Week 4 gave Jets clear offensive gameplan after Justin Fields' second-half surge

As is usually the case with New York Jets quarterback Justin Fields, his team's Week 4 loss against a previously winless Miami Dolphins team was a mixed bag. Fields did eventually finish with over 300 total yards (including 80 rushing) and two touchdowns, one of which was an insane 43-yard touchdown run on fourth down.

In the first half, however, Fields was so out of sorts that it looked like Tyrod Taylor needed to play. He was missing protections, refused to throw downfield, and couldn't secure the ball. In the second half, however, he was ripping throws from the pocket, particularly to wide receiver Garrett Wilson.

The Jets have built their entire identity around being a run-first team, and they can certainly run the ball. However, both Aaron Glenn and offensive coordinator Tanner Engstrand might be leaning a bit too hard into the ground-and-pound style to the point where they aren't even attempting to threaten teams through the air.

While it may sound self-defeating to throw the ball more when the wide receiver room outside of Wilson has, at most, one other NFL-level player, the Jets need to figure out a way to get Fields more involved as a passer before the situation demands it.

Jets need to change offensive blueprint for Justin Fields after Week 4

Fields is a very empathic quarterback. If he senses the offensive coordinator is getting too conservative, he seemingly loses belief in his arm. He'll mess up protections at the line of scrimmage, will get happy feet in the pocket, and quickly abandon his reads to run.

With the Jets' lack of wide receiver talent, Engstrand playing as slowly as he does makes sense in theory. However, if Fields is going to be as ineffective as he was during the first half, this team needs to switch up its offensive philosophy as soon as humanly possible.

Engstrand seemingly found the middle ground this offense needs to operate in. This is still very much a run-first team, and they should operate as such, but they need to let Fields get in rhythm as a passer. What is the point of having someone with an arm this strong if he isn't using it?

Fields is likely not going to be a transformative quarterback, but the player Jets fans saw in the second half may be closer to what he can be when this offense is operating in the way Engstrand envisioned. Week 1 may not totally be a mirage, which makes the Jets' struggles more concerning.

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