Zach Wilson solid as Jets shut out Panthers in preseason
Jets tight end Kenny Yeboah celebrates his touchdown catch with quarterback Zach Wilson during the second half of an NFL preseason game against the Panthers on Saturday in Charlotte, N.C. Credit: AP/Jacob Kupferman
CHARLOTTE, N.C. — The backup quarterback for the Jets did exactly what backup quarterbacks are supposed to do in these situations.
Take the name and the draft pedigree and all the unsightly history that Zach Wilson carries around with him out of the picture, and what you’re left with is a third-year player who, if things go according to plan for the Jets this season, won’t play a down in the regular season. He probably won’t be asked to carry this team for any prolonged period of time, and if he is, well, that’ll mean Aaron Rodgers is sidelined and the Jets will have bigger problems than just him.
If all of this team’s hopes for the coming months were on Wilson, as they were the previous two summers, and as they were when he made his NFL regular-season debut in this very stadium 23 months ago to the day, his sometimes sluggish and often conservative game might have induced a few groans of pessimism.
Under the lens of the current reality, though, Wilson’s showing as the starter in a 27-0 win over the Panthers on Saturday in the Jets’ second game of this preseason went about as well as it needed to.
Playing the entire first half, most of it behind the second-string offensive line with backup route-runners, Wilson completed 14 of 20 passes for 123 yards and a touchdown with a rating of 102.7.
There weren’t a lot of big plays — his scoring pass, with eight seconds left in the half, was just a 2-yarder — and he threw only one completion to a wide receiver, a 9-yarder to Alex Erickson. His longest pass, a 25-yarder, was a short swing to Michael Carter in which the running back did most of the work.
But there were no glaring miscues or turnovers, either.
It wasn’t a superstar turn. It didn’t need to be. It was something even more significant: a solid success.
“I thought he was poised, ran the offense,” Robert Saleh said. “He had three scoring drives. Last drive at the end of the half, he was in total control of the offense and the situation . . . I’m really pumped for him. He’s taking the right steps.”
Wilson’s touchdown pass was set up after rookie running back Israel Abanikanda snapped off a 26-yard run complete with a spin move that juked half of the NFC South. It originally was ruled a 27-yard touchdown, but further review placed the ball at the 1. Two plays later, Wilson executed a sharp play-action fake, rolled to his left and tossed an easy ball to wide-open tight end Kenny Yeboah in the end zone. It was the punctuation to his performance and gave the Jets a 13-0 lead at the half.
“I felt like I was comfortable,” Wilson said. “Some good and some things I want to keep working on . . . This is one of those defenses that plays soft in their shells and makes you take the easy ones underneath. I was just trying to get the ball out of my hands quickly; that was my goal today. How can I get the ball out efficiently?”
That’s how.
Wilson opened the game leading the team to a 47-yard field goal and then, after two three-and-outs, a 45-yard field goal late in the second quarter.
Third-string quarterback Tim Boyle played the second half and was 9-for-10 for 84 yards. He was picked off once but threw touchdown passes to E.J. Jenkins and Zach Kuntz.
Wilson took time to reflect on his journey from that first career start here in Carolina to where he is now.
“It’s been a crazy two years of how quickly it flew by,” he said. “You have to be grateful for the ups and downs and for the road. And grateful for what’s to come, too.”
Even if in the immediacy, that includes his not playing all that much.
Ruckert injured
Saleh said tight end Jeremy Ruckert, who caught two passes for 19 yards, suffered an injury to his left shoulder. Saleh said he is optimistic that it won’t be a long-term issue for the Lindenhurst product.
Men among boys
The Jets are so deep on their defensive front that it’s almost unfair in these preseason games when their second- and third-stringers who will be playing significant roles for them in the regular season go up against offensive linemen who might not even be in the league in a month. Case in point: A combo sack from Jermaine Johnson and Bryce Huff late in the second quarter that overwhelmed Carolina’s pass protection.
Extra points
After Wednesday’s disappointing showing in the joint practice with the Panthers, Saleh made the decision to play most of the starters up front on offense. “We’ve got a really good group, but it doesn’t matter if we don’t know how to play football together,” Saleh said. “That was evident on Wednesday. So just trying to create another opportunity.” The starters played two series and Saleh said he was pleased with their performance . . . Panthers quarterback Bryce Young, the first overall pick in April’s draft, got into his first game. He completed 4 of 6 passes for 21 yards in three series.
Tom Rock began covering sports for Newsday in 1996 and became its NFL columnist in 2022. He previously was Newsday's Giants beat writer beginning in 2008.
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