Getty New York Jets quarterback Zach Wilson watching on the sideline during an NFL game.
The New York Jets improved to 7-4 on the season with a 31-10 blowout victory over the Chicago Bears.
Earlier in the week head coach Robert Saleh announced that he was making a change at the quarterback position. Zach Wilson became a healthy scratch and Mike White assumed the new duties as QB1.
The early returns paid off in a major way as White delivered arguably the best performance by a Jets quarterback this season:
- 315 passing yards
- Three touchdowns to zero interceptions
- 149.3 quarterback rating
- 11.3 yards per attempt
Jets Fans Provide Their Caption for QB Zach Wilson
In the middle of all of White’s success on the field, the NFL on Fox cameras caught a glimpse of Wilson on the sideline in the pouring rain with his hood on.
I tweeted out that photo with the caption, “I wonder what is going through the head of Jets quarterback Zach Wilson as he’s watching this Bears game?”
NY Jets Situation Report said, “Damn!! I lost my job!”
@BoyGreen25 “Damn!! I lost my job!”
A very popular response from fans was comparing Wilson with his hood on to Anakin Skywalker before he is “about to turn to the dark side.”
@BoyGreen25 Looks like Anakin Skywalker about to turn to the dark side
Some folks decided to let weather thoughts creep into their caption with it pouring rain throughout the entire contest versus the Bears.
One of the reasons Wilson lost his starting job was due to a lack of accountability after the New England Patriots’ loss. Perhaps he has had a change of heart seeing a different quarterback take the reps under center.
@BoyGreen25 Maybe I was the problem
Another common thought among fans is maybe Wilson could have balled out against the Bears as White did. This Chicago defense had given up more points than any other team in football over the last month.
White was set up for success this week while in theory, Wilson was playing against much better competition in the middle portion of the season.
@BoyGreen25 Zach Wilson probably would have balled. Bears D I’d horrible and they lost players all game as well
Some believe that this White performance will unofficially mark the end of Wilson’s career with the Jets. A fan used a custom SpongeBob meme to express that very thought:
@BoyGreen25 Prob this
NFL Insider Reveals the Root of Jets-Zach Wilson Issues
NFL Insider Jay Glazer provided his inside scoop on why the Jets decided to make a change to the quarterback depth chart:
“Zach Wilson has lost confidence in himself [and] the team has lost confidence in Zach Wilson. [He] has lost confidence in his footwork, mechanics, and what he sees out there. I can’t tell you when he’s going to get that confidence back but they are not going to put him back in until he regains that. The team does not have confidence in Zach Wilson. When he went and talked/apologized to the team this week they felt like he was contrite but it was also the first time they felt like they met the real Zach Wilson. There is just a disconnect there.”
Zach Wilson has ‘lost confidence in himself & the #Jets ‘have lost confidence in Zach Wilson’ 😳 + ‘his footwork, mechanics, & what he sees out there’ + they aren’t going to put him back out there until he regains that + explained disconnect: 🎥 @NFLonFOX @JayGlazer #TakeFlight
When Saleh made the change he made it a point to tell the media that this isn’t the end of Wilson’s time here with the Jets. As a matter of fact, he said the full intention of the team is to get the former No. 2 overall pick back on the field at some point this season.
Saleh and the Jets have not revealed those full plans to the public, but that is their goal.
Before the games got underway on Sunday, Ian Rapoport and Mike Garafolo released a joint report with one source saying “it’s definitely not over” for Zach Wilson and the Jets.
“It’s definitely not over,” a source told @RapSheet, @MikeGarafolo about Zach Wilson’s tenure w/ the #Jets.
We know at a minimum that a return won’t be happening this week after a stellar performance by White. Saleh wasn’t asked about his future quarterback plans during the post-game presser.