Zach Wilson has been slammed by critics after the sophomore quarterback struggled throughout the New York Jets’ last-gasp defeat to the New England Patriots.
On Sunday, the Patriots moved to 6-4 as they secured a dramatic 10-3 win over the Jets. The tight victory meant the Patriots have once again swept their season series against their AFC East rivals, and New England have won 14 successive contests against their AFC East rivals.
In a match that lacked offensive ingenuity or quality, rookie Marcus Jones emerged as the hero for the Patriots. He sensationally returned a punt 84 yards for the game-winning touchdown with just five seconds remaining.
Both quarterbacks Mac Jones and Wilson struggled immensely and the score was locked in at 3-3 before New England snatched the dramatic victory. The Jets punted a total of 10 times, which was actually once more than the nine passes completed by Wilson.
The 23-year-old completed just 9-of-22 passes for 77 yards, a stark contrast to Jones’ 23-of-27 passes for 246 yards. It must be said that both defences played incredibly well all afternoon and combined for 10 sacks in total.
It is not the first time Wilson has struggled against the Patriots. Back in Week 8, he played perhaps the worst game of his 2022 season as he threw three interceptions while completing just 48.8% of his passes in a 22-17 loss.
Coming off a bye week, Wilson was once again left floundering by the scheming of Patriots head coach Bill Belichick. The iconic coach - who has won the Super Bowl six times alongside now-Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Tom Brady - is renowned for crushing young quarterbacks with his defensive acumen.
It means in four starts against the Patriots - including one shortened by injury - Wilson has thrown seven interceptions to just two passing touchdowns, which both came in the Week 8 defeat. The seven interceptions are tied for the most versus a single opponent in the past two seasons, according to NFL Research.
The win means the Jets fall from second in the AFC East to last, while the Patriots move up to third. All four teams in the division now have at least six wins to set up an incredible regular season finale as each of them eye a playoff run.
The Jets welcome the Chicago Bears to New York next week, while the Patriots take on the Minnesota Vikings in a Thanksgiving game on Thursday.
