New York Jets rookie quarterback Zach Wilson took some serious lumps during the Jets 25-6 loss to division rival New England Patriots on Sunday, throwing 4 brutal interceptions in an ugly offensive performance.
Wilson’s performance was next level awful.
“This is what we signed up for, right?” Wilson said, according to ESPN’s Rich Cimini. “There’s going to be games like this — the ups and downs.
“I just have to remember the situation I’m in. I’m an important piece in this whole thing, and I just have to keep learning and getting better. You have to keep that swag and that mojo every single week.”
According to ESPN:
- Wilson became the third rookie in the past 40 years to have four interceptions in his first 10 attempts, according to Elias Sports Bureau research.
• Wilson joined Mark Sanchez and Sam Darnold as the only rookies in Jets history to throw four interceptions in a game.
• Wilson became the first Jets player in 40 years to throw interceptions on his first two passes.
• Wilson was the first Jets quarterback to throw three interceptions in the first half of a game since Geno Smith in 2014.
• Wilson became only the fourth rookie top-five pick to have four interceptions and no touchdown passes in a game in the past 20 years.
“It’s OK to play a boring game of football. That’s really it,” Jets head coach Robert Saleh said. “He’s an electric dude. He’s competitive as crap and he wants to win so bad, but sometimes it’s OK to be boring. That’s probably the biggest lesson he can take out of this one.”
“It wasn’t like he was overwhelmed,” Saleh said of Wilson. “There’s some fundamental things that he has to understand with regard to taking care of the ball and basic stuff.”
“I just have to tell myself, ‘Hey, I can’t be gun-shy,'” Wilson said. “I have to sling it around and I still have to be aggressive down the field, especially when we’re down. And I have to take care of the ball.”
“It feels good. Obviously, it’s hard to win in the NFL. We’ll get better,” Jones said. “I think everybody, including anyone who watched the game, could agree that the offense can play better. And we will. The defense did a great job creating the turnovers.”