New York Jets Were Wise to Add Matt Flynn as Insurance at Quarterback

Quarterback Matt Flynn is the king of big performances in meaningless games. That's what he did when he set the Green Bay Packers' single-game record for passing yards in the 2012 regular season finale against the Detroit Lions, and it's also what he did in the New York Jets' 24-18 victory over the Philadelphia Eagles in the preseason finale on Thursday night.

Flynn was 10-of-14 passing for 136 yards, two touchdowns and an interception. His 18-yard strike to wide receiver Chris Owusu in the first quarter put the Jets up by a touchdown, and his checkdown to running back Zac Stacy turned into a 5-yard catch-and-run that resulted in an 11-point Jets lead in the second quarter.

Make no mistake; Flynn's performance needs to be taken with a MetLife-Stadium-sized grain of salt. After all, in the fourth preseason game, Flynn was playing with backups and against backups, many of whom will not even be on their roster anymore in 48 hours when teams make their cuts and reach an initial 53-man roster to start the regular season.

That being said, Flynn proved exactly why the Jets were wise to bring him in as their emergency insurance plan at quarterback.

The main point of the plan is and was to keep the pressure off of rookie quarterback Bryce Petty. The record-setting Baylor quarterback could develop into a solid quarterback for the Jets, but only if he is given the right opportunity to grow. 

That opportunity could be squandered if he is thrust into game action too early, and unless the Jets carry a fourth quarterback, Petty is just one Ryan Fitzpatrick injury away from being the guy in New York and carrying all the pressure that comes with that title.

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That's the consequence the Jets pay for the actions of linebacker IK Enemkpali, who threw a haymaker that broke Geno Smith's jaw and put the quarterback on the shelf for six to eight weeks.

In a perfect world, the Jets would have Smith, Fitzpatrick and Petty on their roster; either Smith or Fitzpatrick would start, the other would be the top backup and Petty would be the No. 3 emergency quarterback, hardly ever active on game day. Instead, with Smith out of commission, the Jets have to cover all their bases and keep another quarterback to prevent Petty from being thrust into action. 

That's where Flynn comes into play. Of course, his 3-4 record as a starting quarterback hardly inspires confidence in his ability to keep the team afloat in such an emergency situation and neither does the fact that he's played in the regular season for four different teams and been on five different rosters since 2012.

But isn't taking a few losses in 2015 preferable to the wake-up call and shot of caffeine that could stunt Petty's growth?

Flynn appeared to be firmly in control of the offense, engineering two long drives: one of eight plays for 54 yards and another that lasted 14 plays and moved 90 yards, both of which ended in touchdowns. His third drive ended on an interception with the Jets backed up at their own goal line, on a pass intended for wide receiver Walter Powell where Eagles cornerback Jaylen Watkins simply made a good read and broke on the ball before it was thrown.

Flynn went three-and-out on his next drive before engineering a field-goal drive on his final drive of the evening.

There will be good moments and bad moments if Flynn has to take any meaningful snaps; that's the case with any backup. The important thing is that the good of protecting Petty's development outweighs the bad of any mistakes that Flynn could possibly make for the Jets.

The Jets weren't even sure Flynn could be their backup plan, so they had to go out and sign a backup to their backup plan. That's why Josh Johnson was on the field in the second half. With Flynn making it out of the game healthy, though, it appears the backup job is all his. 

Flynn doesn't have to light the world on fire for the Jets at quarterback. He just has to be good enough as a backup to get the Jets through the next four weeks until Smith is ready to come back.