Is Sunday’s Contest vs Patriots the Biggest Game of Zach Wilson’s Young Career?

[JetNation]

Since being drafted out of BYU with the second overall pick of the 2021 NFL draft, plenty has been said about the play of Jets quarterback Zach Wilson.  Of late, almost all of it negative.  With few exceptions, almost all of it true.  The narrative surrounding Wilson has taken on a life of its own with Wilson having nobody to blame but himself.

The 24-year-old has struggled on the field far more often than he has excelled.  Add to that the early lack of accountability when things went wrong and it’s easy to understand why Wilson has his share of detractors.  Things got so bad for Wilson last season that the team entered the offseason by announcing they would be pursuing a veteran quarterback.  They felt that outside of the quarterback position, the team was ready to win.

Fast forward a few months and the Jets added Aaron Rodgers from the Green Bay Packers who would give the Jets a future Hall of Famer under center who would also wear the hat of mentor for Wilson.  All was going according to plan until actual football games started and Rodgers lasted all of four snaps.

With Rodgers on the shelf, Zach Wilson now goes from backup to starter in what is arguably the biggest start of his career.

While Wilson’s production has been among the worst in the NFL since being drafted, his play against Bill Belichick and the New England Patriots has been particularly poor.  In four contests, he has throw almost a third of his career interceptions, giving the ball to New England seven times of his total 22 picks.

Bill Belichick famously gives younger, inexperienced quarterbacks a hard time.  But inexperience can’t be an excuse for Wilson anymore.  This is year three for the highly touted quarterback.  And while nobody is asking or expecting Wilson to light up the scoreboard, a pair of touchdown drives would do wonders not only for his confidence, but for the Jets hopes in pulling out a win.

That may not seem like much to ask in today’s NFL, but Wilson’s outings against New England make it appear to be a monumental task.  Through his four starts against New England (one of which he departed after 10 pass attempts), the Jets have averaged fewer than 10 points per game at 9.8.

He has completed just over 50% of his passes (50.94), has averaged just 173 yards per game and thrown a mere two touchdown passes to those seven interceptions.

If another NFL offseason has come and gone and Wilson performs no better than he has in the past against Belichick, it could be a sign that while he has improved some aspects of his game, Wilson is still nowhere near ready to make the Jets a competitive team.

The post Is Sunday’s Contest vs Patriots the Biggest Game of Zach Wilson’s Young Career? appeared first on JetNation.com - New York Jets Blog & Forum.

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[The Crusher]

More like just another game in Zach Wilson’s career against the Pats. 0-5. 

[Biggs]

If could have been but the weather conditions make it meaningless either way.  

[slimjasi]

54 minutes ago, Biggs said:

If could have been but the weather conditions make it meaningless either way.  

[T0mShane]

The Cowboys are going to pound the Cardinals on Sunday. If the Jets can beat the Pats, they’re 2-0 in the division and the story reverts back to “The Cowboys are the best team in football and it is what it is.” It’d set up a fun week of speculation about possibly nipping the Chiefs at home, and MetLife will be packed to the gills for that game. 
 

If they lose to the Pats? It’s curtains, and the Zach Wilson albatross hanging around Saleh’s and Hackett’s and Douglas’ neck starts to weigh 10,000 pounds. 

[WeCantDraftGoodQBs]

I think it’s an important game for Zack because if we win we have a chance of going into the bye at 3-3 (I’m assuming we lose to both Super Bowl teams and beat Denver). But if we lose against the Pats we most likely go into the bye at 2-4, which I guess is not a bad record for us considering some of our past seasons.

[Adoni Beast]

I think that this is the biggest game of his career for sure. Play well probably means we win, and gives this team, season, and Zach Wilson hope.

Lose with KC and Philly on the schedule lurking and it's looking grim.....more grim than it's been for team, season, Zach.

[JiFtheOracle]

16 minutes ago, T0mShane said:

The Cowboys are going to pound the Cardinals on Sunday. If the Jets can beat the Pats, they’re 2-0 in the division and the story reverts back to “The Cowboys are the best team in football and it is what it is.” It’d set up a fun week of speculation about possibly nipping the Chiefs at home, and MetLife will be packed to the gills for that game. 
 

If they lose to the Pats? It’s curtains, and the Zach Wilson albatross hanging around Saleh’s and Hackett’s and Douglas’ neck starts to weigh 10,000 pounds. 

Agreed and from that perspective it might be the most "important" game of his career, especially because there is somehow a narrative out there that he's getting better and his past performances vs. the Pats.  However, in terms of "biggest" just by sheer magnitude, coming off the bench after White got injured and starting w/ the playoffs on the line vs. the Lions and Jags were the biggest games his career.  Arguably they were the biggest games for the franchise since the Fitz Buffalo debacle.

 

 

 

[JoeNamathsFurCoat]

Actually, if it means we have a shot at this, I’m all in favor of rolling with ZW for 14 more.

 

[heymangold]

i don't think we have to worry about sunday.  with the weather forecast i'd imagine it has to be a super run heavy gameplan.  kinda wish it was a nice day to let zach attempt to perform.

but if it was a nice day, i think it woulda been a big one for him - probably would be his last appearance as a jets QB barring injury.  i think if the jets were to lose and he were to perform horrendously, he'd be benched.  i already think he's a goner in the offseason.

[heymangold]

Just now, JoeNamathsFurCoat said:

Actually, if it means we have a shot at Shedeur, I’m all in favor of rolling with ZW for 14 more.

 

this is asinine, btw.

[JoeNamathsFurCoat]

5 minutes ago, heymangold said:

this is asinine, btw.

Let me guess 

You were celebrating on draft night when ZW was announced? 😬😊

[heymangold]

1 minute ago, JoeNamathsFurCoat said:

Let me guess 

You were celebrating on draft night when ZW was announced? 😬😊

to think shedeur sanders, based off 3 games against AWFUL teams, is the best QB in this NFL draft class is inherently asinine.

and did anyone actually celebrate Zach being drafted?

[EM31]

I am not sure how he gets so many "this is his biggest test yet" threads. 

So if he wets the bed again..... does that mean we get to look at no more of these or is it just a case of rinse, wash, repeat?

[GreenFish]

It’s a must win for both teams. Pats go 0-3, they are out.

Jets go 1-2 and we riot.

Reality is both teams are not making the playoffs. But a loss in this game will cause fans to call for heads to roll.

[slimjasi]

37 minutes ago, T0mShane said:

The Cowboys are going to pound the Cardinals on Sunday. If the Jets can beat the Pats, they’re 2-0 in the division and the story reverts back to “The Cowboys are the best team in football and it is what it is.” It’d set up a fun week of speculation about possibly nipping the Chiefs at home, and MetLife will be packed to the gills for that game. 
 

If they lose to the Pats? It’s curtains, and the Zach Wilson albatross hanging around Saleh’s and Hackett’s and Douglas’ neck starts to weigh 10,000 pounds. 

Bingo. 

 

Biggest game of the Saleh era to date. 

[GreenFish]

21 minutes ago, JoeNamathsFurCoat said:

Actually, if it means we have a shot at this, I’m all in favor of rolling with ZW for 14 more.

 

I cant say he’s the best in this class since I’ve only watched him but the dude is the real deal. I’ve watched all his games this year and he can play. We actually saw a glimpse of what he can be last night. He plays a lot like Purdy. Poise, accurate and just hits the the open man. Makes the game look easy. Nothing flashy. Although Sanders arm looks stronger than Purdy.

[August]

It definitely is. He doesn’t have to light the world on fire but he must slay that dragon and get over the hump. 

[extmenace]

28 minutes ago, JoeNamathsFurCoat said:

Actually, if it means we have a shot at this, I’m all in favor of rolling with ZW for 14 more.

 

This team never gets the guy, this team gets the guy the other teams didn’t want.

[Matt39]

Zach Wilson has zero starts to date that could be considered good. He’s a finished product. This ain’t a big game for him because we already know what the results will be. 

[ASH1962]

yawn

[More Cowbell]

It's  important because it's  a division game but we don't  win or lose on Zach if Zach doesn't  have another 3 pick game. It is time for this defense to give another poor QB fits. Mac Jones is not going remind anyone of Tom Brady on Sunday. He is going to throw a lot of short and intermediate passes and the running game is a joke. Stevenson is averaging 2.8 and Zeke is 3.5 with one rusing TD between them. If this is an elite D, They need to make Mac Jones beat them. It is very possible this game ends 9-6. If Zach can engineer  one TD drive, that likely will go a long way to beating NE. 

[JoeNamathsFurCoat]

2 hours ago, T0mShane said:

The Cowboys are going to pound the Cardinals on Sunday. If the Jets can beat the Pats, they’re 2-0 in the division and the story reverts back to “The Cowboys are the best team in football and it is what it is.” It’d set up a fun week of speculation about possibly nipping the Chiefs at home, and MetLife will be packed to the gills for that game. 
 

If they lose to the Pats? It’s curtains, and the Zach Wilson albatross hanging around Saleh’s and Hackett’s and Douglas’ neck starts to weigh 10,000 pounds. 

I could see Mahomes and Reid rolling the Jets' vaunted defense in prime time.

When you present basically one look to them on defense, with no variation or ability to change things up, it's a recipe for disaster.

This would provide another week of cover for Saleh (as it pertains to ZW) and grist for the excuse mill for the ZW lifers here.

[hungry jackson]

On 9/21/2023 at 1:28 PM, JetNation said:

Since being drafted out of BYU with the second overall pick of the 2021 NFL draft, plenty has been said about the play of Jets quarterback Zach Wilson.  Of late, almost all of it negative.  With few exceptions, almost all of it true.  The narrative surrounding Wilson has taken on a life of its own with Wilson having nobody to blame but himself.

The 24-year-old has struggled on the field far more often than he has excelled.  Add to that the early lack of accountability when things went wrong and it’s easy to understand why Wilson has his share of detractors.  Things got so bad for Wilson last season that the team entered the offseason by announcing they would be pursuing a veteran quarterback.  They felt that outside of the quarterback position, the team was ready to win.

Fast forward a few months and the Jets added Aaron Rodgers from the Green Bay Packers who would give the Jets a future Hall of Famer under center who would also wear the hat of mentor for Wilson.  All was going according to plan until actual football games started and Rodgers lasted all of four snaps.

With Rodgers on the shelf, Zach Wilson now goes from backup to starter in what is arguably the biggest start of his career.

While Wilson’s production has been among the worst in the NFL since being drafted, his play against Bill Belichick and the New England Patriots has been particularly poor.  In four contests, he has throw almost a third of his career interceptions, giving the ball to New England seven times of his total 22 picks.

Bill Belichick famously gives younger, inexperienced quarterbacks a hard time.  But inexperience can’t be an excuse for Wilson anymore.  This is year three for the highly touted quarterback.  And while nobody is asking or expecting Wilson to light up the scoreboard, a pair of touchdown drives would do wonders not only for his confidence, but for the Jets hopes in pulling out a win.

That may not seem like much to ask in today’s NFL, but Wilson’s outings against New England make it appear to be a monumental task.  Through his four starts against New England (one of which he departed after 10 pass attempts), the Jets have averaged fewer than 10 points per game at 9.8.

He has completed just over 50% of his passes (50.94), has averaged just 173 yards per game and thrown a mere two touchdown passes to those seven interceptions.

If another NFL offseason has come and gone and Wilson performs no better than he has in the past against Belichick, it could be a sign that while he has improved some aspects of his game, Wilson is still nowhere near ready to make the Jets a competitive team.

The post Is Sunday’s Contest vs Patriots the Biggest Game of Zach Wilson’s Young Career? appeared first on JetNation.com - New York Jets Blog & Forum.

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WHY CAN'T ZACH FOCUS ALREADY !?!?!?!?

[TuscanyTile2]

The offensive game plan will give us great insight into what the Jets really think of ZW.  If they try to hide him (and I suspect they will), that's basically them admitting they don't have faith in him.  You can't be a starting QB if your CS is scared of you wrecking the game (in the negative sense of that expression).

[Jetsfan80]

6 hours ago, Biggs said:

If could have been but the weather conditions make it meaningless either way.  

Oh so the NFL announced they’re not going to count the game huh.  

[Trotter]

I thought last year against the pats Was his biggest game.

I honestly have no expectation of him sunday so I would love to be pleasantly suprised

[Jetsplayer21]

I believe it may very well be the last big game of his jet career. Will be on bench going forward.

[AZSOJ]

How can anyone, anyone, think that ZW is going to beat NE based on his past performances against them and his recent play.  I have no faith in ZW.  As for the CS, they have used up whatever goodwill I was willing to give them...

 

Robert S record is: 12-24

 Joe Douglas record is: 20-46 in the 66 games

enough said

 

[T0mShane]

2 hours ago, JoeNamathsFurCoat said:

I could see Mahomes and Reid rolling the Jets' vaunted defense in prime time.

When you present basically one look to them on defense, with no variation or ability to change things up, it's a recipe for disaster.

This would provide another week of cover for Saleh (as it pertains to ZW) and grist for the excuse mill for the ZW lifers here.

I think the defense is still going to be amazing, but if the Chiefs get out on top of the Jets, it’ll be because Mahomes—like Dak—is perfectly content playing the short game, which works against our defense and, more importantly, our offense. Look at this disgusting spray chart from the Cowboys game—only two real downfield shots, and one of those was a double move by CeeDee against DJ Reed. I think the defense was pretty good against the Cowboys. Two TDs allowed, one enabled by ref ****ery, and the rest of the day was field goals. If the Jets offense could have put even a little pressure to score on Dallas, it’s a different ballgame. 
 

[Warfish]

5 hours ago, T0mShane said:

The Cowboys are going to pound the Cardinals on Sunday. If the Jets can beat the Pats, they’re 2-0 in the division and the story reverts back to “The Cowboys are the best team in football and it is what it is.”

That would certainly be the optimistic take.

5 hours ago, T0mShane said:

It’d set up a fun week of speculation about possibly nipping the Chiefs at home

🤣

5 hours ago, T0mShane said:

If they lose to the Pats? It’s curtains, and the Zach Wilson albatross hanging around Saleh’s and Hackett’s and Douglas’ neck starts to weigh 10,000 pounds. 

And that would be the realists/objective take, aye.

[T0mShane]

5 hours ago, JiF said:

Agreed and from that perspective it might be the most "important" game of his career, especially because there is somehow a narrative out there that he's getting better and his past performances vs. the Pats.  However, in terms of "biggest" just by sheer magnitude, coming off the bench after White got injured and starting w/ the playoffs on the line vs. the Lions and Jags were the biggest games his career.  Arguably they were the biggest games for the franchise since the Fitz Buffalo debacle.

 

 

 

It’s hilarious watching Rosenblatt and Hughes try to spin the Cowboys performace as a positive for Zach Wilson. If you’re going to carry water for the org, at least be sure to use different terminology than what was in the group text. Sickening to think that Saleh is texting Benigno and the local hacks after a loss like that, but I guess we’re in CYA time. 

[Barry McCockinner]

11 minutes ago, T0mShane said:

It’s hilarious watching Rosenblatt and Hughes try to spin the Cowboys performace as a positive for Zach Wilson. If you’re going to carry water for the org, at least be sure to use different terminology than what was in the group text. Sickening to think that Saleh is texting Benigno and the local hacks after a loss like that, but I guess we’re in CYA time. 

Conner also spun the Giants loss last night as a moral victory of some sort because it wasn't that bad in the 3rd quarter or something to that effect. Dude is wearing some pom poms this year.

I guess credit to him from trying to stand out from the run of the mill negative click baiters.

[T0mShane]

2 minutes ago, Barry McCockinner said:

Conner also spun the Giants loss last night as a moral victory of some sort because it wasn't that bad in the 3rd quarter or something to that effect. Dude is wearing some pom poms this year.

I guess credit to him from trying to stand out from the run of the mill negative click baiters.

I think there’s a lot of value in access journalism for these young dudes in sports media, especially now that every team runs its own media department. But, the tradeoff for that access is having to run with the occasional nonsense headline that the team wants to disseminate. Rosenblatt, on his own Jets podcast, was spewing the “it wasn’t Zach Wilson’s fault” line, but when he went on the national The Athletic football pod, he was much more negative and honest about Zach Wilson’s summer and early performances. 

[Matt39]

39 minutes ago, T0mShane said:

I think the defense is still going to be amazing, but if the Chiefs get out on top of the Jets, it’ll be because Mahomes—like Dak—is perfectly content playing the short game, which works against our defense and, more importantly, our offense. Look at this disgusting spray chart from the Cowboys game—only two real downfield shots, and one of those was a double move by CeeDee against DJ Reed. I think the defense was pretty good against the Cowboys. Two TDs allowed, one enabled by ref ****ery, and the rest of the day was field goals. If the Jets offense could have put even a little pressure to score on Dallas, it’s a different ballgame. 
 

Arthur Smith was the correct hire.