Although Taylor Swift’s star-studded suite was supposed to be the biggest storyline of Sunday Night Football, Zach Wilson’s resurgence may have stolen the spotlight from the international superstar. He played one of the best games of his career with the weight of the world on his shoulders — and looked a lot like Aaron Rodgers in one very specific moment.
Wilson, the former No. 2 overall pick, was not impressive during his first two seasons. His starting job was in question for much of last year, and he later lost the job all together when the four-time NFL MVP arrived in New York Jersey during the offseason.
The plan was for Wilson to learn behind Rodgers, one of the greatest to ever do it. And then Rodgers blew out his achilles during his fourth play of the year.
Wilson was thrust back into the starting role and was largely uninspiring during an overtime win over Buffalo and losses to Dallas and New England. His performance against the Patriots was particularly bad.
As a result, his job was (and still is) very much on the line. Wilson needed to prove that he deserves the QB1 role against the reining Super Bowl champions in primetime, with the entire world on Swift watch.
He did!
Wilson went 28-of-39 for 245 yards with two touchdowns, without an interception, in a three-point loss. It was arguably the best outing of his career to date.
Zach Wilson’s offseason growth was on display.
New York’s first touchdown of the evening came midway through the second quarter. Wilson used a fantastic ball-fake to catch the defense sleeping and delivered a laser to his tight end. He was patient in the pocket, smart with his throw, and dropped a dime.
The play was eerily reminiscent of a very specific moment during HBO’s Hard Knocks. Jets quarterbacks, including Wilson, spent time going over practice tape to critique Rodgers’ play-fakes.
They broke down why Rodgers is so successful at keeping the ball away, and keeping defenses guessing. He gives the offense an extra second to develop in a way that many other quarterbacks are unable. It’s all about the sell.
Apparently Wilson was taking notes. His textbook ball fake on Sunday night incorporated all of his offseason learnings and was successful. The full-circle moment was pretty cool to watch play out in real time!
Wilson played well against Kansas City. Head coach Robert Saleh said after the game: “if he plays like that, we’re gonna win a lot of football games.”
“If” is the key word there. Wilson will have the next chance to prove himself against the Broncos in Denver next weekend. Will we see another AR12-like ball fake?!