NY Jets studs, duds following loss to the Patriots in Week 11

Phew… that was rough. Coming off the bye week expectations were high for the NY Jets to get their revenge on the Patriots and take over first place in the AFC East. That did not happen. They lost and fell to last place in the division and are now out of the playoff picture altogether. 

Let’s take a look at some of the studs and duds from this week’s game.

Defense, NY Jets - STUD

The defense deserves credit for this performance, only allowing three points to the team that scored 22 on them a few weeks ago. They stepped up time after time and although there were some tackling issues and some issues on third downs, they never collapsed.

The offensive struggles gave the defense plenty of reason to want to give up but they never did. Jets' defenses of the past certainly would have. 

Quinnen Williams continued to play like the player he has been all season recording one of the Jets' six sacks on the day and recording a team-high 84.5 grade from Pro Football Focus.

Zach Wilson, NY Jets - DUD

This game was about as bad as one could have imagined for Zach Wilson. Wilson only completed 9-of-22 passes for 77 yards. Although the stat sheet will say zero interceptions, he got bailed out twice with the Patriots dropping two easy interceptions.

As mentioned last week, Wilson was going to have to win a game with his arm if the Jets could not get the run game going like they couldn’t this week, and Wilson simply failed. The Patriots gave the Jets' offense every chance to win this game and they could only muster three points. 

It was a nightmare game for Wilson he missed easy throws, took bad sacks and did not take accountability for his mistakes postgame and seemingly angering some of his teammates. 

Wilson finished with a team-worst 29.9 grade from PFF.

Running Game, NY Jets - DUD

How much of this is due to Zach Wilson not being able to throw the ball downfield? Probably a lot, but either way the Jets' offense has been powered by the run game, and this week it was nonexistent. 

Whether it is Wilson or Mike White under center next week against the Bears, the run game will have to have more success for the Jets to have a chance to win.

Overall

This is the game that turned most Jets fans against Zach Wilson, the bad play that cost them the game and the answers he gave post-game rubbed his coaches, teammates and fans all the wrong way. 

The path back into their good graces will be a difficult one for Wilson as we wait to see if he is still the starting quarterback. One thing is certainly clear, the Jets will most likely have a new quarterback in 2023.

Zach Wilson or Mike White will look to get the Jets back on track in Week 12 against the Bears.