Zach Wilson Leads Jets to Upset Win Over Texans in Return
The quarterback who had forgotten how to throw touchdown passes, the quarterback who had been benched three times, most recently for the past two games, the quarterback who needed to grow up, the quarterback the Jets had given up on, the quarterback who had become a pariah to those long-suffering Jets fans cursing the football gods for refusing again to deliver a young Broadway Joe:
That quarterback had the game of his life on Sunday.
That was the quarterback the Jets had dreamed of to lead them back to the playoffs, and even beyond.
Zach Wilson beat the Texans 30-6 on a day when he threw for 301 yards, only the third 300-yard game of his tumultuous career, and after all he has endured, this was his shining hour.
A shame it had to take this damn long for the kid to find himself, if he truly has.
Wilson’s dysfunctional offense turned quite functional in a 30-point second half that came out of nowhere and had you researching the phrase even a blind squirrel finds an acorn.
“The second half, I thought Zach probably played the best game of his career,” Robert Saleh said.
Wilson had vowed to have fun, and he had the time of his life.
Slinging in the rain.
“He balled, man,” Garrett Wilson said. “Put it all out there … throwing dots in the rain.
“Zach went crazy today.”
Any time a Texans defender was in his face. Wilson calmly and decisively got rid of the ball, and accurately.
He played fearlessly, aggressively but not recklessly, with a nothing-to-lose chip on his shoulder that energized his huddle, and has never been in better sync with offensive coordinator Nathaniel Hackett, the other half of the embattled partnership.
Amazing things happen when you get the ball in the hands of your blue-chip playmakers: receiver Garrett Wilson (9-108) and running back Breece Hall (10-40 rushing, 8-86-1 TD receiving).
“He just had that warrior mentality the entire game,” Laken Tomlinson told The Post.
You almost had to look twice to make sure that Aaron Rodgers hadn’t borrowed Wilson’s No. 2 jersey and snuck past the team doctors onto the field to play quarterback, at least until you watched the way Wilson would Houdini out of harm’s way to make magic.
“The flow of just playing football today was there, and I can’t say it’s been like that a lot unfortunately in my career here,” Zach Wilson said.
Remember all those Patrick Mahomes comparisons when Wilson came out of BYU? You probably don’t. But right before he delivered a 15-yard touchdown pass to Randall Cobb, of all people, he showed you all the moves that once made general manager Joe Douglas’ mouth water.
The quarterback sprinted to his left on third-and-12 to evade the mad pursuit of Jonathan Greenard and dared to throw across his body for 25 yards to Garrett Wilson.
“It’s one of those you don’t really want to throw the ball back across the middle very often,” he said, “but I thought I had a pretty good look at it being a clean picture. Sometimes bad plays are gonna happen but you have to be able to trust in those and let ’em rip.”
He double-pumped once and threw a 19-yard beauty to tight end Jeremy Ruckert. Whenever Hall was wide open, he didn’t hesitate. Where has that confident quarterback been all these years?
“We believe in him and I know he believes in us,” Garrett Wilson said, “and we’re just gonna keep building.”
Zach Wilson trusted himself. He trusted his playmakers. He promised them all he would play for them following the report that he wasn’t sure he wanted the job again. He just needs to be reminded not to take a sack out of field-goal range and to dive so you don’t fumble at the end of a 20-yard run.
“He’s been through the ringer here in this city, and it’s tough, man, they have high expectations, and we all are the same way,” Garrett Wilson said. “Zach’s probably put it on himself more than anyone outside of this building or outside of a Jet fan can put on him. When you have that mindset to be the best version of you because you’re so stressed out about putting that out to the world and showing the world what you can really do, it’s always great to see someone you know put that on display.”
The outside noise has been deafening at times for him. Zach Wilson ignored it. For one day, on this day, he showed resilience and fight. Best version of himself at last.
It’s been three years where it’s been challenging obviously,” he said. “I play this game ’cause I love to compete, I love to play, I love the thrill of making the big throws and winning football games.”
The thrill of victory, after so much agony of defeat.
