Justin Fields reveals emotional moment before leading Jets to first win

New York Jets quarterback Justin Fields took to the podium for the first time this season to talk to reporters after Sunday’s win.

The Jets made a miraculous comeback in the fourth quarter and defeated the Cincinnati Bengals 39-38 for their first win of the 2025 season. They were the only NFL player without a win this year.

Although Breece Hall’s two scoring runs played a vital role in the victory, Fields’ efforts to keep the Jets in the game were crucial in the victory.

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Jets fans and even the team’s owner have been critical of Fields all season long. In fact, there was no certainty whether Fields would start Sunday at Paycor Stadium, as head coach Aaron Glenn kept his decision close to his chest until Saturday.

Following his redemption game, Fields revealed this week that the criticism and pressure to perform really got to him.

“I’m going to be pretty vulnerable here,” Fields told reporters, via Yahoo Sports. “This week I found myself lying on the floor of my closet crying. Not because of the difficulties, not because of the troubles. I felt like I was built to handle this… Yesterday I was praying over and over again, just one win.”

JETS OWNER WOODY JOHNSON CRITICISMS JUSTIN FIELDS, DEFENDS AARON GLENN AFTER TEAM’S UNDERWARDING START

Jets owner Woody Johnson publicly criticized his quarterback’s play at the NFL’s annual fall meeting.

“It’s tough when you have a quarterback with the rating we have,” Johnson told a group of reporters. “He’s got talent, but he’s no joke. If you look at any coach with a point guard like that, you’ll see similar results across the league.”

Justin Fields and Azareye’h Thomas of the New York Jets speak to the media after the game against the Cincinnati Bengals at Paycor Stadium on October 26, 2025 in Cincinnati, Ohio. (Dylan Buell/Getty Images)

Although Fields clearly heard what his employer had to say, he called it “outside noise at the end of the day.”

“I understand he owns the team, but this is outside noise,” he continued. “The biggest thing was that my teammates believed in me and my coaches still believed in me.”

While Fields got his first win as a Jets player, head coach Aaron Glenn had been waiting for that feeling for seven weeks. Glenn didn’t hold anything back either, finding the Jets hounding the Bengals defense and continuing to convert two-point conversions on back-to-back touchdown drives in the fourth quarter.

While neither is successful, perhaps we’re still talking about a winless Jets team come Monday.

But this is not the case. Instead, the Jets have “Victory Monday” and are now hoping to build on their wins as they head into their bye week. On November 9, they will play against the Cleveland Browns, another team competing in their home field.

Justin Fields of the New York Jets carries the ball for a two-point conversion against the Cincinnati Bengals in the fourth quarter of a game at Paycor Stadium on October 26, 2025 in Cincinnati, Ohio. (Justin Casterline/Getty Images)

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“This meant a lot to me emotionally and spiritually,” Fields said. “When I was on the field, I was on the verge of tears, not because we won, but because of God’s goodness. Everything I’ve been through this past week, everything we’ve been through the last seven weeks as a team, it’s been a lot of ups and downs, and I’ve had so much support from my teammates, my siblings, my family, my friends, and most of all I’m just thankful. Yesterday, I started praying, just praying like crazy for a while. win.”

Fields went 21 of 32 for 244 yards with a touchdown pass to Tyler Johnson before the end of the first half. Hall added 133 rushing yards on 18 carries with his two scores and also threw a touchdown pass to rookie end Mason Taylor.

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