As many people already know, newly acquired Jets QB Aaron Rodgers tore his Achilles Tendon 4 plays into the Jets 2023 Season opener. This, of course, led to Zach Wilson being the expected starting QB for the Jets for the rest of the season, with rumors of signings of the top quarterbacks in free agency.
Against Buffalo, he was able to take care of business pulling off the win, securing a 22-16 win over the Buffalo Bills, and passing for 140 yards and a touchdown with no interceptions. This left many questions for fans , as the Jets went on to face the Cowboys the next week in Dallas.
In that game, Wilson passed for 170 yards, with 1 touchdown and 3 interceptions, as the Jets lost 10-30. Although this was definitely one of the more poor games Wilson has had in his career, he looked decent in the first half, and the defense kept the Jets in it with a 10-18 score going into the half. As the second half began, there was hope for Wilson and the defense to keep this game close and even tie it. That did not happen as Wilson threw 3 interceptions and the defense did not offer much support, resulting in the loss. This wasn’t a good game from Zach Wilson, and many fans were hoping for a rebound game next week, against the Patriots.
That also did not happen, as Wilson passed for just 157 yards with zero touchdowns and zero interceptions as the Jets were defeated by the Patriots 15-10. This game was where all looked lost for Wilson, as the 3rd year QB’s play regressed from the previous game, not being able to come through when they were down by only 5, having 2 chances to come through late in the game. One of which being when it was only 10-13 late in the 4th quarter and the Jets were looking to get into field goal range, Wilson couldn’t come through, as he got sacked for a safety. The other chance he had came when the Jets had the ball back after allowing the safety, which resulted in a turnover on downs for the Jets after a 2-yard check-down pass on 4th and 10. Wilson would get the ball back one more time, but ended up just missing a game-winning hail mary to Randall Cobb. Everyone seemed to want to give up on Wilson after this game, such as the fans, the head coach, and even Hall of Fame Jets QB Joe Namath wanted Wilson gone. The only person who seemed to stand up for Wilson was head coach Robert Saleh, who defended Wilson in every fashion, saying he was the “unquestionable starting quarterback” and “the best chance they have to win.”
They moved on with Wilson to next week vs. Kansas City. In that game, Wilson shocked the football world, passing for 245 yards and 2 touchdowns with 0 interceptions. It was easily the best game he’s had this season, and possibly his career, as the Jets lost 20-23 in a very close game. Wilson looked like a completely different QB than he did the week prior, and even though they lost, he provided possibly a new hope for this season. Looking for some kind of continuation of this step forward in Zach Wilson’s development as a QB on the season, he went on to next to Denver to take on the Broncos.
After his promising performance against Kansas City, he posted up 199 passing yards, no touchdowns and one interception as the Jets were able to improve to 2-3 on the season with a 31-21 win over Denver. While it wasn’t as strong as his previous game against the Chiefs, it was a game where he continued to show signs of improvement. Wilson, unlike weeks prior in the season, was better in his ability to keep drives going and get first downs, including a very important 33-yard catch on third down late in the fourth quarter to tight end Tyler Conklin. In past games, Wilson would have issues with third-down conversions, and the ability to move down the field, but that wasn’t as present in this game, as he was able to convert a first down when needed. One issue he would have had in the past which was also his tendency to throw interceptions. Wilson knew for the most part when to throw into coverage or not, his only interception being on a perfectly played ball on Garrett Wilson by Broncos cornerback Patrick Surtain. After building upon his previous performance against KC, showing signs of being an improved quarterback, he looked to test that again, against the Eagles in week 6.
The following week against Philadelphia, Wilson passed for 186 yards, with no touchdowns and no interceptions as the Jets pulled off a comeback win, going into their bye week with a .500 record. Wilson showed positives in this game as well, despite them not being as large as they were against Denver, they still were signs of growth from the third-year Quarterback. He continuously moved down the field, although one problem that he did face was red zone production. He did not have any passing touchdowns while in the red zone, despite being in the red zone multiple times that game, which could be a problem that they have to fix with Zach in the future. However, some of his previous issues of interceptions and incompletions were nearly absent for most of the game, which could make a huge impact on the Jets, in terms of their rate of winning games. Coming off a bye week, they look to keep the good times rolling against the struggling New York Giants.
Zach Wilson was disappointing in the first two years of his career and the Jets need him to step up this season and remind fans why he was picked 2nd overall in the 2021 draft. Although he looked underwhelming in his first few weeks, his most recent performances might have shown signs of why he was drafted #2 overall. By almost some miracle perhaps, Zach has shown signs of being in better form as a QB than he has been his entire career, being able to keep up offensively against some of the best teams in football (Chiefs, Bills, Eagles), which could lead to wins and possibly that long due trip to the playoffs.Either way, it’s up to him to show if he’s good enough this season to try to salvage what seems like a season that is seemingly far gone.