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After playing arguably the best game of his NFL career against the defending Super Bowl champions, Zach Wilson received some words of encouragement from reigning MVP Patrick Mahomes.
Following the New York Jets 23-20 loss to the Kansas City Chiefs on Sunday Night Football (in front of Taylor Swift, Blake Lively, Ryan Reynolds, Hugh Jackman, and more), Mahomes and Wilson met on the field for a handshake.
Clearly sensing the pressure Wilson has been under and how well he just played despite it, Mahomes encouraged the third-year signal-caller by telling him to “play like that all year.”
Mahomes says a few more words to Wilson during the dap-up but it’s largely unintelligible.
classy by Mahomes to Zach Wilson… "Hey, play like that all year!…" pic.twitter.com/Wuq2bDsJQt
— GC (@ValverdeSZN) October 2, 2023
Mahomes isn’t the only athlete to be praising Wilson’s performance, as LeBron James hopped on social media to try and gas Wilson up, as well.
“Helluva game kid! You win as a team and lose as well as a team! 1 play doesn’t define the whole game! Keep ya head up high and keep pushing forward!! If it was easy, everyone would do it!” LeBron posted on Instagram.
Similarly, during a postgame interview with NBC Sports’ Rodney Harrison — voted the dirtiest player in the league multiple times over the course of his career — Chiefs’ star defensive tackle Chris Jones refused to be baited into bashing Wilson and instead praised him.
“Honestly, if I’m being completely honest, we knew it was going to be a battle. He’s continuing to get better week in and week out, and he’s continuing to lead week in and week out,” Jones said.
Despite further prodding from Harrison to contribute to his “Zach Wilson is garbage” narrative, Jones stayed the course and continued to pay respect to his competitor and fellow pro.
“Like I said, Zach Wilson is special, man. You’ve just got to give the guy time,” Jones said after watching Wilson complete 28 of 39 passes for 245 yards and two touchdowns against him and his title-winning defense.
While the narrative around Wilson suddenly changing and the NFL world seeming to get behind him is certainly a nice story, it’s not going to mean anything if he goes out and plays another stinker against the Denver Broncos.
This moment could be a true springboard for Wilson’s career, but only if he builds on it.