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New York Jets quarterback Zach Wilson. Philip G. Pavely-USA TODAY Sports

One word for Jets fans regarding QB Zach Wilson: 'R-E-L-A-X'

By Nathaniel Griffee | Last updated 10/26/22

Take a deep breath, Jets fans. As Aaron Rodgers famously once said, "Relax." All is well with Zach Wilson.

Since coming back from a torn meniscus and bone bruise in his right knee, Wilson has thrown for only one touchdown in four games. His passer rating is 73.6, 28th in the league over that span. In the past two games, Wilson has thrown for 110 and 121 yards.

Jets fans, of course, have major angst over the former first-round draft pick.

So it's time for perspective. Since his Week 4 return, Wilson has thrown for 693 yards, 19th in the NFL over that timeframe, a little below the middle of the pack. Most importantly, he has avoided turnovers, throwing only two interceptions and none in the past three games.

Most complaints stem from his performances against the Packers and the Broncos, which were not pretty. But Wilson's struggles against the Nos. 2 and 4 passing yardage defenses should not be overblown.

Former NFL quarterback and current NFL analyst Chris Simms made this point on his "Unbuttoned" podcast:

Chris Simms fully backing Zach Wilson pic.twitter.com/TYZdic8WxT
— J. Gray (@JGrayJets) October 25, 2022

Wilson critics must know that, by the end of the first half against the Broncos, the Jets were down their top three offensive playmakers (Breece Hall, Elijah Moore, and Corey Davis). Plus, their offensive line was down Alijah Vera-Tucker, a budding star.

Those losses put Wilson in a bad spot:

Zach Wilson has played some poor football over the last couple of weeks.

But I promise you, he’s had to deal with THIS kind of play 5-6 times a game.

He’s a product of what’s around him still. And he’s making mistakes pic.twitter.com/or3eDsljBd
— Luke Grant (@LukeGrant7) October 24, 2022

Wilson can scramble and evade sacks, skills the Jets sorely missed when leadfoot Joe Flacco played. In the three games with Wilson sidelined, he was sacked nine times and fumbled four times. In his four games against better pass defenses, Wilson was sacked eight times and had no fumbles.

When given time, Wilson performs well. What he needs to work on is getting better when a play breaks down.

I don't know if I've ever seen more stark clean/pressured splits than Zach Wilson's right now.

This season:

Clean: 53/70 for 639 yds (9.1 Y/A), 1 TD, 0 INT. 108.0 passer rating.

Pressured: 5/31 for 54 yds (1.7 Y/A), 0 TD, 2 INT. 8 sacks for -54 yds. Giving him 0 yards total.
— Michael Nania (@Michael_Nania) October 24, 2022

By cutting out the interceptions (11 in 13 games last year), Wilson already has shown improvement.

On Sunday, he gets a Patriots defense the Bears shredded for 243 yards rushing Monday night. New England has the league's 12th-best pass defense.

So be patient, Jets fans. Wilson isn't the disaster some of you think.

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