The NY Jets can make a playoff run if Zach Wilson plays safe football

Week 10 of the 2022 NFL regular season is now almost underway and the NY Jets are heading into their bye week after beating the Buffalo Bills 20-17 in one of the biggest upsets in recent years at MetLife Stadium. The Jets currently sit at 6-3 with two divisional wins and are a half-game out of first place in the AFC East. 

After losing 22-17 to the New England Patriots, the Jets could not take another step in the wrong direction. Zach Wilson had three careless turnovers, costing the Jets a winnable game.

With Josh Allen, Patrick Mahomes, Lamar Jackson, and other great quarterbacks who made great progress during their sophomore seasons, there is a lot of pressure on Wilson.

After injuring the same knee he had sprained last season, which caused him to miss four games, he took the time to reassess his mechanics and the speed of the game.

The NY Jets need Zach Wilson to be safe and consistent

The Jets are 5-1 with Wilson commanding the offense, and general manager Joe Douglas has expressed his faith in his young quarterback, saying “I know the focus was on the turnovers, but we love Zach, we love the way his approach is every week, love his competitive nature, and he’s our quarterback,” to reporters following the loss to New England. 

After a lackluster performance, Wilson stepped up against Buffalo and fixed his mistakes. Wilson was poised in the pocket and trusted the protection. When needed on third down, he used his legs to pick up the first.

Wilson had a couple of opportunities to keep the ball during run-pass-option plays, but he only kept two, which both kept the drive alive. On the goal line, instead of trying to make a play and throw something up that could've been intercepted, he instead took the sack.

Wilson 18 of 25 pass attempts for 154 yards and a touchdown in Week 9 to go along with a 72% completion percentage and zero turnovers. He also tallied a QB rating of 101.1 which is the highest of any quarterback to play the Buffalo Bills defense this year.

Wilson must parlay this zero-turnover play into the second half of the season if this Jets team is going to make a playoff run.