Jets rookie QB Zach Wilson notes his inconsistency, trusts in process
Jets quarterback Zach Wilson passes in the first half of an NFL game against the Texans in Houston on Sunday. Credit: AP/Justin Rex
HOUSTON — The bad news for the Jets is that Sunday’s game against the Texans brought us no closer to a definitive answer on Zach Wilson’s prospects as the team’s franchise quarterback.
And the clock is ticking on his rookie season, now with only six games remaining.
The good news is that he at least got back on the field after missing four games, that the Jets won, 21-14, and most of all that Wilson is under no illusions about the task ahead following another mediocre outing.
"I wasn’t happy with how I performed, just the ups and downs," he said during a blunt self-assessment after the game at NRG Stadium. "I just have to keep going. It’s all part of the process."
But can we trust the process? Wilson was 14-for-24 for 145 yards and ended with a 58.5 passer rating, which was better than the 0.0 rating he had at one point in the second quarter.
Early on, he fired fastballs high or wide on what should have been short, easy passes. Coach Rob Saleh called them Wilson’s "little rockets."
And his interception came on a bizarre play in which he started running, then threw the ball off the back of an unsuspecting Ty Johnson. It was then caught by the Texans’ Tavierre Thomas, and it led to a Houston touchdown.
Wilson said the snafu was not the fault of Johnson, who had turned to block for the scrambling quarterback.
"The seas kind of parted," Wilson said. "I stepped up and I figured rather than me going and running and getting blasted by somebody or trying to slide, just flip it to my check down in front of me."
Things got better starting with a scoring drive late in the second quarter that closed a 14-3 deficit to 14-11, and the Jets carried that into the second half.
Wilson started the third quarter with a drive on which he hit Elijah Moore for completions of 22 and 16 yards, and finished the march himself with a 4-yard touchdown run.
Later, he found Keelan Cole to convert a fourth-and-5 on a drive that resulted in a field goal.
Wilson appreciated the "W," of course, but was frank about his own inconsistency.
"We have to get that going from the beginning — I have to get that going," he said. "These guys have shown they can do it. It’s me. I have to hold myself accountable for the way I start and get those guys going from the start."
To make matters worse, he said he twice tweaked the right knee that had kept him on the sideline for a month and added the eye-opening information that he might have to deal with this posterior cruciate ligament problem for some time.
"I knew that in practice, that it’s not fully stable," he said. But he added that he was not at risk of doing further damage, so when he hurt it on a scramble, he simply told the medical staff he would "walk it off."
The Jets are in an odd situation at quarterback. Mike White, Josh Johnson and Joe Flacco each was more productive than Wilson when given chances during his absence, but none is viewed as a long-term answer.
So Wilson it is, and should be. He refused to blame his layoff for Sunday’s awful start. But Saleh said, "Obviously, there’s a little rust there after a month. I thought he managed the game well."
Saleh said the ups and downs are part of being a rookie. "That’s just going to be his growing pains," the coach said.
Fortunately, Wilson seems capable of moving on. Moore called it the quarterback’s "crazy mentality."
"He’s just next foot forward," Moore said. "He doesn’t really dwell on the past."
Now it’s on to the Eagles at MetLife Stadium, the first of a half-dozen games remaining to get Wilson pointed in the right direction.
"There’s no excuses," he said of his layoff. "You have to be able to come out and play well. I’ve had this whole time to watch and learn from everybody else."
Later, he added, "I just have to tell myself it’s part of the process, get back to work, keep getting better and understand there’s a lot of work to do."
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.
