Jets QB Zach Wilson says he is taking this opportunity ‘one step at a time’

Famous writer Stephen King once said, “Sooner or later, everything old is new again,” a proverb that means old fashions become popular again.

It can also mean that people repeat the same mistakes with the exact bad solutions.

The Jets hope the proverb is the latter instead of the former regarding the quarterback position.

Zach Wilson is once again Gang Green’s starting quarterback following Aaron Rodgers’ season-ending Achilles tear Monday night. One encouraging sign this go around is Wilson’s performance in the 22-16 overtime victory against the Bills in relief for Rodgers.

“Huge team win,” Wilson said on Thursday. “You could’ve drawn it up better. I thought the guys up front did a good job protecting.

“I thought the receivers made some big-time catches and obviously, we ran the ball well. and the defense lights out all day. Getting four turnovers and then the walk-off with special teams.

“For us as a team, we are just going to keep continuing to grow on that and seeing how we can just finding things on that film to keep getting better.”

In a game in which the fans at MetLife Stadium were in a state of shock because of Rodgers’ injury, Wilson stepped up when the team needed him to in the second half.

After throwing an interception in the first half with the team being booed at halftime, Wilson completed 9 of 13 passes for 99 yards and a fourth-quarter touchdown pass to Garrett Wilson that gave the Jets new life.

Wilson finished the night 14 of 21 with 140 yards, a touchdown pass and an interception with a quarterback rating of 81.4. At halftime, some of the Jets offensive players went up to Wilson to give him some encouragement and confidence.

Apparently, the talk worked as Wilson’s second-half play helped guide the Jets to the victory.

“Sometimes, it can seem like the world is against you, but that’s never really the case,” Jets wide receiver Garrett Wilson said. “We always got our guy’s back.

“It can be tough playing ball in this state, especially playing quarterback in this part of the world. Because of that, we always want to make sure we got our brother’s back. If he doesn’t know that, I’m doing my job wrong and I want to make sure I give him all the empowerment in the world and I know the other guys feel the same.”

Wilson’s first two seasons in the league were a rollercoaster for the 24-year-old. Not only did he have erratic play during his 22 starts, but Wilson has also dealt with multiple injuries that caused him to miss a total of eight games during his first two seasons.

Last year, Wilson began the year as the starting quarterback, but he was benched twice, including during a 19-3 loss to the Jaguars last December. Wilson didn’t play in the Jets final two games of the 2022 season.

Now Wilson has a chance to put all of that behind him with a fresh new start with Nathaniel Hackett as his offensive coordinator. During the offseason and training camp, the Jets returned to basics with Wilson while he learned a new offensive system.

Gang Green coaches say they’ve noticed a big difference in Wilson from his understanding of protection adjustments to understanding footwork and getting the ball out before the pass rush gets to him.

“I think the great thing about Zach is he’s been consistent this whole time,” Jets offensive coordinator Hackett said. “From the first day I got here until now, like I said, his eagerness to work, his eagerness to grow, the ability to take coaching all the time, his want to learn, and those are all things that you’re excited to work with as a coach.

“They just want to know the why and I think that when you have a guy like Aaron in the room, a guy like Tim that are so inquisitive, that allows him to really express himself and, and ask those questions. He’s doing the same thing, just like he was prepared for the last game and coming in without any practice, now he gets some more practice and he gets to get out there a little bit with the guys. I think it’s been really good with him the whole time.”

On Wednesday, Jets coach Robert Saleh defended Wilson by saying he was 5-1 during a six-game stretch last year. However, Wilson passed for 1,202 yards, four touchdowns, and five interceptions during that span while completing 57.4% of his passes. The Jets, during those six games, won in spite of Wilson, not because of him.

This year’s roster is different offensively with the additions of receivers Allen Lazard and Mecole Hardman and running back Dalvin Cook. Gang Green will likely use the same formula it did a year ago to win games and that’s rely on defense that only allowed three second-half points and special teams to eke out.

But it will be challenging this week as the Jets will face a Cowboys defense that registered seven sacks against the Giants during a 40-0 Week 1 thrashing at MetLife Stadium.

The Jets offensive line allowed three sacks and a ton of pressure on passing downs against the Bills. Cowboys linebacker Micah Parsons will be a player the Jets will have to keep a close eye on if they want to pull out the victory.

Because of Dallas’ pass rush, the Jets could look to run the ball much like they did against Buffalo. Gang Green finished with 172 yards while averaging 6.1 yards per carry.

“One step at a time, one play at a time,” Wilson said. “I think trusting the guys around me. I think they’ve shown this week how explosive and how dynamic guys are.

“Relying on this good defense that we have and I think it is take it one play at a time, trusting my footwork, trusting what the coaches have been talking about and we will go from there.”