Jets quarterback Zach Wilson put together what was easily his best performance of the season in Sunday night’s loss to the Kansas City Chiefs, and fans and coaches weren’t the only ones impressed with the young signal-caller.
Injured quarterback Aaron Rodgers, who rejoined the team this past weekend and was in attendance on Sunday night, said Tuesday on The Pat McAfee Show that he was “proud” of the way Wilson played.
“Zach’s a young kid. He’s learning, he’s growing, he’s on his path and his journey, and I’m very proud of the leadership that he showed. I’m proud of the way he played,” Rodgers said. “I don’t need to pull him aside and tell him anything special. There wasn’t some pep talk that I gave him that made him play better. I felt like the plan was a good plan, he got into a rhythm there in the second quarter and made a bunch of really great throws.”
Wilson completed 28 of his 39 passes for 245 yards, two touchdowns and no interceptions. His 105.2 passer rating was the highest of his 26-game career, and he looked more and more comfortable as the game went on.
While Wilson had looked timid and averse to taking any risks down the field in his first three games of the season, he let it rip on Sunday night and led an improbable comeback. Wilson and the Jets stormed back from a 17-point deficit to tie the game at 20-20, only for Kansas City to eventually win by three points on a Harrison Butker field goal.
Still, Rodgers liked what he saw from Wilson, particularly in that second half.
“I thought the drive coming out of halftime was fantastic,” Rodgers said. “He started off the second half with a back-shoulder seam route to [Tyler Conklin] and then hit a couple of other good throws on the drive, and he hit his favorite play down in the red zone to Allen [Lazard] for a touchdown and then ran QB draw and had a great scramble to get into the end zone and get us a tie, and I think the whole place changed after that. It was pretty electric.”
Wilson and the Jets look to get back in the win column for the first time since Week 1 when they visit the Denver Broncos on Sunday at 4:25 p.m.