Getty New York Jets quarterback Zach Wilson celebrating in the end zone after catching a touchdown.
It wasn’t pretty and quite frankly at times it was downright ugly but QB Zach Wilson found a way to deliver in the clutch when his team needed him most.
The New York Jets secured a dramatic comeback win in the fourth quarter over the Pittsburgh Steelers winning 24-20.
Zach Wilson Has Officially Arrived for the Jets
If you just look at the box score from this contest you likely won’t be impressed.
Wilson was 18-of-36 for 252 passing yards and tossed two interceptions. The second-year quarterback finished with a 59 QBR and looked rusty coming off of a massive layoff.
However, his performance goes beyond the stats, in key moments throughout the game Wilson displayed the potential that made him the No. 2 overall pick in the 2021 NFL draft.
Zack Rosenblatt of The Athletic put it best on Twitter: since the Jets walked away with the victory the only stat that truly matters is the game-winning drive in the final quarter.
Wilson was 5-of-5 for 57 yards and the Jets scored a touchdown to take the lead. Ultimately the defense held serve and Gang Green is now 2-2 on the season.
Since the #Jets won, the only Zach Wilson stat that really matters today:
5/5 for 57 yards on a game-winning scoring drive in the fourth quarter.
Although Brian Costello of the New York Post had one stat even greater when you evaluate the entire fourth quarter:
Zach Wilson was 10-of-12 for 128 yards and a touchdown in the fourth quarter. A QB rating of 138.9.
After Wilson delivered in the clutch social media was set ablaze stating that QB1 has officially arrived:
Twitter user Jarred said Wilson has officially arrived baby “let’s f****** go!”
Zach Wilson has officially arrived baby let’s fucking go #TakeFlight
The Zach Wilson Potential Is Through the Roof
We’ve mentioned a few times throughout this column that Wilson wasn’t perfect, far from it as a matter of fact.
However, that was completely expected coming off of a long layoff.
Wilson got hurt in the preseason opener, but that barely counts as actual football activity. He really hasn’t played since the end of last season.
If we are basing it off of that, Wilson last played on January 9. Today is October 2. It has been nine long months in between with a knee injury thrown in there.
If Wilson was able to accomplish what he did in Pittsburgh after that amount of time away, just imagine what he’ll be able to do as he stacks these days together.
There are a lot of reasons to be optimistic. The Jets are 2-2 and they are firmly in the hunt at the beginning of a season.
However, the thing that should rev your engine more than anything if you’re a Jets fan is you have a quarterback that you believe in. When you have that you can be in any football game you want to be.
Wilson is only going to continue to get better as he gets more reps in. The Jets finally have the proper supporting cast around a young quarterback and that’s incredibly encouraging.
A promising offensive coordinator, a slew of talented skill players, and a team that has a lot of grit. There will be plenty of questions about the offensive line moving forward, but just like Wilson, they found a way to be just good enough to get the job done.