Getty Image / Stacy Revere
The New York Jets have surprised football fans this season by staying unexpectedly competitive in a strong AFC East. The Jets currently find themselves in 2nd place in the division after pulling off a shocking upset over the Buffalo Bills in Week 9 that pushed their record to 6-3.
While many would have believed going into the season that any major improvement from the Jets in 2022 would require a big step up from 2nd year quarterback Zach Wilson, that hasn’t really been the case.
Wilson has struggled once again this season, only throwing 4 touchdown passes in his first 6 games while also throwing 5 interceptions. His 57.5% completion percentage is among the worst in the league and he has only thrown for over 200 yards in half of his games.
While those numbers are disappointing for a former #2 pick in his second season, his numbers under pressure are far worse. Some new stats from NFL Live show just how much worse.
#Jets Zach Wilson is the very worst QB under pressure in the NFL, and it's not close.
The Jets are winning, but the QB position isn't really helping.
Wilson will face a #Patriots defense that is ranked 3rd in pressure % on Sunday. pic.twitter.com/ttKFwd8Buo
— Dov Kleiman (@NFL_DovKleiman) November 18, 2022
This seems to paint a pretty clear picture of how to beat the Jets right now.
Just how bad Wilson has been against pressure was on full display the first time the Jets and Patriots met back in Week 8. Wilson badly struggled in that game, throwing 3 interceptions and completing just 48.8% of his pass attempts. The Patriots won the game 22-17.
Now he’ll have to face the constant pressure that the Patriots defense brings in New England this weekend in what will likely be a very important game in the playoff race.
Luckily for Wilson, the team’s defense and run game has been able to carry them to wins this season, but there will only be so far they can carry the team if he doesn’t figure out how to find some kind of success against pressure,