Jets' Robert Saleh offers shocking defense of Zach Wilson

New York Jets head coach Robert Saleh said shortly after Sunday's 15-10 home loss to the New England Patriots that he's sticking with the struggling Zach Wilson as his starting quarterback despite protests from angry fans. 

Saleh doubled down on his support of Wilson while speaking with reporters on Monday. 

"He's our unquestioned quarterback," Saleh said about Wilson, per Ryan Chichester of Audacy. "As long as he continues to show, his preparation, the way he’s been practicing, and even in these games, guys, he’s not the reason why we lost yesterday. It’s always a team effort. As long as he continues to show improvement — and I know it’s not, from a box score standpoint, it’s not showing — he’s gonna be our quarterback." 

Wilson completed 18-of-36 passes for 157 yards with no touchdowns or interceptions against the Patriots, but those numbers barely tell even part of the story regarding how poorly he's played since Aaron Rodgers went down with a torn Achilles just four snaps into what became the Week 1 win over the Buffalo Bills. As shared by ESPN stats, Wilson entered Monday ranked last among all eligible quarterbacks with a 57.0 passer rating and a 52.4% completion percentage, and he was 33rd out of 34 players with a 27.0 adjusted QBR at that time. 

Earlier in the day, former Jets quarterback and current "The NFL Today" analyst Boomer Esiason said that Wilson "looks like he knows what he’s doing" during midweek practices but can’t adequately "process" what's occurring on game days. Saleh seemingly disagreed with that take. 

"With regard to Zach, I know it's going to go on deaf ears, but what we see on a day-to-day basis is much improved on what we saw a year ago," Saleh added about the second overall pick from the 2021 NFL Draft. "He's improved. He's getting better. He's going through his progressions." 

Lowlights from Sunday's defeat suggest Saleh was merely trying to bolster the battered confidence of a young quarterback: