The New York Jets are about as dysfunctional as an NFL franchise can get. Since Woody Johnson bought the team 26 years ago, they’ve won just six playoff games and cycled through more than 20 starting quarterbacks.
The 2025 season hasn’t been any better, with New York sitting at 0-7. Johnson recently took a jab at quarterback Justin Fields’ play, prompting an ESPN analyst to call out the owner for avoiding responsibility.
What Did An ESPN Analyst Call Out Woody Johnson For?
It’s no secret that the Jets’ offense and Fields have struggled this season. Through seven games, New York ranks 30th in the league according to PFSN’s OFFi metric, while Fields sits at No. 32 among NFL quarterbacks in PFSN’s QBi metric.
While that level of play is undoubtedly disappointing, Johnson raised eyebrows when he publicly blamed Fields for the team’s overall lack of success.
“If you look at any head coach with a quarterback like that, you’re going to see similar results across the league,” Johnson said. “You have to play consistently at that position, and that’s what we’re going to try and do for the remainder of the season.”
The comments didn’t sit well with many, including ESPN’s Sam Block. Block took to X to criticize Johnson’s remarks about Fields, pointing out the long list of quarterbacks who have come and gone and been blamed during Johnson’s tenure as owner.
“Geno Smith wasn’t good enough,” Block wrote. “Ryan Fitzpatrick wasn’t good enough. Josh McCown wasn’t good enough. Sam Darnold wasn’t good enough. Zach Wilson wasn’t good enough. Aaron Rodgers wasn’t good enough. Now Justin Fields isn’t good enough? Blame someone other than the Jets QB.”
Block makes a strong point. While many of the quarterbacks he listed struggled in New York, more than a decade of poor quarterback play can’t be entirely blamed on the players themselves.
Johnson has never been one to take responsibility for the Jets’ lack of success, and this isn’t the first time he’s thrown a player under the bus. The reality is he chooses to be a hands-on owner and has shown he is clearly ineffective at evaluating quarterback talent and putting those quarterbacks in a position to succeed.
People can say what they want about Sam Darnold, Geno Smith, and Zach Wilson’s struggles in New York, but Johnson is ultimately responsible for the Jets’ consistent poor performance.
When the owner of a franchise thinks it’s acceptable to call out a player, that says everything you need to know about the state of the organization.
The Jets have been a dumpster fire for as long as Johnson has owned them, and while Fields and other quarterbacks have struggled, Johnson is the common denominator in all of New York’s problems.
