Justin Fields reflects on 'crying' amid emotional week before leading Jets to win over Bengals

Justin Fields went from being a target of criticism for New York Jets owner Woody Johnson last week to somewhat surprisingly serving as the club's starting quarterback for its game at the Cincinnati Bengals on Sunday afternoon. 

Fields then produced his best performance in a Jets uniform as he guided the club to an upset 39-38 win that improved New York to 1-7 under first-year head coach Aaron Glenn. Following the victory, Fields spoke openly about what became an emotional handful of days for the 26-year-old. 

How Justin Fields remained encouraged after controversial Woody Johnson comments

"I’m going to get pretty vulnerable right here," Fields explained, per Alex Valdes of The Athletic. "This week, I found myself in my closet crying on the ground, lying down. Not because of the hardships, not because of the troubles. I felt like I was built to handle that and put in this place to handle this situation, but in that moment, when I was talking to my best friend about how hard it was and not wavering faith-wise, I had just gotten a text from my sister and my stepmom, and it was just an encouraging text to keep going and keep spreading the faith."

While speaking with reporters at the NFL’s annual fall meeting on Oct. 21, Johnson basically blamed Fields for the fact that the Jets lost their first seven games under Glenn. As recently as Friday afternoon, most expected backup Tyrod Taylor would start for the Jets in Cincinnati. However, Taylor was ultimately ruled out because of a bone bruise in his knee.

Fields then looked like a franchise QB1 as he completed 21-of-32 passes for 244 yards and a touchdown versus the Bengals. On Sunday night, ESPN's Dan Graziano noted that "Cincinnati's defense is one of the most permissive in the league and a perfect spot for Fields to get right after a rough recent stretch." That said, one would think Fields will remain atop the depth chart when the Jets host the Cleveland Browns (2-6) on Nov. 9. 

Both New York and Cleveland will be on the bye in Week 9.

Justin Fields not bothered by outside "noise" following Woody Johnson comments

"I’m not worried about what anybody outside of this building has to say," Fields added during his postgame comments, per Antwan Staley of the New York Daily News. "Really, anyone else has to say that’s not on my team, not my teammates, not my coaches. All the outside noise, y’all [the media] can deal with that, whoever wants to deal with that. My main focus is my teammates, myself as a person, as a human being and with my relationship with God. There was redemption. All of that stuff is cool, but I don’t care about it."

It remains to be seen if Fields could be in danger of being benched when he faces a Cleveland defense that features star pass-rusher Myles Garrett. Garrett tallied five sacks in the Browns' 32-13 loss at the New England Patriots on Sunday.