Heading into week 4 of the NFL season, a lot was made of the return of the Jets year two signal caller Zach Wilson, who missed the first three games with a meniscus tear and bone bruise in his right knee.
After a poor rookie year, it has become vital for Wilson to show significant improvement, and Sunday vs. the Steelers was a good step in doing so.
Wilson finished the game throwing 18 of 36 with 252 passing yards, one touchdown, two interceptions, and even a receiving touchdown. Do the numbers blow you away? No, but the growth was evident.
Wilson came back from 10 down with 13:36 left by orchestrating an 11-play, 81-yard drive that ended with a 5-yard TD laser to Corey Davis to bring them within 3 points.
Wilson relayed a powerful message to his team as the Jets offense prepared to head back onto the field with 3:34 left on the clock.
Breece Hall recalls it as “Let’s go score an effing touchdown.” Then later describes Wilson as having “Big Balls” due to his calm demeanor when the game is on the line.
The Final Drive
On the final drive, Wilson was 5/5 for 57 yards with a few big-time completions to Corey Davis and Tyler Conklin. After a tough day on the ground, Breece Hall punched it in with a 2-yard touchdown run that put the Jets up 24-20 with only 16 seconds left on the clock.
After the game, Wilson vocalized the belief he had that the Jets were scoring on the last drive by saying:
“Yeah, 100 percent. From the beginning, I think there was no doubt in mind … I feel like as an offense, you can just feel it.” Then not went on to say, “This is probably the most comfortable I’ve ever felt coming into a game.”
Now the time has come for Wilson and the Jets to ride the momentum and build upon their strong finish as they face their long-time division rival Miami Dolphins next Sunday.
It is no easy task as the Dolphins are currently 3-1, but the winner of that game could have sole position of first or second place in the very competitive AFC east.
The vibes are good around the return of Zach Wilson, but the next step is proving he could string together a complete game, start to finish.
