Jets' Zach Wilson to be 'aggressively smart' vs. Bills

New York Jets quarterback Zach Wilson may dial back his "hero ball" tendencies against the Buffalo Bills this Sunday 

"The difficulty is being aggressively smart," Wilson told reporters Thursday about his philosophy, per Mark Cannizzaro of the New York Post. "I had some plays in that last game that just weren’t smart and I’ve got to take those out. Sometimes, interceptions are going to happen when the defense makes a good play, and you can live with those. But I’ve got to be better at some of the other ones.

"The mindset is you’ve got to be aggressive. I feel like we’ve done that, but it’s how can we clean up some of the mistakes?"

The "mistakes" Wilson referenced are the three costly interceptions he threw in last Sunday's 22-17 loss to the New England Patriots that dropped the Jets to 5-3 and made the 23-year-old the subject of widespread criticism throughout the NFL community. 

Following Sunday's game, former NFL quarterback Matt Cassel and league insider Jason La Canfora both publicly campaigned for Jets head coach Robert Saleh to bench Wilson in favor of veteran Joe Flacco. Retired quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick pointed out he thinks Wilson "still has to learn to play quarterback in the National Football League." 

Meanwhile, Saleh and veteran linebacker C.J. Mosley both came to Wilson's defense during the midweek. Bills star signal-caller Josh Allen even compared his NFL journey to that belonging of New York's second-year pro. 

"The mindset is within 24 hours we’ve all moved on," Wilson added about last weekend's debacle. "Now, I’ve learned from those mistakes. There are things I want back, but those are behind me and you try to reapply them in practice. Of course, there are always plays you want back, and in the last game, I had some plays that I really want back. In that game, even in desperation mode, I can’t be forcing the ball like that. We have a great defense and I’ve got to keep relying on them, allow them to put us in a good situation on offense." 

If Wilson doesn't take a positive step against a menacing Buffalo defense, Saleh may have no other choice than to turn to Flacco or fellow backup Mike White for the game at the Patriots on Nov. 20 coming off the bye, if for no other reason than to keep peace in the locker room of what is perceived to be a legitimate playoff contender.