Zach Wilson played one of the best games of his young career on Sunday, when he went toe-to-toe with Josh Allen and led the Jets to a 20–17 victory over the Buffalo Bills.
The second-year signal caller finished the game with 18 completions on 25 attempts (72%) for 154 yards and a touchdown. Wilson also added 24 rushing yards, and finished with a 101.1 quarterback rating.
Wilson’s biggest mistake was a fumble halfway through the third quarter when he was sacked by Von Miller — though the team got the ball back two plays later when Sauce Gardner picked-off Allen.
Beyond his statistics, the 23-year-old passer made several clutch plays on third down during the matchup, and played with the efficiency that the Jets coaching staff had been looking for all game.
Wilson’s only touchdown of the game came with just over four minutes left in the third quarter, when he connected with newly-acquired running back James Robinson inside the redzone for a seven yard score to take the lead 17–14.
TOUCHDOWN: Zach Wilson 7-yd TD pass to James Robinson#Bills 14 #Jets 17 3rd pic.twitter.com/HaJaR13JE0
— Sᴘᴏʀᴛs 24/7 (@Sports_24x7_) November 6, 2022
Throughout the game, Wilson completed passes to eight different receivers, with rookie Garrett Wilson leading the way with eight catches and 92 yards.
“He’s gonna be a good football player,” said head coach Robert Saleh. “He’s still a pup in this league and he’s got a long way to go, but I thought he did a really nice job today.”
“He was poised today. He prepared well. He did a lot of good things, and he kept his composure throughout the game.”
Especially impressive, the Jets quarterback played notably better than Bills quarterback Josh Allen, who is widely considered to be among the favorites to win MVP this season.
Allen completed 18 of 34 passes for 205 yards, while tossing two interceptions and no touchdowns. He did, however, run for 86 yards and two scores in the game.
The game marked a significant rebound from last week for Wilson, who threw three interceptions in the team’s loss to the New England Patriots.
“I don’t really care what anyone says. This was a huge team win,” Wilson said in response to the criticism from last week.
This season, the Jets are 5–1 this season with Wilson under center.
Sunday’s win, which was the quarterback’s 19th professional game, showed the potential that Gang Green saw when they drafted him second overall in the 2021 NFL Draft out of BYU — and, hopefully for Jets fans, marks a new-normal for his play.
