Zach Wilson credits ‘playing loose, playing free’ for performance vs. Chiefs
With his back against the wall — and his headband nowhere to be found — Jets quarterback Zach Wilson came up with one of the best performances of his career on a day when the Jets, and he personally, needed it the most.
The Jets were given almost no shot against the defending Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs. Taylor Swift was getting more attention than the home team throughout the week. Yet, somehow, Wilson dug deep and came out with perhaps the performance of a lifetime.
Wilson went 28/39 for 245 yards and two touchdowns with a 105.2 quarterback rating. But a costly fumbled snap in the fourth quarter wound up being the last time Wilson and the offense touched the ball. The Chiefs were able to run down the clock and escape New York with a 23-20 victory, sending the Jets to 1-3.
But by no means was Wilson bad and his chance to actually throw the ball more and play loose gave him the extra confidence he needed to produce.
“Just playing loose, playing free, momentum being on our side, getting drives going,” Wilson said Thursday when asked what the biggest difference was for him on Sunday. “I would say that is our biggest thing, as an offense not even just me. I think as an offense, we just did a great job of getting into a rhythm, some flow, getting going, and scoring touchdowns, getting first downs, that’s the key.”
Wilson also talked about the offense being able to stay on the field as a key reason for the improvement. The Jets held the ball for almost 28 minutes against the Chiefs and the same against the Patriots. That’s a major improvement from the 17 minutes and 45 seconds New York had possession in the 30-10 Week 2 loss in Dallas.
The aggressive the Jets showed as the game wore on and the Jets’ seemingly higher trust in Wilson to sling the ball all led to Wilson growing and maturing as a player Sunday night and gave fans hope that maybe this offense can string something together with the former No. 2 overall pick behind center.
Now it’s a matter of actually stringing good games together, starting this Sunday against the Denver Broncos, a game the Jets really need. They can’t afford to fall to 1-4 against a down Broncos team, especially with the Philadelphia Eagles coming to town in Week 6. The schedule does ease up after the bye week, but a 1-5 start would almost render that point moot.
The Jets need Wilson to play like he did in Week 4 and are going to do everything they can to keep his confidence high. Wilson has seemingly won back the locker room after last season’s struggles. A win Sunday in Denver will help grow not just the locker room morale but the confidence for Wilson, something he truly needs and is starting to get back for the first time in a while.
