Three days later, Jets quarterback Justin Fields maintained his even-keeled mindset of owning the disappointments of the Denver loss in London but looking ahead to better days, perhaps as soon as the next gameday at MetLife Stadium against Carolina.
"Of course, super-frustrated," Fields said after Wednesday's practice of the 13-11 loss to the Broncos. "The defense played a hell of a game, the offense, we came up short, and me personally, I did.
"It's no secret. I didn't play well, and that's what it is. It's just getting back on track."
Fields was introspective about several areas that led to his 9-of-17 passing for 45 yards, nine sacks, minus-10 yards of net passing and three field goals in the defeat. In general, he talked about where his feet were — and weren't — during the game at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
"I just think my feet, starting from the ground up, caused me to play a little bit slower, get through my progressions a little bit slower," he said. "My sequence was off a little bit. So I'm really just focused on my feet because everything starts from the ground up."
Then specifically regarding his highly regarded lower-body motor, Fields said he has been working through a physical issue from the Sept. 29 Monday night game against the Dolphins.
"The past couple of weeks my legs haven't been feeling the best. I got kind of a huge contusion versus Miami," he said. "I was working through that the past couple of weeks. Over time, I'm getting better, and my legs are kind of getting back under me."
Tweaking one more element of Fields' game could also pay dividends. One thing he did well against the Broncos and has done well the past two seasons is to protect the pigskin. He has gone 218 pass attempts since his last interception, with Pittsburgh last year. The last 123 of those pick-less passes have been with the Jets, and he is the only NFL QB this season with at least 100 attempts and no INTs thrown.
But he acknowledged a flip side to that protection policy, which is that he has played more conservatively with less of a mindset of "just letting it rip." That's an adjustment he might like to explore against the Panthers' run-strong, pass-vulnerable defense, 17th in the NFL in net passing yards allowed/game, 21st in net pass yards allowed/play, and 32nd in their rate of opposing QB sacks.
"It's not hard, it's just changing your mindset going into a game," Fields said of cutting back on errant throws. "The ball is very important to us as an offense. But some of those risks you can take can turn into explosive plays. It's just a matter of finding a happy medium.
"Everybody's going to throw picks — it's just a part of playing quarterback. I look at myself this past game and over the course of the season and say I can be a little more aggressive."
Fields may be facing another crimp to his and his offense's production not of his doing. WR Garrett Wilson is dealing with a knee injury, while Josh Reynolds has a sore hip. But Fields showed no hesitancy about the near-term effects of trying to run and pass in his offense without one or two of his top pass-catchers.
"If Garrett can't go, of course that's going to be a blow for our offense," the QB said. "But it's the next-man-up mentality. Some guys are going to get opportunities on the offensive side of the ball to make plays, and I'm excited for the next guy."
As well as quietly confident in how he'll personally rebound from last weekend's setback.
"I'm starting to feel pretty good again. I'm looking forward to this Sunday and to another opportunity," Fields said. "I think I'll just learn from my mistakes from last game and definitely play better this week, for sure."
