New York Jets quarterback Zach Wilson was an unmitigated disaster during Sunday’s 10-3 loss to the division-rival New England Patriots.
Wilson completed 9-of-22 passes with 44 net passing yards. He was sacked four times as the Jets put up a grand total of 103 yards and six first downs.
To put this into perspective, New York had more punts (10) than Wilson had completions (nine). Despite this, the game was tied at three late in the fourth quarter when New England won in near-walkoff fashion via a punt return for a touchdown from Marcus Jones.
New York’s complete inability to do anything on offense is what sent this team to a 6-4 record. To come out of the bye week following a huge win over the Buffalo Bills and play like this is an indictment on Wilson and his ability to be anywhere near a starter-caliber quarterback in the NFL.
- Zach Wilson stats (2022): 56% completion, 1,279 yards, 4 TD, 5 INT, 72.6 QB rating
This comes on the heels of Wilson throwing nine touchdowns against 11 interceptions while completing 56% of his passes as a rookie. To put it bluntly, the second-year signal caller has not improved. In fact, an argument can be made that he has regressed for an otherwise good Jets squad.
From a broader perspective, one has to wonder how Jets head coach Robert Saleh can look the rest of his team in the face and come to the conclusion that Wilson is a better option than Joe Flacco as the Jets’ starting quarterback.
In Wilson’s stead earlier this season, Flacco threw five touchdowns against three interceptions in two starts. That included a four-touchdown outing in a Week 2 win over the Cleveland Browns.
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New York still finds itself at 6-4 on the season and very much alive in the AFC Playoff race. It has games coming up against the Minnesota Vikings and Buffalo Bills over the next three weeks.
It’s just not sustainable to believe that the Jets can remain alive in the playoff race with Wilson playing at the level we’re seeing right now. Those who watched Sunday’s humiliating performance agreed. Wilson’s take after the game added another element to this.
That’s just a brutal quote.