Zach Wilson's 2023 season isn't deserving of a Hollywood script, but after putting together his best performance of the year (if not his career), he's riding on a bit of a high note.
It can all come crashing back down to a familiar place if Wilson struggles in Week 15. But the quarterback -- who was benched for Tim Boyle, who was later benched for Trevor Siemian before New York turned back to Wilson -- isn't worrying about a worst-case scenario. He's aiming to build on a shockingly efficient performance with the goal of proving it wasn't a fluke.
“I think it shows us what we can do as an offense,” Wilson said Wednesday, via the Associated Press. “Now that we set the bar there, we’ve got to be able to show we can do it again. I think that’s always the thing is, hey, you did it once, now you’ve got to show us you can do it again.”
The mere fact we're even able to have this discussion is an achievement. Wilson was handed the unenviable task of leading the Jets after Aaron Rodgers' Achilles tear ended his season after just four plays, and while Wilson battled, he proved to be incapable of helping the Jets realize their potential. Head coach Robert Saleh begrudgingly benched Wilson after weeks of ignoring calls for a change, but because none of his replacements fared any better, he turned back to Wilson for Week 14.
The time off, while short, allowed Wilson to reset. He returned as a quarterback playing free from worry, posting a 27-for-36, 301-yard, two-touchdown outing in an upset win over the Texans on a soggy day at MetLife Stadium.
“No matter how confident you are, there’s nothing that boosts confidence more than affirmation,” Saleh said. “I don’t want to speak for him, but I would imagine that having the game he had is a new level of confidence that I don’t think he even realized he had and of knowing that he is capable.
“He knocked off a lot of firsts, I mean, he dominated in the rain, had over 300 yards, two touchdowns and no interceptions, he was working off schedule. He did a lot of things on his own and made a lot of plays that made everybody around him better.”
The performance was good enough to earn Wilson AFC Offensive Player of the Week honors, an award no one would have expected him to earn a month ago. The success may have come too late in the 2023 season, but after Wilson has endured so many struggles in such a bright spotlight, the turnaround -- even if only for a week -- made for a feel-good story the Jets sorely needed.
With his future uncertain, Wilson will take the field this weekend with a bit of momentum for the first time in his career.
“I think it’s really a testament to this offense,” Wilson said. “We’ve been going through it, obviously, and momentum was a thing for us in that game and I just thought it was really cool how everyone kind of rebounded. So I think that’s something we all get to share.
“It felt good to have that flow as an offense and to score points and do what we expect to do every week.”
We'll see if he can replicate his success against a Dolphins team looking to bounce back after a shocking upset loss to Tennessee.