Zach Wilson had his fair share of struggles in his first game back from a knee injury suffered in New England.
New York Jets quarterback Zach Wilson finally made his much-anticipated return to the field this past Sunday in Houston. And while most Jets fans were glad to see him back on the field, he didn’t exactly light it up.
Wilson finished the day with 145 passing yards, no touchdowns, an interception, and a passer rating of 58.3. He was timid, inaccurate and ineffective for most of the game, missing easy throws underneath more often than completing them.
Forty-six of Wilson’s 145 yards came on a long catch and run by receiver Braxton Berrios, further inflating his already underwhelming stats. Subtracting the Berrios catch, Wilson had an average yards-per-attempt of 4.1, which would have ranked as his lowest mark of the season.
Zach Wilson’s biggest flaw before getting hurt was overaggression, and it appears the rookie has overcorrected in the other direction in the time away.
Wilson avoided taking risky shots to covered targets, a sign of growth fans should be hopeful for. However, Wilson’s short accuracy could only be described as unreliable, and while he was making good decisions, he wasn’t hitting the target.
Wilson’s accuracy issues are mainly a product of poor footwork and overthinking.
Accurate passing starts from the ground up. If a quarterback does not properly set their feet, step into the throw, and follow through with ample hip rotation, they will rarely be accurate.
On shorter throws, Wilson is abandoning his lower body and instead is trusting his arm to do all the work, leading his usually clean throwing mechanics to fall apart.
Bad throwing mechanics can neutralize even the most gifted throwers. As talented as Wilson’s arm is, he can not be a routinely accurate passer with his arm alone.
In order for Wilson to fix his problems, he must learn to stay calm in the pocket, set his feet, and trust in his muscle memory to take over.
The Oklahoma Drill Podcast is back to review an ugly Jets win in Houston. The crew breaks down Zach Wilson’s comeback, a dominant day from the defense, and what to expect from the coming matchup with the Eagles.
For the first time this year, the Jets won a game despite bad quarterback play. That’s not a winning formula in the NFL, and if the Jets want to keep the win streak going, Zach Wilson has to improve.
