Worst Of All Worlds In Jets’ Pyrrhic Victory Over Texans
The NFL may be one of the last bastions of appointment viewing, but some games end up getting thrown into the proverbial “It’s a shame one team has to win” dumpster.
The Jets’ 21-14 victory in Houston on Sunday in quarterback Zach Wilson’s return from a four-game absence due to a PCL strain clearly falls in that category. In this Battle of the Bums, New York (3-8) and Houston (2-9) traded follies until the Texans just gave up on the game’s final snap, bypassing a Hail Mary that always seems to have at least a chance to draw a pass interference penalty in favor of a short sideline route as the clock ran out.
If only Jets fans could feel enthused about the team’s first road win of the season. The problem is that whereas some went all in on for yet another Jets Tank to secure prime position in the 2022 NFL Draft when Wilson was felled in the Week 7 debacle in New England (or earlier), there are many, including me, who wouldn’t stress a drop in a few slots if it meant that Wilson and Head Coach Robert Saleh started to exhibit signs that they could one day grow into the right stuff.
Unfortunately, that wasn’t the case on Sunday. In the worst of all worlds, Houston leapfrogged over New York into the second draft slot and both Jets rookies underwhelmed.
Wilson (14-for-24 for 145 yards with 1 interception and 4 sacks taken) may have been initially hindered by offensive coordinator Mike LaFleur’s regressive early play-calling (3 first-down runs totaling 1 yard) until the Jets got behind, 14-3, but it’s clear that much of the time, he is his own worst enemy. His inaccuracy in the short passing attack under which backups Mike White, Josh Johnson, and Joe Flacco all thrived can be traced to what Saleh labeled Wilson’s “little rockets,” fastballs that called for finer touch.
The interception, with Wilson scrambling out of the pocket only to shovel the ball to running back Ty Johnson just as he turned his back, with the carom popping up in the air and into the hands of diving Houston cornerback Tavierre Thomas, was cringe-worthy enough, but let’s not gloss over the times the Jets were very lucky to avoid further calamities on two other turnover-worthy throws from Wilson and his sack/fumble that somehow skipped out of bounds. On another sack, Wilson once again failed to grasp the notion that it’s better to throw the ball away when you’ve reached the sideline than to run out of bounds for a loss.
After that particular third-down play, Wilson limped off the field to have the Jets medical staff check his right knee, the same one he injured. He didn’t miss a snap, but it’s something to monitor, despite his assurances afterwards that it can’t get worse. This kid needs all the reps he can get.
To be fair, it wasn’t all bad for Wilson, who made some nice throws that helped the Jets move the chains and also scored his first rushing touchdown on a nifty four-yard RPO in the third quarter to give New York an 18-14 lead. The Jets offense was down Michael Carter (ankle), the rookie who was developing into a featured running back, and No. 1 receiver Corey Davis (groin), so the plan called for more of a game manager.
Overall, though, Wilson averaged minus-0.21 expected points added per play and a minus-9.1 completion percentage over expected, according to rbsdm.com, against a terrible Texans squad who scratched one of their top defensive players in safety Justin Reid for disciplinary reasons. On the site’s quarterback efficiency graph that plots both metrics for the season, Wilson is all alone in the bottom left quadrant, far worse than any of the league’s other rookies, including Texans backup QB Davis Mills, a third-rounder who lost six consecutive starts earlier this season.
That’s not what Jets fans were hoping for this season when General Manager Joe Douglas made Wilson the No. 2 overall pick in the 2021 Draft. While it’s rare for rookie QBs to dominate at this level right out of the gate, the track record for players who have played this poorly doesn’t bode well for Wilson. As much as Pittsburgh’s Ben Roethlisberger is an anomaly, so is Buffalo’s Josh Allen, who needed a third season to make a major leap.
Of course, Allen benefitted from a stellar supporting cast and superb coaching staff, which Wilson so far lacks in New York. LaFleur has grown into the OC role after a dismal start, but he could be weighed down by Saleh, who continues to botch game management decisions that are undoubtedly influenced by a defensive bent. Why else would Saleh use a timeout with 1:07 remaining in the first half when Houston had the ball? Those extra seconds nearly gifted the Texans a late score but for a stupid play call on a third-and-one from just outside midfield that resulted in a four-yard loss.
On a Jets drive in the middle of the fourth quarter, Saleh burned not one, but two timeouts on back-to-back plays. Somehow, the Jets came out of a booth review without knowing where to line up and, after the ensuing third down play put them a yard short, Saleh sent out Matt Ammendola to attempt a field goal but then changed his mind. That Saleh eventually landed on the correct decision to go for it—with Elijah Moore taking a jet sweep around the left end for seven yards--only partially obfuscates his malfeasance of being ill-prepared for such a moment. Late-game timeouts have immense value in close games--having even one extra one might have been helpful in the prior week’s loss to Miami.
It's still early enough in the Wilson/Saleh era to jump to any conclusions about their futures, but the evidence from this game isn’t helpful despite the outcome. While I’m not a pro-tank enthusiast, I’d like to see progress in the process. Otherwise, results like this will be nothing more than Pyrrhic victories.