New York Jets shouldn’t depend on a quarterback change anytime soon despite the Jets’ continued offensive struggles in Week 3.
Despite the continued offensive struggles in Week 3, New York won’t be getting a new quarterback any time soon.
After the New York Jets’ 15-10 loss to the New England Patriots, Robert Saleh defended Zach Wilson during the ensuing inquiries. The Jets’ head coach stood by his statement that Wilson is the best option at quarterback and that the third-year pro should not be held responsible for the team’s loss on Sunday at home.
“He’s our unquestioned quarterback, guys,” Saleh told reporters on Monday. “Like, as long as he continues to show the way his preparation, the way he’s been practicing … and even in these games, guys, like, he’s not the reason we lost yesterday. It’s always a team effort. As long as continues to show improvement — and I know it’s not, from a box score standpoint, showing — he’s going to be our quarterback.”
On Sunday, Wilson’s offence stumbled out of the start and managed only one first down on its five possessions before being forced to punt. New York Jets finally scored on the board before halftime thanks to a 53-yard field goal by Greg Zuerlein, the sputtering offence kept Thomas Morstead busy on punts after the break despite halftime tweaks.
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While the Jets’ defence kept the Patriots scoreless down the stretch, the offence couldn’t convert its opportunities into points. On third-and-15, as Wilson looked for an open receiver, he was sacked in the end zone, resulting in a safety. New York had one last chance to win the game after Saleh’s defence forced a fast three-and-out, but the offence was unable to capitalize due to three consecutive incompletions and a 2-yard dump off.
“One thing I’m gonna give him credit for is that he had a turnover-free game yesterday,” Saleh said. “He had no turnover-worthy throws from my recollection. And because of that we were in position and had the ball at midfield with 1:40 to go and two timeouts to go win the game — because we played a clean game of football on the offensive side of the ball and were able to win the field position battle in the second half. You can never be too boring, in my opinion, when you have the ball in your hands.”
Wilson completed 18 passes out of 36 attempts for 157 yards and 0 touchdowns and 0 interceptions. The 24-year-old quarterback’s tendency to hang on to the ball for too long produces frenzied plays, some of which result in sacks or useless throwaways, in addition to his struggle to reliably execute throws downfield.
Wilson wasn’t helped by the Jets’ ground game on Sunday, which totaled only 38 yards on 22 attempts, but the Patriots’ defence may have been able to concentrate more easily on running plays without a formidable passing offence to worry about.
Having Wilson as their starting quarterback in 2023 wasn’t part of Saleh’s original plan after Aaron Rodgers tore his Achilles in the season opener.