Thursday night’s Week 16 game between the Jacksonville Jaguars and New York Jets marked a meeting of the first two players selected in the 2021 NFL Draft — quarterbacks Trevor Lawrence and Zach Wilson. Through the first half of the game, it wasn’t much of a contest.
Lawrence had a solid first two quarters, going 11-for-16 for 147 yards in the air. And while he didn’t have a touchdown pass, Lawrence ran the only touchdown of the first half, which helped the Jaguars open up a 13-3 halftime lead. As the score would suggest, things weren’t nearly as smooth for Wilson and the Jets.
Wilson, who struggled in Week 15’s loss to the Detroit Lions, picked up right where he left off. He threw an interception on the final play of the first half. When it was over, he and his teammates were booed off of the field, something that was a recurring theme for the game’s first two quarters.
Jets fans are *not* happy. 13-3 Jaguars going into halftime. 🏈😬
"Well, well, well. Audio will tell you all you need to know."- Al Michaels #TNF pic.twitter.com/AdwvIalfHX
— The Comeback (@thecomeback) December 23, 2022
The interception itself wasn’t a big deal. It wasn’t a great pass but it came on what was essentially a Hail Mary. Still, we get the feeling that the booing wasn’t really about the interception. Wilson was only 7-for-14 passing and had only one carry for one yard. His passes rarely went more than a few yards down the field. When they did, they were usually well off of the mark.
Jets fans were not alone in their frustrations watching Wilson. Football fans were highly critical of the former No. 2 pick overall.
The Ringer’s NFL Page tweeted a photo of a man staring at a dumpster with the caption “Watching Zach Wilson play primetime football” while Sean Fennessey of the Ringer compared him unfavorably to other New York quarterbacks from the 21st century who didn’t pan out, saying, “Jets fans in this century never felt this bad about their QB play with Mark Sanchez, Geno Smith or Sam Darnold. Zach Wilson is truly the worst we’ve seen.”
Watching Zach Wilson play primetime football pic.twitter.com/boDAWRvzSy
— #RingerNFL (@ringernfl) December 23, 2022
https://twitter.com/SeanFennessey/status/1606110571647995906
Others had similar views.
Joe Fann of WynnBET: “Zach Wilson is hard to watch. Zero awareness. Zero confidence. He’s in way over his head.”
Zach Wilson is hard to watch.
Zero awareness. Zero confidence.
He's in way over his head.
— Joe Fann (@Joe_Fann) December 23, 2022
Ben Axelrod, WYKC: “I just don’t understand how Zach Wilson got drafted second overall and no one batted an eye.”
I just don’t understand how Zach Wilson got drafted second overall and no one batted an eye.
— Ben Axelrod (@BenAxelrod) December 23, 2022
Luke Sawhook, Mojo: “I like to imagine Zach Wilson closes his eyes when he throws it deep into double coverage.”
I like to imagine Zach Wilson closes his eyes when he throws it deep into double coverage
— Luke Sawhook 🪚🪝 (@lukesawhook) December 23, 2022
Russell Clay of FantasyGuru.com, meanwhile, might have had the aptest take, saying “Zach Wilson is very good at being bad.”
Zach Wilson is very good at being bad.
— Russell Clay (@RussellJClay) December 23, 2022
