The New York Jets suffered a tough loss against the New England Patriots in Week 11. That makes it 14 consecutive losses for the Jets against the Patriots as they haven’t been able to figure out Bill Belichick in a long time. However, this weekend’s loss felt different from the others.
The Jets never really felt competitive with New England while on offense. The Patriots stifled them throughout the game as Zach Wilson had a putrid performance. He completed only 9-of-22 pass attempts for 77 yards, giving him the lowest yards per attempt in a single game this season. He surpassed the total set by Sam Ehlinger in Week 9, also against the Patriots.
Wilson didn’t make things any better as his demeanor in the locker room and press conference after the game rubbed a lot of people the wrong way. He took no accountability for how the offense performed, which has become a troubling trend.
New York is 5-2 this season when Wilson starts, but they aren’t winning because of him. The defense has played at a very high level, bailing out what has been some underwhelming performances. Wilson has only one game this season that he threw more touchdowns than interceptions and has completed 50 percent or less of his passes three times.
That is not the kind of production that the Jets were expecting from Wilson in his second season with the team. After being selected No. 2 overall, there was hope that he would take a step forward, but he has shown zero progress.
Just how bad have things looked? As shared by NFL on CBS, Wilson’s stats are eerily reminiscent of what JaMarcus Russell accomplished with the Oakland Raiders in the same amount of time.
Russell was the No. 1 overall pick in the 2007 NFL Draft and is widely considered to be the biggest bust in NFL history. He was excellent collegiately with LSU but his lack of work ethic was his demise. He infamously told the Raiders he watched videotapes that the team gave him, but they were blank.
There haven’t been concerns like that when it comes to Wilson, who by all accounts is a hard worker. But, it is certainly concerning that he hasn’t made progress in Year 2 and isn’t showing the leadership qualities you need from a franchise quarterback.
Head coach Robert Saleh has made the move to bench Zach Wilson in the team’s Week 12 matchup with the Chicago Bears as they are sending a clear message to him. Whether or not he will be able to reclaim the starting job remains to be seen.
