'Been a lot for me': NFL star Justin Fields opens up in 'vulnerable' post-game press conference

A winless start for the New York Jets took a toll on Justin Fields and at one stage in the lead-up to a clash with the Cincinnati Bengals, he found himself on the ground crying.

But helped by the support of family and friends, Fields got up and rallied his team to their first win of the season with a 39-38 upset over the Bengals.

Fields fronted the media post-game and showed his "vulnerable" side after the team went 0-7 to start their NFL campaign before finally breaking the duck-egg.

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"It's been a lot for me - emotionally, spiritually - when I was on the field, I was damn near about to start crying,” he said.

“Not because we won, but just how everything I’ve been through the past week, everything we’ve been through as a team these past seven weeks.

"I was praying like crazy, just for a win. I'm gonna get pretty vulnerable. This week I found myself in my closet crying on the ground, laying down."

Fields said that his faith in God helped keep him motivated despite a tough stretch.

He finished 21 of 32 for 244 yards and a touchdown in his first game since Jets owner Woody Johnson sharply criticised his performance early in the season.

Fields, who got the start after Tyrod Taylor was ruled out with a knee injury, brushed off Johnson's comments that dominated headlines last week.

“I get that he’s the owner of the team, but that’s outside noise," he said.

“The biggest thing was my teammates believing in me and my coaches believing in me.”

New York trailed 31-16 after three quarters but rolled to 502 yards of total offence in their highest scoring game of the season, including a season-high 254 on the ground.

“It was amazing to get 0-7 off our back,” defensive end Jermaine Johnson said.

"Everybody was ecstatic. Everybody was emotional. The first one is the hardest one.

"We’re excited to move on from here.”

It was an emotional day all round for the Jets, who announced the passing of Nick Mangold at the age of 41 after a brief battle with kidney disease.

Bengals veteran Joe Flacco passed for two touchdowns and rushed for a one-yard score, but his team lost for the fifth time in six games.

“Not acceptable,” Bengals coach Zac Taylor said of the performance.

“Humbling for us, certainly.”