Somehow, someway, the New York Jets Zach Wilson era might not be over. The New York Jets just lost their fourth straight game on Thursday Night, this time to the Jacksonville Jaguars, 19-3. Those three points only came off of a fumble by Trevor Lawrence on the opening drive of the game. A drive where the Jets didn’t even pick up a single first down.
Wilson was thrust into the starting job because Mike White was unable to play due to a rib injury that he couldn’t get cleared for. However, he didn’t do anything and was being relentlessly booed the entire time he was in at quarterback against the Jaguars. The fans were booing him so badly that management knew they had to make a change just to get the fans back into the game again. They decided to bench Wilson in exchange for Chris Streveler. Wilson exited the game having completed nine out of his 18 passing attempts for 92 yards and an interception. They punted five times with him in charge of the offense. Streveler came into the game and fans were immediately going crazy for him. He stepped in and completed 10 out of his 15 passes for 90 yards, with 54 rushing yards as well. It was his first game of the year and spent most of his time on the practice squad.
Zach Wilson Not Finished, But Understands Boos
One would think that if the fans were hoping to see Streveler more than Wilson, that there’s no way he can start again for this team. Apparently though, this isn’t the end of his tenure. Their head coach Robert Saleh said, “Obviously I know Zach was struggling, but Streveler came in, ran a couple of plays, sparked the offense, got the explosive play, and so it just snowballed in a good way. So, we wanted to give him the opportunity to finish the drive. By the time we got it back, again the same thing. We just aid, we’re already here, let’s just keep going with him.”
Saleh also had this to say right afterwards, “We haven’t seen the last of him. But right now, he’s just got to focus on finding ways to get better, and we’ve got to find ways to help him.”
Thankfully, Wilson was honest in the interview after the game, admitting that he isn’t playing good enough right now and that he has to put his head down and improve any way he can. He also made sure to talk about the fanbase booing him. Saying, “I don’t blame them. We’re a passionate fanbase, and they’re here to watch us score touchdowns. And we’re not scoring touchdowns. We’re not getting first downs; we’re not moving the ball. And we obviously can’t throw the ball, so of course they’re going to be frustrated.”
Who knows what the future holds for Wilson and the Jets. They’ve now fallen almost entirely out of the playoff race with a few weeks left amidst this losing streak. Wilson has no support from the fanbase and White still hasn’t been cleared to play. This team has a lot of questions left to answer down the stretch of this season.