Zach Wilson again shows fans flashes of big-play ability
Zach Wilson of the Jets attempts a pass against the Dolphins in the first quarter at Hard Rock Stadium on Sunday in Miami Gardens, Fla. Credit: Getty Images/Eric Espada
MIAMI GARDENS, Fla.
Call them flashes, snippets, glimpses, teases, peeks or whatever else you want, but it appears that is all Jets fans will have to keep themselves warm this winter when it comes to Zach Wilson.
They were there again on Sunday at Hard Rock Stadium, where the rookie did some of what we were told he could do — and what inspired the Jets to draft him No. 2 overall.
"Zach was doing some cool things off schedule," as coach Robert Saleh put it after the Dolphins won, 31-24, in a game the Jets led 10-0 and 17-7.
The young quarterback saw some coolness himself despite the loss.
"I feel like this was my biggest game as far as playing free," he said. "Having that rip-it mentality, scrambling around making some guys miss, just play free, just react to what the defense is giving us."
A lot of that is true, and we will get back to it later. But the problem, as usual, was the bottom line, which was another loss for the Jets (3-11).
They have not managed 300 yards of total offense in the four games since Wilson returned from a knee injury, the last three of which have been losses.
That obviously is not all his fault, given the injury-riddled offense he is working with, especially at receiver and on the line.
It is fine for you, me, Saleh and teammates to point that out, but when asked how much responsibility he bears for the results, Wilson gave an awkward answer, saying merely, "Yeah, I don’t worry about any of that stuff."
He was 9-for-14 for 118 yards in the first half, including completions on his first six passes, and scored on a 1-yard run. He was 4-for-9 for 52 yards in the second half.
Why? Misfired passes. Tightly covered receivers. Dropped balls. Leaky protection from the line. Basically, a mess.
The Jets were in a rhythm early on, with Wilson playing the dink-and-dunk game the Dolphins’ Tua Tagovailoa has had success with this season.
Then Miami switched to a man-to-man scheme, which Wilson said by its nature required him to hold on to the ball longer to give receivers a chance to get open.
"I was trying to do my best to just sit in the pocket, trust in the protection and try to give those guys a shot down the field," Wilson said.
When receivers did get open, Wilson either was not given enough protection or missed them, including a throw that was way too high to an open Denzel Mims on the Jets’ final attempt at a tying drive.
Saleh acknowledged that there are times Wilson must get rid of the ball sooner, but he cited a unit-wide failure in the second half.
"Everyone’s always going to look at the quarterback; that’s just natural," Saleh said. "Call me old school, but it’s a collective effort . . . It’s not all on Zach."
Of course, it isn’t. We all know that.
So as dispiriting as it was to watch Wilson and his friends whiff with two chances at a tying drive in the final four minutes — "super-disappointing," Wilson said — perspective is required here.
All that matters is what he will be in 2022 (and beyond) with more experience and more weapons. Hence the good news about Sunday, which was those glimpses.
Wilson made a heck of a play in the second quarter when he handed the ball to Braxton Berrios, who threw it back to Wilson, who had trouble securing it and did not have time to look for his first read, Jamison Crowder.
"I just couldn’t get my hands set fast enough for the dude that was coming," he said.
Wilson scrambled away from heavy pressure from three Dolphins defenders and threw the ball back across the field — leaving his feet in the process — to find an open Ryan Griffin for a 27-yard gain, leading to a touchdown.
In the first quarter, Wilson nearly got to show his skills in another way, when the Jets used another of their trick plays by having receiver Keelan Cole attempt a pass to Wilson, who was headed for the end zone, wide open.
Cole underthrew him badly. "I’m glad Keelan got a taste of what it’s like to be a quarterback," Wilson joked.
All Jets fans can do for now is be glad they got a taste of what Wilson potentially can be as their quarterback — and hope that it was only an appetizer.
Neil Best first worked at Newsday in 1982, returned in 1985 after a detour to Alaska and has been here since, specializing in high schools, college basketball, the NFL and most recently sports media and business.
