Zach Wilson was intercepted for the eighth time this season, but the rookie signal-caller took a leap Sunday. He protected the football (his 1 INT came in the second quarter following a Corey Davis slip on the turf), regularly dumped the ball down and reminded everyone why he was the No. 2 overall selection in April's NFL Draft with some huge plays down the field in the second half. He finished 21 of 34 for 297 yards and 2 TDs.
"It's like we talk about with these young kids," HC Robert Saleh said. "You get a little ball rolling, you get a little bit of confidence and it starts to snowball. He showed everything that we see in practice. We see it all. The kid was outstanding. There's still going to be things he knows he can clean up. He had a chance to end it in overtime, but the guy was resilient, he had resolve and he's a playmaker."
It began with the Jets down by 9-7 in third stanza. On a third-and-6 play from his 32, Wilson faced pressure up the middle and sprinted to his right with Titans DL Denico Autry in heavy pursuit. No matter, Wilson showcased his remarkable athleticism with a perfect 54-yard throw up the sideline to WR Keelan Cole. That strike set up Matt Ammendola's 27-yard chip shot and the Jets had their first lead of the season, 10-9, with seconds left in the third.
Then Wilson really showed something after the Titans answered on their ensuing drive and took a 17-10 lead. He got a 43-yard chunk courtesy of a pass interference penalty on a ball intended for Davis. Then he averted disaster and turned the play into treasure, recovering his own bobbled snap, bouncing around in the pocket and hitting Jamison Crowder for 29 yards. After a Ty Johnson run, Wilson sprinted right and hit Crowder for a TD, tying the score at 17.
He one-upped himself when he gave the Jets their second lead, rolling right and calling his shot. He calmly directed Davis to head upfield and then he unleashed a 53-yard scoring toss to Davis. The former Titans wideout hurt his former team, hauling in 4 passes for 111 yards with the 1 TD.
In OT, Wilson threw a beautiful touch ball to Keelan Cole for a 29-yard gain on 3rd-and-2 that put the Jets on the Titans' 27. Then he went to Crowder, who led the Green & White with 7 receptions (61 yards) in his season debut, for yet another third-down conversion. The Jets had to settle for an Ammenola field goal and that set the stage for a Titans' counter but Randy Bullock missed wide left from 49 yards out.
"It was awesome," Wilson said. "The ups and downs, it was a crazy win, but I had a chance there to end it sooner. What an awesome game. I'm so pumped we got away from it with a W, but we have to keep learning and keep getting better. It's awesome to keep learning from a win though."
He later added: "It's huge. It's confidence to let everybody know we're a good team and we can do really good things. It's going to be a process and we just have to keep stacking the blocks and keep getting better. You could definitely feel like the tension on the team fell off right there when we were able to do something on offense."
"It's like we talk about with these young kids," HC Robert Saleh said. "You get a little ball rolling, you get a little bit of confidence and it starts to snowball. He showed everything that we see in practice. We see it all. The kid was outstanding. There's still going to be things he knows he can clean up. He had a chance to end it in overtime, but the guy was resilient, he had resolve and he's a playmaker."
It began with the Jets down by 9-7 in third stanza. On a third-and-6 play from his 32, Wilson faced pressure up the middle and sprinted to his right with Titans DL Denico Autry in heavy pursuit. No matter, Wilson showcased his remarkable athleticism with a perfect 54-yard throw up the sideline to WR Keelan Cole. That strike set up Matt Ammendola's 27-yard chip shot and the Jets had their first lead of the season, 10-9, with seconds left in the third.
Then Wilson really showed something after the Titans answered on their ensuing drive and took a 17-10 lead. He got a 43-yard chunk courtesy of a pass interference penalty on a ball intended for Davis. Then he averted disaster and turned the play into treasure, recovering his own bobbled snap, bouncing around in the pocket and hitting Jamison Crowder for 29 yards. After a Ty Johnson run, Wilson sprinted right and hit Crowder for a TD, tying the score at 17.
He one-upped himself when he gave the Jets their second lead, rolling right and calling his shot. He calmly directed Davis to head upfield and then he unleashed a 53-yard scoring toss to Davis. The former Titans wideout hurt his former team, hauling in 4 passes for 111 yards with the 1 TD.
In OT, Wilson threw a beautiful touch ball to Keelan Cole for a 29-yard gain on 3rd-and-2 that put the Jets on the Titans' 27. Then he went to Crowder, who led the Green & White with 7 receptions (61 yards) in his season debut, for yet another third-down conversion. The Jets had to settle for an Ammenola field goal and that set the stage for a Titans' counter but Randy Bullock missed wide left from 49 yards out.
"It was awesome," Wilson said. "The ups and downs, it was a crazy win, but I had a chance there to end it sooner. What an awesome game. I'm so pumped we got away from it with a W, but we have to keep learning and keep getting better. It's awesome to keep learning from a win though."
He later added: "It's huge. It's confidence to let everybody know we're a good team and we can do really good things. It's going to be a process and we just have to keep stacking the blocks and keep getting better. You could definitely feel like the tension on the team fell off right there when we were able to do something on offense."
