Beleaguered At MetLife Stadium on Sunday night, quarterback Zach Wilson of the New York Jets had the finest game of his NFL career, but he bemoaned the pass that escaped him.
With 7:24 left in the fourth quarter, Wilson botched a shotgun snap near midfield, which proved to be the last play of the Jets’ 23-20 defeat to the Chiefs. After that, Wilson apologized for the loss in a quick speech to the whole squad in the locker room.
“It’s not possible for me to drop a snap while driving,” Wilson said to reporters. “I can’t do that; I lost us that game.”
Wilson, who committed a costly error against the reigning Super Bowl winners with three points remaining, was comforted by a number of teammates. Nevertheless, his whole performance was innovative and may have kept him employed.
Following a week of heavy scrutiny—which included criticism from Jets icon Joe Namath—Wilson completed 28 of 39 throws for 245 yards and two touchdowns with no interceptions, setting a career best. His career-high passer rating of 105.2 was achieved. Wilson’s effectiveness provided the much-needed boost for the Jets (1-3), who had lost Aaron Rodgers to a season-ending Achilles tendon injury in Week 1.
“If he plays that way, we’re going to win a lot of football games,” Wilson’s coach Robert Saleh said. Wilson’s deep troubles have reportedly caused friction in the dressing room before.
According to many players, Rodgers gave an ardent address to the team on Saturday night after returning to action on Saturday after a two-week recuperation period in California. His advice: Stay together.
“Seeing big brother is always exciting,” Wilson said.
Crutching, Rodgers saw from a private box as his protégé used touchdown passes to wide receiver Allen Lazard (10 yards) and tight end C.J. Uzomah (1 yard) to rally the Jets from a 17-0 hole.
There were 10:40 remaining in the third quarter when Wilson’s clutch 2-point run and the Lazard basket tied the game at 20. Wilson, who looked nothing like the quarterback who was so ineffectual in defeats to the Dallas Cowboys and New England Patriots, finished a perfect drive with five of his five passes for 75 yards.
Relying on Wilson rather than the running game, offensive coordinator Nathaniel Hackett, who had been cautious in prior weeks, planned an aggressive game. Wilson, who was selected second overall in 2021, was emboldened by the display of confidence and performed more forcefully than in any of his prior starts.
The statement, “I’m just really happy for him to go out and show that he does belong, that he can play in this league,” came from Saleh.
Wilson found ten different receivers with completed throws. In his three career games before to Sunday, he was unable to complete ten passes in total.
Wilson said, “I believe Hack and I are becoming more confident in each other and our offensive capabilities.
The Jets were in position to pull off an incredible shock. Halfway through the fourth quarter, they had the ball back in a tied game and were pushing for the winning touchdown. However, defensive tackle Tershawn Wharton recovered a simple shotgun snap that Wilson dropped on a second-and-9 from the Chiefs’ 49.
Wilson saw a player on his left who was unblocked and prepared to blitz from the corner of his eye. He said that he felt guilty about leaving the protection in place. He said that was his first error. Then, expecting a backside rush, he strayed a little and dropped the ball.
Regarding his colleagues, “I was making it clear to those guys that I need to be better.” “I need to pay more attention to the little details. That is not possible.”
Wilson felt obliged to address the players in front of them after Saleh addressed them in the locker room. It mattered that he spoke his opinion and took responsibility. He started a controversy a year ago when, after a terrible performance in a defeat to the Patriots, he refused to take responsibility in a postgame press conference.
Zach is a fierce competitor, and after the game, he addressed the squad, attempting to accept responsibility for everything, according to Lazard. That’s simply the leader and competitiveness in him. Just reassuring him, I said, “Hey, we’re all human today.” It wasn’t only you who was alone.
The Jets almost had another opportunity to win, but defensive holding on cornerback Sauce Gardner negated what seemed to be an interception by Michael Carter II. After arguing, Saleh was fined for acting in an unsportsmanlike manner. The coach opted not to respond.
Gardner objected to the call, allowing the Chiefs (3-1) to use up all of their time.
“For me, that feels like a one-on-one basketball game where you go up to lay the ball, wait to see if you miss, and then call a foul.” stated Gardner. “That’s unbelievable. That was just absurd.”
He said, “I’m not going to lie, it’s really frustrating.” “MC had to pluck the ball off before he raised the flag. That isn’t how you operate. It’s not how you do things, even if I haven’t been in the league for very long. I let go of him at the conclusion. I never held him in the first place.
There was 4:19 remaining, and the Jets would have had the ball at their 32 without the penalty. Saleh said that he was certain Wilson would have guided them to a victory.
