Robert Saleh indicates Zach Wilson will be starting in Week 4, but is that a good thing? The Jets have been a lot better when they’ve had other guys filling in at quarterback.
The numbers are pretty startling. Wilson in his 12 full games last year averaged only 190 passing yards, with 9 TDs and 11 interceptions. That’s setting aside a game where he was injured early.
The numbers – specifically the passing numbers – have been a lot better when they’ve had others filling in at quarterback. In their other eight games the last two years, they’ve averaged 322 passing yards, with 16 TDs and 12 interceptions. Over twice as many touchdown passes, and with fewer than half as many sacks.
I’m not suggesting that New York should be stick with Joe Flacco (or try Mike White). They picked Wilson with the second pick of the draft, and they need to figure out if he’s going to develop into something. If he starts the remaining 14 games and is simply a disaster, the team reasonably could consider throwing another high pick at a quarterback next year.
Also note that a lot of the big passing numbers have come in games the Jets lost. They’ve gone 3-9 in Wilson’s complete games, versus only 2-6 without him – not much difference.
But with that big difference in overall production, it makes me wary of what kind of production we might see out of receivers like Garrett Wilson and Elijah Moore. If the team’s averaging 50-60 fewer passing yards per game, it will be harder for them to make an impact.
| JETS WITH ZACH WILSON (12 complete games) | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Opp | Result | Com | Att | Yards | TD | Int | Sk |
| at Car. | L 14-19 | 20 | 37 | 258 | 2 | 1 | 6 |
| N.E. | L 6-25 | 19 | 33 | 210 | 0 | 4 | 4 |
| at Den. | L 0-26 | 19 | 35 | 160 | 0 | 2 | 5 |
| Ten. | W 27-24 | 21 | 34 | 297 | 2 | 1 | 1 |
| at Atl. | L 20-27 | 19 | 32 | 192 | 0 | 1 | 2 |
| at Hou. | W 21-14 | 14 | 24 | 145 | 0 | 1 | 4 |
| Phil. | L 18-33 | 23 | 38 | 226 | 2 | 1 | 2 |
| N.O. | L 9-30 | 19 | 42 | 202 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| at Mia. | L 24-31 | 13 | 23 | 170 | 0 | 0 | 6 |
| Jac. | W 26-21 | 14 | 22 | 102 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| T.B. | L 24-28 | 19 | 33 | 234 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| at Buff. | L 10-27 | 7 | 20 | 87 | 1 | 0 | 8 |
| JETS: LAST EIGHT OTHER GAMES | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Opp | Result | Com | Att | Yards | TD | Int | Sk |
| at N.E. | L 13-54 | 26 | 42 | 253 | 1 | 2 | 2 |
| Cin. | W 34-31 | 39 | 49 | 422 | 3 | 2 | 2 |
| at Ind. | L 30-45 | 34 | 52 | 412 | 4 | 1 | 2 |
| Buff. | L 17-45 | 27 | 47 | 298 | 1 | 4 | 1 |
| Mia. | L 17-24 | 24 | 39 | 291 | 2 | 0 | 2 |
| Balt. | L 9-24 | 37 | 59 | 309 | 1 | 1 | 3 |
| at Clev. | W 31-30 | 26 | 44 | 307 | 4 | 0 | 2 |
| Cin. | L 12-27 | 28 | 52 | 285 | 0 | 2 | 4 |
—Ian Allan