the most inept performances by a Jets quarterback in recent memory a week ago with an equally incompetent showing against Carolina in the first half.

Head coach Aaron Glenn finally made the decision to insert Taylor, and while the long-tenured NFL quarterback struggled to the tune of a 10-for-22 stat line with two interceptions, he's still likely the team's best option moving forward.

That's not necessarily a ringing endorsement of Taylor, who is, in fact, quite bad. It's more so commentary on the state of the Jets' quarterback room. It's brutal.

The Jets should start Tyrod Taylor at quarterback in Week 8

Fields was just as unplayably terrible against Carolina as he was the week prior. The former Ohio State star completed 6-of-12 passes for 46 yards, taking three sacks and once again displaying the same hesitancy and deer-in-headlights look that he had against Denver.

The Jets once again were faced with an end-of-the-half Hail Mary situation, only to let the clock expire because they didn't trust their quarterback to even execute the play. It was the second week in a row that happened.

Benching Fields was a necessary decision, and while Taylor was hardly a savior for the Jets' offense, the team did somehow manage to move the ball a little more effectively with him in the game.

Taylor nearly doubled Fields' average yards per attempt and completed multiple passes of 20+ yards downfield to wide receiver Tyler Johnson. He was taking shots — perhaps too many — but the offense showed signs of life.

Taylor is going to make more mistakes than Fields, mostly because essentially any NFL quarterback would. But interceptions are an overrated stat for quarterbacks. What Fields put on tape over the last few weeks is worse than anything Taylor has done in virtually his entire career.

Fields has become so painfully conservative that the Jets' offense can’t function. He’s capable of more than what he’s shown in recent weeks, but it’s clear he’s stuck in a mental funk with zero confidence. He needs to sit and reset before the Jets can even think about turning back to him.

Ultimately, the Jets offense is going to be bad no matter who they trot out at quarterback, but Taylor at least gives them a chance to win. Fields has not been able to do that.

There might come a time late in the season when we can have the Brady Cook conversation, but the Jets aren't going to consider handing the reins of the offense over to an undrafted rookie seven weeks into the year, nor should they.

For now, Tyrod Taylor remains the Jets’ best option — and that fact alone serves as a damning indictment of this Jets roster.