Zach Wilson led the offense onto the field late in the third quarter Thursday night and was booed loudly. The fans at MetLife Stadium let the Jets’ second-year quarterback know exactly how they felt about him.
Robert Saleh benched Wilson moments later and inserted preseason folk hero Chris Streveler, elevated from the practice squad before the game. The move couldn’t save the Jets or their season, though, and everything that happened certainly hurt Wilson’s staying power with the team.
This was a must-win game for the Jets — and they didn’t show up in a 19-3 loss to Jacksonville in their home finale.
The Jets’ playoff hopes are hanging by a strand of tinsel after their fourth straight defeat and fifth in six games. They are 7-8 and dropped to 10th in the AFC playoff race. The Jaguars (7-8) moved ahead of them into the ninth spot by virtue of the head-to-head tiebreaker. The top seven teams make it.
“This was embarrassing,” cornerback D.J. Reed said. “How we played, the product that we put out was just embarrassing and just frustrating.”
The fans who braved the heavy rains and winds voiced their disgust loudly, and Wilson was the target of most of them.
This was a big moment for the Jets’ embattled quarterback, and he didn’t elevate his game at all. In fact, he played terribly. He completed 9 of 18 passes for 92 yards, no touchdowns and one interception. It was the second time in three starts that Wilson was held under 100 yards passing and the second time he was benched this season.
Robert Saleh didn’t classify it as a benching; he said he was looking for Streveler to provide a spark for the Jets’ struggling running game. They were outgained 115-4 in rushing yards in the first half.
The Jets had a package of plays for the hard-charging Streveler, who was active for the first time this season. He entered with 3:31 left in the third quarter and Saleh ended up sticking with him for the remainder of the game.
Streveler led the Jets in rushing with 54 yards on nine carries and completed 10 of 15 passes for 90 yards.
“We were trying to change up to get the run game going,” Saleh said. “I know Zach was struggling. Streveler came in, ran a couple of plays, sparked the offense, got the explosive play, and so it just snowballed in a good way for Strev.”
The Jets’ quarterback situation is a mess. The whole offense is. Saleh isn’t ready to reveal who will start their next game on Jan. 1. By then, there’s a chance Mike White, who has fractured ribs, will be cleared.
Either way, two different quarterbacks have been able to move the football better than Wilson, the No. 2 pick in last year’s draft. It was a humbling moment for him to be pulled from this nationally televised game. Wilson was totally ineffective and he acknowledged it.
“I just felt like I had no rhythm out there,” he said. “Just trying to find some confidence on the field, just find something to get us going, a little spark. I had opportunities and I got to be able to connect on those. Right now I just got to put my head down and try and get better for these guys. It’s not good enough.”
After Quinnen Williams had a strip sack that was recovered by Carl Lawson, the Jets took over at the Jaguars’ 16 for their first possession of the game but mustered only a field goal.
On Streveler’s first drive, he led the Jets 73 yards to the Jaguars’ 13 before turning the ball over on downs. He completed a 30-yard pass to C.J. Uzomah and ran for 14, 10 and 8 yards during the drive.
The Jets totaled only 78 yards in their previous seven possessions with Wilson, who understood the move to Streveler.
“You have to look at it from a team perspective,” he said. “We’re not doing anything offensively. Chris was able to give us a little bit of a spark and move the ball a little bit. He’s always going to lay it out for the guys. You could see that was the most we moved the ball all day, so you can’t blame them there.”
Trevor Lawrence, who was selected with the No. 1 overall pick last year, showed the Jets what could have been if they had just lost one more game during their 2-14 season in 2020. He was 20-for-31 for 229 yards and ran for 51 yards and the game’s only touchdown on a 1-yard keep-and-leap.
Wilson will take most of the criticism, but the Jets were just outplayed and outclassed on both sides of the ball. The offensive line continues to struggle. The Jets rushed for only 66 yards to the Jaguars’ 147, and their three running backs gained 11 yards on 10 carries.
The defense gave up a 16-play, 96-yard touchdown drive in the first half that ate up 8 minutes and 15 seconds.
“It’s not about playoffs right now,” Saleh said. “Just really disappointed about this showing today. Right now it’s not about playoffs. It’s getting off this mat and trying to freakin’ find a way to put together a football game.”
The Jets have bigger problems than that.
Al Iannazzone covers the Jets for Newsday after spending nearly two decades on the NBA beat with Knicks and Nets.
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