GREEN BAY — Justin Time.
The Jets debut of Justin Fields went about as well as the team could have hoped on Saturday.
Fields played one series against the Packers at Lambeau Field and ended the drive with a 13-yard rushing touchdown, showing his ability to avoid the pass rush and make plays with his legs.
The Jets played well in Aaron Glenn’s debut and beat the Packers 30-10.
Glenn had to be pleased with how his starters on both sides of the ball played and with the team creating two takeaways — one on defense and one on special teams.
“Preseason or not, a win is a win,” Glenn said. “I just thought that was our brand of football for the most part.”
The headliner was Fields, who is trying to revive his career with the Jets after a disappointing start to his career with the Bears and one season with the Steelers.
Fields was 3-for-4 passing on the drive for 42 yards and ran twice for 14 yards and the touchdown on Saturday night.
“It was good to see Justin use his legs,” Glenn said. “We know that he has that in his bag. … He did everything we needed to get this win and for him to be the quarterback we know he can be.”
This performance should ease some of the fears that have emerged among Jets fans after some uneven training camp days by Fields and the offense.
Fields and Co. put together a 10-play, 79-yard drive to put the team up 7-0 in the first quarter.
The drive featured six runs, including the two by Fields, and four passes.
Fields completed his first pass to Tyler Johnson for six yards to convert a third-and-5.
He then found fullback Andrew Beck on a short pass for 12 yards. He later connected with Beck again for a 24-yard gain.
Braelon Allen had the best run of the drive, a 14-yard gain that showed his explosiveness.
The Jets drove to the 13 and had a third-and-5. It was a pass play, but as the protection broke down, Fields broke a tackle and then took off to his right and made his way to the front corner of the end zone for the touchdown.
“We just wanted to show who we were as a team, show our identity, physicality in the run game,” Fields said. “Once you get that run game going, everything else opens up.”
The starting defense played two series for the Jets and did not give up any points. Packers starting quarterback Jordan Love was 1-for-5 for seven yards.
Defensive tackle Jay Tufele had an active night.
He recorded a sack of Packers backup quarterback Malik Willis and recovered a fumble for a touchdown on another sack of Willis by Leonard Taylor that gave the Jets a 14-3 lead.
Tufele tried to give Glenn the ball after the touchdown but Glenn gave it back to him.
The Jets forced another turnover on a punt when former Jet Mecole Hardman could not handle the kick and Ja’Markis Weston recovered it, setting up a 22-yard field goal by Harrison Mevis.
It was a strong start for Glenn’s Jets even if it is just a preseason game. The Jets offensive operation looked crisp with new offensive coordinator Tanner Engstrand calling the plays for the first time.
“That is our brand,” Glenn said. “The way we ran the ball. Very efficient in our passing game. Man, we had the ball for over 38 minutes. No turnovers. We had two takeaways for us. I think we had four or five sacks. Everything about what we did was our brand. The only thing that wasn’t our brand was the amount of penalties that we had.”
The Jets had 10 penalties in the game. Among the penalties were personal fouls on Micheal Clemons, Eric Watts and Marcelino McCrary-Ball.
Glenn showed he would not tolerate the penalties, pulling Clemons and McCrary-Ball after their penalties and getting in their faces on the sideline.
Accountability has been something the Jets players have talked about Glenn emphasizing and it was on display on Saturday.
The Jets now have two joint practices with the Giants this week before the two teams play their annual preseason game at MetLife Stadium on Saturday.
