New York Jets quarterback Zach Wilson has been labelled the "worst quarterback" the New York Patriots have played "in years" after his awful performance against the Foxboro side on Sunday.
Wilson was selected by the Jets with the second overall pick in the 2021 NFL Draft and played in 13 games as a rookie. He helped the Jets to a 4-13 record as he personally went 3-10, throwing for 2,334 yards and nine touchdowns while also tossing 11 interceptions.
It was an underwhelming campaign but head coach Robert Saleh and general manager Joe Douglas appeared to construct a solid roster heading into the 2022 season. An exciting draft class paired with an elite defence meant the pressure was on Wilson to perform - especially with rookie weapons at receiver (Garrett Wilson) and running back (Breece Hall).
However, the sophomore has struggled. Wilson thrown less touchdown passes (4) than backup Joe Flacco did (5) despite playing far more matches, while the Jets appear to be winning in spite of his play, rather than because of him.
After an awful performance in the 10-3 defeat to the Patriots, the 6-4 Jets are now bottom of an incredibly-competitive AFC East. Wilson completed just nine passes for 77 yards while his team punted 10 times - and the quarterback failed to take accountability when he rejected the notion that his offence had let down the defence.
Ultimately, he deflected blame on numerous occasions and the uproar from Wilson’s poor performance means Saleh is now refusing to declare him as the starter against the Chicago Bears on Sunday. Sports analyst Bill Simmons was furious with Wilson’s behaviour and suggested the team should move on from the quarterback.
“If you're a Jets fan, that's it with you and Zach Wilson,” Simmons said on the Bill Simmons podcast. “Every Jets fan I know is like,’ I’m out. We're all out.’
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“He did that press conference after, he says he didn't feel like he let the defence down. He's got multiple wide receivers lobbing upwards grenades at him, he's so bad. We were laughing every time he went back to pass, shouting ‘throw it to us, Zach!’, he tried twice! McCorney dropped one, I can't remember the other one.
“One would have been a pick 6. Then on that 3rd and one there's a great clip of this guy running open in the middle, right before the punt, and Zach just panics and throws an out pass for a loss of three. He's the worst quarterback we've played in years.”
Usually it is easy for a quarterback to take accountability after a poor performance, but Wilson appeared to highlight his immaturity. The Jets scored just three points for the game and only gained a measly two yards in the second half.
Wilson might not make it to a third year with the Jets, particularly if Flacco comes in and leads the team to better offensive production. The Jets welcome the Bears to MetLife Stadium this weekend in Week 12 of the 2022 NFL season.
