Zach Wilson acknowledged he wasn’t doing enough after being benched by the New York Jets during Sunday’s 32-6 loss against the Buffalo Bills, throwing his future with the franchise into doubt.
Wilson was pulled with 2:17 remaining in the third quarter as the Jets suffered a costly defeat to their AFC East rivals, with 2021’s second overall draft pick completing seven of 15 passes for just 81 yards, a touchdown and a pick.
Journeyman Tim Boyle replaced Wilson as the Jets – who lost Aaron Rodgers to an Achilles injury against the same opponents back in Week 1 – saw their quarterback woes continue.
Now at 4-6 and in danger of seeing their playoff dreams unravel ahead of Friday’s meeting with the Miami Dolphins, the Jets have a decision to make regarding their QB.
“Frustrated, but I get it,” Wilson said of his benching. “[You] have to score, you have to be in games.
“When it’s consecutive games of just doing nothing on offense, you can sit here and say last week we moved the ball, but we’re not scoring.
“It essentially comes down to you have to score. So when things aren’t getting done, change has to be made, and I understand that.
“We need to take accountability, and that starts with me, and I’m not getting it done.”
QB Tim Boyle on the support he’s received from fellow QB Zach Wilson. pic.twitter.com/R5HLsHLi89
— New York Jets (@nyjets) November 20, 2023
The organization had been planning for Wilson to succeed Rodgers as first-choice QB within a year or two, but a third demotion in the space of two seasons could spell the end of his time in New York.
Head coach Robert Saleh has been supportive of Wilson throughout a difficult season, but he neglected to commit to starting him against Miami in the immediate aftermath of the loss, saying a decision would be made on Monday after footage from the game has been reviewed.
“Like I told Zach on the sideline, it’s not just him,” Saleh said. “It’s easy to point the finger at the quarterback, but it’s pretty easy to see.
“You’ve got missed protections, you’ve got dropped balls, you’ve got missed routes. Now, obviously, he has to get better. There are things he could’ve done a lot better, but it’s everyone right now.
“I don’t think anyone did anything; the players, coaches, schemes… It was obviously not good enough. None of it was good.”
For the Bills, Sunday’s result snapped a two-game losing streak and came at the end of a challenging week in which offensive coordinator Ken Dorsey was fired.
Quarterback Josh Allen went 20-of-32 for 275 passing yards, three scores and an interception on a return to form for the Buffalo offense, with the Bills securing a vital win to go 6-5 before back-to-back road games against the two Super Bowl LVII outfits, the Philadelphia Eagles and Kansas City Chiefs.
Sleep tight, Bills Mafia. pic.twitter.com/lX2VVqSbEP
— Buffalo Bills (@BuffaloBills) November 20, 2023
