I wonder if Ryan Leaf, Jamarcus Russell, Josh Rosen, and Johnny Manziel were icons for Zach Wilson growing up. The New York Jets turned to their much-maligned #2 overall pick Zach Wilson one last time, and it went about as bad as expected as the Jaguars throttled the Jets 19-3.
This has to be the final straw for Zach Wilson as the starting quarterback for the New York Jets.
I honestly can’t think of a worst starting quarterback taken as a 1st round draft pick by any organization other than the four names I listed in the intro, which is a massive indictment on Zach Wilson. At first, I thought Wilson was just too immature and undisciplined to be a starting quarterback for a New York football franchise given his snarky, condescending attitude. But now it’s clear that Wilson flat out can’t play.
Can you guess how many games Zach Wilson started for the Jets in which the New York offense scored a touchdown or less in this season alone? 3 games. Or how about the games when Zach Wilson threw for less than 200 yards? 5. How about the games where Wilson throws for 0 TDs? Also, that’s happened in 5 games this season. Finally, can you guess how many times Zach Wilson has been benched in games that he starts? Twice.
Oh, and remember, Wilson has started in 9 of the Jets 15 games this season. So, if you do the math, the Jets offense scores a touchdown or less in 33% of the games Zach Wilson plays in, they fail to reach 200 passing yards and a passing touchdown in 56% of the games that feature Wilson, and Wilson ends up getting benched 22% of the time he steps onto the field as a starting quarterback.
Those are horrific stats!
It’s no wonder the Jets fans utterly despise the guy as they literally booed after ever single mistake and bad play Wilson had against the Jaguars. And there was a lot of boos last night.
Wilson ended up completing just 9/18 of his passes for 92 yards and an INT before he was replaced by Chris Streveler (10/15, 90 yards), the Jets 4th string quarterback who legitimately can’t throw a football. Streveler is simply a running back playing quarterback as almost failed to get a pass to a wide-open (and I mean wide open) CJ Uzomah (1 REC, 30 yards) in the middle of the field.
Mind you, Uzomah was only 25-30 yards away from the line of scrimmage and would have had a walk-in TD if either Flacco or White was playing quarterback. And the Jets fans still went into an uproar over the play as it was the longest pass they saw.
Nevertheless, I don’t see how the Jets don’t move off Wilson after the season with the offense again failing to reach over 300 total scrimmage yards and another 0 TD performance.
They have really talented receivers in Garrett Wilson (4 REC, 30 yards), Corey Davis (2 REC, 14 yards), Elijah Moore (2 REC, 15 yards), and Michael Carter (5 REC, 44 yards), but when you have a beanbag drafted 2nd overall playing quarterback, that counts for nothing.
As for the Jaguars, they must be the Vegas betting favorites to win the AFC South and make the playoffs for the first time since 2019.
Trevor Lawrence, the man drafted one pick ahead of Wilson in the 2021 draft, has continued to make fantastic strides under the tutelage of Doug Peterson as he completed 20/31 passes for 229 yards. Sure, he wasn’t able to score any touchdowns through the air as the Jets secondary is phenomenal, but he was able to rush for 51 yards and score a QB sneak TD at the goal line to give the Jags a 10-3 lead they never relinquished.
He may have had a dreadful year with Urban Meyer as his coach, but with the right mentor and pieces around him, Lawrence has finally shown that he was worthy all the #1 overall pick.
Plus, he has developed a great connection with Evan Engram (7 REC, 113 yards) and Zay Jones (1 REC, 14 yards) as they were giving the most problems Sauce Gardner (7 tackles), Michael Carter II (7 tackles), Jordan Whitehead (4 tackles), and D.J. Reed (9 tackles, 1 PD) have seen all season long.
Along with a stud running back in Travis Etienne Jr. (22 CAR, 83 RUSH yards; 3 REC, 29 REC yards) and a legit defense spearheaded by Josh Allen (2 tackles), Devin Lloyd (9 tackles, 1 PD), Rayshawn Jenkins (9 tackles, 1 TFL), etc., this Jags (7-8) team has their playoff hopes in their hands as they face off against their divisional foes the Houston Texans and Tennessee Titans in the last two games of the season for the AFC South crown.
Reversely, this loss all but guarantees the Jets (7-8) will miss the playoffs this season and for a record 12th straight year. The Chargers, Dolphins, Patriots (somehow), Ravens, now Jaguars, and Titans all have better records than New York, while the Browns, Steelers, and Raiders need to win just one game to equal their 7-8 record.
You don’t see this very often, but a one player (Zach Wilson) has singlehandedly ruined the playoff chances of his team across an entire season.
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