This probably won’t go over too well with Jets fans. During Sunday’s loss to the New England Patriots, Jets quarterback Zach Wilson went just 9/22 for 77 yards and a quarterback rating barely over 50.
In a game where the Jets’ defense also held the Patriots to three points until that fateful game-winning punt-return touchdown, the Jets’ offense managed just three points of their own, in the first quarter.
Wilson was sacked four times and nearly made a disastrous mistake late that almost led to a game-winning pick-six instead of the punt return.
Despite all that, did Wilson feel like he let his defense down?
”No,” he told reporters after the game.
Zach Wilson was asked if he feels like he let the defense down?
“No.”
— Zack Rosenblatt (@ZackBlatt) November 20, 2022
One simple word. One simple answer. But an answer that is going to cause nervous waves across the media and football landscape.
Emotions are understandably high right now for the Jets and for Wilson, but fans won’t like Wilson seemingly not holding himself accountable for his play Sunday, the second time he faltered, especially in the second half, against the Patriots.
He also said “it sucks to lose, but we have a lot of season left.” That may be true, but the Jets all of sudden find themselves in last place in the AFC East when they had a chance to take first place in the division with a win.
This now puts extra importance on next week against the Chicago Bears, as now the Jets have the Los Angeles Chargers and the Cincinnati Bengals breathing down their neck for the last wild card spot.
In fact, the Jets step out of the AFC for the next two weeks. They host the Bears in Week 12 and then visit the Vikings in Week 13. The Jets could really stand to win both of those games to get to 8-4 heading into a key rematch with the Bills in Week 14.
Jets fans are understandably upset. And will Wilson’s comments help the situation one bit? No.
"Do you feel like you let the defense down?"
Zach Wilson's response: "No."pic.twitter.com/wqQDaWltMW
— Action Network (@ActionNetworkHQ) November 20, 2022