NY Jets offensive grades for Week 1 win over the Bills

Despite the early injury to Aaron Rodgers, the NY Jets offense still managed to produce 16 points before the winning punt return touchdown from Xavier Gipson.

A large part of the point production was because of the Jets' stellar defense, creating four Josh Allen turnovers, including an interception and fumble that led to the Jets tying the game and then taking the lead just a few minutes later. 

As for the entire unit, the Jets offense will need to be better to continue to win games this year, and that will be reflected in the grades below.

But in terms of the context of the game, having to turn to backup Zach Wilson just four snaps in and playing against one of the top defenses in the league, the Jets had a good enough showing. 

Below, I grade four Jets for their Week 1 performance in the win against the Buffalo Bills. 

1. Zach Wilson, QB, NY Jets

Where else better to start than with Wilson? Thrown into action immediately, without first-team reps the last two weeks, and with an entire fanbase who dreaded seeing him on the field, Wilson looked somewhat okay.

Let’s not get carried away here. Wilson wasn’t particularly great at all and barely hovered around average, but I don’t think fans understand how difficult of a situation this was for Wilson. Don’t forget, he was benched three separate times last year, and the Jets ultimately held open recruitment to find his replacement this offseason.

That said, Wilson finished 14-of-21 for 140 yards, with one touchdown and one interception. The interception was an example of how bad Wilson can be at times, throwing the ball into triple coverage and right at the chest of a defender who didn't move the entire play.

The touchdown also had a lot more to do with Garrett Wilson being an unbelievably talented receiver than anything Wilson did. I will say, though, in the postgame discussions, I was intrigued to find out that the play was a designed run that Wilson checked at the line to a fade. That earned some credit in my mind.

The game plan was exceptionally conservative for Wilson, who mainly checked down to running backs and hit screen passes for his completions. But that's fine. With this defense, the Jets are fully capable of winning like that, especially against teams that aren't championship contenders like the Bills.

One of the Bills' field goals came as a direct result of the Wilson interception to Matt Milano. Had it not been for that, the Jets would have most likely won in regulation Monday night.

That said, following the interception, Wilson showed maturity on Monday night that he has not displayed so far through two seasons. Rather than collapsing or compounding mistakes, Wilson finished strong, going 9-of-13 for 99 yards and a touchdown, leading to 10 points in the fourth quarter.

Wilson executed the screen pass and check-down plan well, and with a full week of preparation, he should be better against another good defense in Dallas next week.

Wilson just needs to be average. That’s all the Jets ever needed from him. If he can be around 60 percent completions this year and limit the turnovers, the Jets will still win games — and I'd argue make the playoffs.

Grade: B