Although Zach Wilson's stat line from the Jets' 31-21 victory over the Denver Broncos on Sunday hardly jumps off a page, the 24-year-old's play raised reasons for hope for New York. The quarterback, however, still has much work to do.
Here's the glass-half-full, glass-half-empty outlook on the Jets' QB1:
Against Denver's struggling defense, Wilson completed 19-of-26 (73.1%) passes for 199 yards, no touchdowns and one interception. It was the second straight performance in which the third-year quarterback completed more than 70% of his throws, a feat he has accomplished only three times in his NFL career.
For the first time in a long time, Wilson successfully stacked two strong performances back to back. Over his past two starts, he has completed 47-of-65 passes (72%) for 444 yards, two touchdowns and recorded a 94.6 passer rating, which is above average.
Much of this success can be attributed to Wilson playing more freely and taking shots downfield. His 7.7 yards per pass attempt on Sunday was the highest figure of any of his starts this season.
For every two steps forward Wilson takes in his development, he takes a step backward.
Against Denver, the most egregious of Wilson's mistakes came in the second quarter, when the Jets were looking to convert a field goal just before halftime. With 15 seconds left and no timeouts, he completed a short pass to tight end C.J. Uzomah in bounds. With the clock ticking, Wilson showed no urgency getting to the line and allowed time to expire without spiking the ball.
Additionally, Wilson threw an interception in the red zone with just over two minutes to play. The quarterback also fumbled twice, but the Jets recovered both.
It seems as though Aaron Rodgers' veteran presence has rubbed off on Wilson. Despite playing on the road in front of a raucous crowd, the moment never seemed too big for him Sunday.
With the Jets up 24-21 and looking to ice the game in the fourth quarter, Wilson threw a dart on third down to tight end Tyler Conklin, who rumbled down the field with several defenders on his back. More impressive than the throw, however, was Wilson's decision to check into the play at the line of scrimmage.
"That place was rocking, you couldn't hear yourself think in there," Conklin said, per SNY. "Zach makes a hell of a check at the line of scrimmage to change us to a play for that look and he makes a great throw."
It took 5 Broncos defenders to bring down @T_Conk1
— NFL (@NFL) October 8, 2023
: #NYJvsDEN on CBS
: Stream on #NFLPlus https://t.co/LxW25sxPWA pic.twitter.com/4MsKACsYnK
After making several great, outside-the-norm plays against the Chiefs in a near-upset victory, Wilson returned to his game-manager role Sunday. The Jets' offense ran through running back Breece Hall, who gashed Denver's abysmal run defense for 177 rushing yards.
Wilson successfully did what was asked of him and limited the mistakes enough for New York to win. When facing better teams — such as the 5-0 Eagles on Sunday at the Meadowlands — he must do more than be a game manager.
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