FOXBORO, Mass. — Zach Wilson stood in the back of the room at Gillette Stadium, seething, silent. Robert Saleh was taking questions from reporters, mostly about Wilson. About how the Jets were on the verge of beating the Patriots, again, but their quarterback held them back, again.
Why was Zach struggling so much? Is he holding back the offense right now? Did you ever consider benching him? If he keeps struggling, will you replace him with Mike White? Do you sense frustration building with the receivers considering Zach’s struggles?
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Wilson completed nine of 22 passes Sunday. He was 4 for 11 for 12 yards in the second half. The Jets defense held the Patriots to three points — but the Jets offense could only muster 2 yards — 2 yards — of offense in the second half. They finished with 103 total yards, the fourth-fewest in franchise history. Final score: 10-3, and their 14th straight loss to New England. Marcus Jones’ 84-yard punt return touchdown with five seconds left won the game for the Patriots.
PUNT RETURN TD WITH 5 SECONDS LEFT! @Patriots
📺: #NYJvsNE on CBS
📱: Stream on NFL+ https://t.co/0M1xbb6fcp pic.twitter.com/zF3bFuvvpI— NFL (@NFL) November 20, 2022
“It was dogs—,” Saleh said of his team’s second-half offensive performance.
But Saleh didn’t have much of an answer for Wilson. The coach insisted there are no plans to bench him. “That’s the furthest thing from my mind,” Saleh said.
At some point, the Jets do have to consider if Wilson is the right quarterback to lead this team to the playoffs. The evidence so far isn’t promising — and the 6-4 Jets are too talented to squander the opportunity in front of them. They won’t make the postseason if Wilson keeps playing like he has in two losses to the Patriots.
In Week 8, Wilson threw three back-breaking interceptions against New England. He didn’t turn the ball over Sunday, but the Jets’ passing offense was a disaster. Wilson was inaccurate, indecisive and he too often held onto the ball for too long. His decision-making was questionable at best.
Patriots edge rusher Matthew Judon, who had two sacks, said he could sense Wilson feeling the pressure.
“I think whenever you have pressure on a guy like that he looks at the rush and instead of having his eyes up, they’re more down,” Judon said.
Afterward, there was no finger pointing in the Jets locker room. But if there’s one person who should be pointing a finger, it’s Wilson, at himself. That hasn’t happened this season.
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In Week 8, when asked if he put the first loss to the Patriots on his shoulders, Wilson said: “No.”
Then Sunday, Wilson was asked if he felt like he had let the Jets defense down.
“No, no,” he said.
The most self-critique Wilson would offer: “I feel like I had some balls that got away from me.”
He blamed the wind for his lack of throws downfield — even though Patriots quarterback Mac Jones played in the same conditions, and managed to complete 23 of 27 passes for 246 yards.
“I think you got to take into account it’s windy as hell out there too, guys,” Wilson said.
Zach Wilson was asked if he felt he let the Jets defense down.
"No."
New York averaged 2.1 yards per play and finished the game with a season-low three points.
H/T @ZackBlatt pic.twitter.com/hGum38w5Du
— The Athletic (@TheAthletic) November 20, 2022
Though no one in the locker room has called out Wilson, it’s clearly getting harder for his teammates to bite their tongues. Wide receivers Garrett Wilson and Denzel Mims were both visibly frustrated on the sideline after a few errant passes from Wilson on Sunday. This season, it has often felt like offensive coordinator Mike LaFleur has been too scared to find out what happens if the Jets start throwing the ball beyond screens and short passes. At their best, the Jets have leaned on the running game — but their running backs gained only 33 yards on 19 carries Sunday.
If the Jets are scared to throw the ball, why would any defense be scared of them?
“We out here looking sorry,” Garrett Wilson said. “We know we’re not sorry. That’s why it really hurts. We know that we’re better than that. That’s why it’s frustrating for me, because we can do more. Honestly, I feel like they gotta put more trust in the receiver room. I feel like we can go up and make plays, do things.”
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How does Wilson, the Jets’ most talented wide receiver — coming off two straight 100-yard performances before Sunday — feel about the quarterback play?
“I don’t know, man,” he said. “I just try to do my job to the best of my ability. We play a position where it takes all 11 of us. If it don’t all go right with the other dudes, you’re not going to have the chance to make the plays to change the game. I kinda felt like that today.”
Maybe the game plan is too cautious. Whatever it is, Garrett Wilson said, it’s not working.
“I can’t say I know what the best plan was to go out and beat them today,” he said. “But, s—, whatever it is we was doing, it wasn’t working.”
When Zach Wilson was asked about the moments during the game when Mims and Garrett Wilson were visibly frustrated with him, he said: “There’s stuff that I want them to do different and I get frustrated as well. Then there’s stuff that I missed, a throw high there, and they’re frustrated as well. It goes both ways. This isn’t anyone pointing fingers here. This is everybody taking accountability here and everyone’s trying to get better.”
Cornerback D.J. Reed was still in shock after the game. He couldn’t believe that he was standing in the locker room as the loser after his unit gave up just three points. The defense had six sacks, and the Patriots converted only 4 of 15 third downs against them. According to TruMedia, the Jets defensively had the fifth-best total EPA (expected points added) in the league this week. It didn’t matter.
“It was the game we wanted. We were smiling. We were happy,” Reed said. “The defense thought it was going to overtime, we were ready to go and see what could happen from there. … But I’m in disbelief.”
The Jets would’ve jumped to first place in the AFC East with a win. Instead, they dropped to last place. Next week, they’ll play the Bears at home, followed by back-to-back road games against the 8-2 Vikings and 7-3 Bills. Maybe Wilson can find solace in the fact that he won’t have to play the Patriots anymore.
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But the clock is ticking. At some point, the Jets need a quarterback who can run the offense — an offense that is actually a threat to pass the ball. LaFleur’s passing offense has been at its most prolific when others — Joe Flacco, Josh Johnson and White, who is waiting in the wings — have played quarterback.
White, in his first NFL start last year in place of the injured Wilson, had 405 yards, three touchdowns, two interceptions and a win over a Cincinnati team that eventually went to the Super Bowl. Two weeks later, White threw four interceptions in a loss to the Bills.
After that loss, White said: “The only thing we can do is get better from it and not let this beat us twice, get into the film room and learn from mistakes … starting with me first.”
Sunday, after his contentious news conference, Wilson retreated to his locker, anger in his eyes. He talked to White, showered up and then left for the team bus, the winds still blowing.
There are seven games left in the season — and Wilson is running out of chances to prove he should be this team’s quarterback.
(Photo: Adam Glanzman / Getty Images)
