The New York Jets have surprised a lot of people with their performance thus far this season. They are currently 6-4 after Sunday’s loss to the New England Patriots, a team they haven’t been able to figure out as it was their 14th consecutive loss to their AFC East rivals. It was a disappointing performance coming out of the bye as they defeated the Buffalo Bills in Week 9 heading into it.
That game should have provided the team with plenty of confidence, but New York was stifled all afternoon by a stingy Patriots defense. The Jets barely broke the 100-yard mark for total yardage in the game and they didn’t cross their 35-yard line in the second half.
It was a truly embarrassing performance, especially from quarterback Zach Wilson. Wilson went 9-for-22 for 77 yards, as he now owns the lowest mark for yards per attempt in a game this season. A young quarterback struggling is nothing new, but that was the third time this season that Wilson completed 50 percent or less of his pass attempts. As a rookie, he did that twice in 13 games.
What is more troubling about Wilson is the fact that he doesn’t seem to be taking any responsibility for the offense’s struggles. During his post-game press conference, Wilson was asked if and the offense feel like they let the defense down at all. Straight-faced and without hesitation, all Wilson says is no.
That is not what you want to hear from your franchise starting quarterback. He took zero responsibility for the loss, something that rubbed some people the wrong way. Wilson has a lot of development left to do on the field, and off of it, it sounds like he has just as much work to do.
His failure to take accountability for the offense’s performance, especially when he had arguably the worst game of his career, is concerning. Wilson, whether he wants to be or not, is looked at as a leader for the team as the starting quarterback and it is time that he starts acting like one.
Poor performances happen, it is life as a professional athlete. But, Wilson can control the way that he carries himself and the way he handled that loss should raise questions about if he should be the starting quarterback. The Jets should at least consider making a change if nothing other than to give Wilson a wake-up call and light a fire underneath him.
Overall, Wilson’s performance hasn’t been very good, either. He has only one game this season in which he has more touchdowns than interceptions. There have been zero improvements when compared to last season as his numbers are pretty similar across the board despite some of the upgrades that were made.
Wilson should take some notes from his teammates on how to respond to such a disappointing loss. Special teams captain Justin Hardee did not mince words as he is the leader of the unit that gave up the game-winning touchdown. He took full responsibility and vowed to work harder.
Rookie wide receiver Garrett Wilson also had strong opinions about the game. He was critical of their performance, saying that the talent is there and it is time to start performing up to the level they are capable of and winning games that are there for the taking.
The Jets invested a lot into Wilson, using the No. 2 overall pick in the 2021 NFL Draft on him and spending a lot of money and draft capital on upgrading the roster around him. They want to see him succeed but is throwing away the chance at a playoff run hoping things click for him and he can turn it around worthwhile?
That is what the Jets will have to figure out in the coming days and weeks, especially if Wilson puts together another underwhelming performance next weekend against the Chicago Bears. If another dud is delivered, a change could be made sooner than later at the quarterback position for Gang Green.
