The only quarterback who delivered a worse performance than Lawrence in Week 8 was the guy who was picked right after him. The New York Jets entered the day 5-2 and played well enough in nearly all phases to beat the struggling New England Patriots but Zach Wilson essentially flushed the game down the toilet.
The overall numbers for Wilson look respectable as he threw for 355 yards with two touchdowns and three interceptions. The three picks, however, were some of the worst throws a starting NFL quarterback has made this year.
Second career pick for @NVBentley33!
— New England Patriots (@Patriots) October 30, 2022
📺: #NEvsNYJ on @NFLonCBS pic.twitter.com/a0w93yWa9w
Zach Wilson is really holding this #Jets back big time.
— Dov Kleiman (@NFL_DovKleiman) October 30, 2022
Another INT. Goes to Devin McCourty.pic.twitter.com/rSDRLAB06h
Zach Wilson with his THIRD pick of the day 😬
— NFL on ESPN (@ESPNNFL) October 30, 2022
(via @Patriots)pic.twitter.com/Yljy46fRZC
Those are the kinds of throws that a high school quarterback wouldn’t make but Wilson’s inability to simply throw the ball away or hit check down passes has throttled the Jets’ offense. Wilson has plenty of playmakers around him even after the loss of Breece Hall for the year but his failure to execute the offense was the biggest reason the Patriots left MetLife Stadium with a 22-17 win.
The Jets are sitting on the league’s longest playoff drought at 11 years and the team they have is good enough to snap it if they get competent play from Wilson. Another stink bomb like this one will lead to pressure for head coach Robert Saleh to turn to either Joe Flacco or Mike White to keep the season from slipping away.