The New York Jets created opportunities for Zach Wilson, but he could not capitalize on them
As part of my instant reaction to the New York Jets’ Week 3 loss to the New England Patriots, I included offensive coordinator Nathaniel Hackett as one of my two primary culprits for the loss, alongside quarterback Zach Wilson.
But after rewatching the film from the game, I came away thinking a little bit differently about Hackett’s performance.
While I stand by my criticisms of Hackett – he needs to distribute snaps more effectively and be less predictable with his play calling – the film revealed that Hackett was actually dialing up successful passing concepts on a consistent basis throughout the game. Wilson just kept botching them.
Despite Hackett’s faults, I firmly believe a league-average quarterback would have led the Jets to either two or three more touchdowns than Wilson did if they were placed into his shoes. Wilson continuously failed to capitalize on open receivers, leaving a ton of yards, first downs, and touchdowns on the field.
Let’s take a look at some of Wilson’s most egregious reps from the loss.
4th & 10, Q4, 1:26, game on the line. Good protection. Lazard separates and is open. Zach Wilson instead checks it down to Conklin. pic.twitter.com/p61IKYX691
— Michael Nania (@Michael_Nania) September 25, 2023
Every fan was angered when they saw Wilson throw a checkdown to Tyler Conklin on fourth-and-10 with the game on the line. While anger is always warranted when you see such a thing, it’s impossible to fully blame the quarterback without first viewing the All-22 and seeing whether he had any better options available. In this case, we can see that Wilson did indeed have a good option available downfield in Allen Lazard, who separates toward the sideline on a corner route, but Wilson still checks it down – even with a clean pocket.
3rd & 10, 1:31 Q4. Garrett Wilson wide open on drag, Zach Wilson misses it initially and doesn't target him until it's way too late pic.twitter.com/Mex3I6Ss10
— Michael Nania (@Michael_Nania) September 25, 2023
One play earlier on third-and-10, Wilson had a chance to at least create a shorter fourth down if he targeted Garrett Wilson, who was wide open on a drag route over the middle. But Zach doesn’t see it until too late and misses the throw.
2nd & 10, 1:35 in Q4. Conklin has a step and there's a window, Zach Wilson misses from clean pocket. Tough throw but it's there and he's under zero pressure – a catchable ball would at least create PI opportunity.
Great protection vs. 5 man rush (Carter with a great block) pic.twitter.com/Y2tSSojGcv
— Michael Nania (@Michael_Nania) September 25, 2023
Wilson actually missed three opportunities in a row on that drive. On second-and-10, Wilson misses a window to hit Tyler Conklin, who gains a step on his defender. It’s definitely not an easy throw, but it’s one that any NFL quarterback should be able to hit at a fairly good clip – especially when throwing from a pristine pocket as Wilson does here.
That’ll be a theme in these clips. Wilson was often given great protection but made the offensive line look worse than it actually was by holding the ball too long or running himself into trouble.
(2nd & 5) Not sure why Zach Wilson targets Lazard to the opposite hash on the out route when he sees the CB sitting on the outside with ideal leverage. Meanwhile Garrett Wilson cooks his man on the same route to the near side.
I don't know what the read is here, but it feels… pic.twitter.com/8ZEqpfD4Zd
— Michael Nania (@Michael_Nania) September 25, 2023
This one isn’t quite as egregious as the rest of the plays in here, and I’m speculating a bit as to whether Wilson is truly at fault (it’s hard to say without knowing how he is told to read this). However, it’s puzzling why Wilson chose Allen Lazard’s opposite-hash out route when he had Garrett Wilson running the same route on the near side.
As it turns out, Lazard’s route was well-covered while Wilson burned his defender. Plus, with Lazard’s defender having heavy outside leverage, Wilson probably shouldn’t even have attempted the throw. If he looked off Lazard and progressed to Garrett, he had enough time to make the throw thanks to the protection and the large amount of separation created by Garrett.
3rd & 13, two misses.
First, Garrett Wilson is wide open for a back-shoulder fade as the CB drops deep and Garrett is covered by a defender retreating from the LOS.
Two, Michael Carter leaks out and beats the LB, seems to have an ideal angle and enough space to potentially… pic.twitter.com/vpPDeumFLS
— Michael Nania (@Michael_Nania) September 25, 2023
On third-and-13 here, Garrett Wilson is immediately open on the fade route, as his defender drops into a two-high shell to leave him covered only by a defender retreating from the line of scrimmage. Zach never looks Garrett’s way. Zach could also go to Michael Carter, who wins on an angle route and has the leverage to potentially pick up the first down. Instead, Zach goes to the opposite side and checks it down to a non-YAC threat in Tyler Conklin.
3rd & 6, Cobb open over the middle, Zach Wilson targets Garrett short of the sticks pic.twitter.com/KsmMbZE06F
— Michael Nania (@Michael_Nania) September 25, 2023
On third-and-6, Randall Cobb is open over the middle on a crossing route, but Zach instead targets Garrett to the outside on a route that breaks short of the sticks. It’s really not the worst decision, but it would take a perfect throw for Garrett to catch the ball in a way where he could reach the sticks after the catch, and a perfect throw is not what Zach delivers. If Zach noticed the middle of the field vacated, he could have looked Cobb’s way for a much easier shot at the conversion.
3rd & 3, great protection (Michael Carter!), Garrett Wilson has a 1v1 and gets separation coming back toward the QB.
Zach Wilson never looks his way and starts running around despite being under little pressure pic.twitter.com/7we1QIjz9e
— Michael Nania (@Michael_Nania) September 25, 2023
The previous play showed Zach forcing the ball to Garrett when it wasn’t ideal. On this play, Zach should force the ball to Garrett but doesn’t. Garrett has a favorable 1-on-1 to the field side and creates separation coming back toward Zach. But Zach never even looks his way. After finishing his reads on the left side, Zach starts to jitter around despite no immediate pressure bearing down on him. He runs left and never gets a chance to see Garrett open.
Randall Cobb wide open on the corner route for a potential massive gain, Zach Wilson never looks at it and tries a checkdown on 2nd & 22 pic.twitter.com/WoFfPU71uY
— Michael Nania (@Michael_Nania) September 25, 2023
This is a tougher one to truly criticize without knowing how Wilson is taught to read the play. On second-and-22, perhaps the play calls for him to take the quick-hitter immediately if he sees it, even if it means disregarding the deeper options. Still, when you have a receiver running this wide open down the field and the protection up front is good, it’s hard not to wonder if someone whose last name rhymes with “Dodgers” would have explored all his options on this play and found Cobb for a gain of at least 30-40 yards.
3rd & 7, excellent protection, Garrett Wilson is wide open between the flat defender and deep safety, possible TD if thrown well. Zach Wilson instead takes a checkdown pic.twitter.com/ES6q8lYOb1
— Michael Nania (@Michael_Nania) September 25, 2023
Being third-and-7, it’s hard to justify Zach throwing a checkdown at the sticks with two linebackers in the area when he has Garrett running a go route to the near side. Again, I’m not in the meeting room, but it feels as if Zach should at least check on Garrett here. If he did, he would see that the flat defender lets Garrett free way too early, leaving Wilson wide open in a huge patch of grass between the flat defender and the deep safety. At the very least, Zach can hit Garrett with a Cover 2 hole shot for the first down. With a perfect throw, this could be a touchdown.
The Jets offense has a lot of issues right now. Despite them all, there were still enough opportunities available on Sunday for New York to score a lot more points if the quarterback simply performed at an average level. Unfortunately, Zach Wilson is holding the Jets back. Who could’ve seen this coming after he was benched twice last year due to costly reps on film that looked just like these?
New York’s refusal to add a true veteran backup in the offseason is coming back to haunt them.
