Tag: zach wilson interception

Jets’ Zach Wilson has worst rookie QB game ever against a Bill Belichick defense

Rookie quarterbacks have always struggled against Bill Belichick and the Patriots. But Zach Wilson struggled like no other on Sunday.

Rookie quarterbacks who have gone against the Patriots during Bill Belichick’s tenure as head coach have come away with predictably awful results. Belichick is the greatest coach in NFL history and one of the finest defensive minds, so it’s no surprise that when first-year quarterbacks face his array of defensive looks, disaster is the general result. Since 2000, and coming into Week 2 of the 2021 season, the Patriots were 21-6 in games against rookie quarterbacks, and rookie quarterbacks with at least 10 attempts in a game against the Patriots had 514 completions in 850 attempts for 6,013 yards, 26 touchdowns, 46 interceptions, 62 sacks, and a passer rating of 62.5.

And in the Jets’ 25-6 loss to New England on Sunday, Jets rookie quarterback Zach Wilson — the second-overall pick in the 2021 draft — outdid every other rookie who became Belichick’s huckleberry. Wilson completed 19 of 33 passes for 210 yards, no touchdowns, four interceptions, and a quarterback rating of 37.0.

How bad was it? At various points in the game, Wilson had three completions to three interceptions, and four completions to four interceptions. When you’re completing as many passes to the other team as you are to your own guys, that’s not an optimal trend. Wilson spread it around, too. Cornerback J.C. Jackson (twice), safety Adrian Phillips, and safety Devin McCourty all feasted on the rookie.

You’d have to go back to the end of the 2001 season, when rookie Chris Weinke was starting for the Panthers, to find anything remotely similar.

In a 38-6 Week 17 loss to the Patriots, Weinke completed 15 of 36 passes for 144 yards, no touchdowns, three interceptions, and a passer rating of 18.8. That would seem on the surface to be a worse game than the one Wilson had, but there were mitigating circumstances. Weinke was without three of his top targets — receivers Mushin Muhammad and Isaac Byrd, as well as tight end Wesley Walls, and rookie Steve Smith hadn’t quite established himself as Steve Smith yet. Smith caught just 10 passes on 20 targets for 154 yards and no touchdowns in 2001, though he was both a Pro Bowler and an First-Team All-Pro as a return man. The Panthers were also an absolutely horrible team — they beat the Vikings 24-13 in Week 1 of the 2001 season, and went 0-15 after that.

In comparison, Wilson was playing with a bad offensive line made worse by left tackle Mekhi Becton’s Week 1 knee injury, but when you have a receiver of Corey Davis’ status and a rookie running back in Michael Carter who can catch the ball and make things happen after the catch, more is expected.

As bad as this was, Wilson had a near-miss on what would have made it FIVE interceptions on the day on this errant sideline pass. Cornerback Jonathan Jones would have been the beneficiary on this one.

So… good news for Weinke, Geno Smith in 2013, Josh Johnson in 2009, Daniel Jones in 2019, Joey Harrington in 2002, and Mark Sanchez in 2009 — it’s no longer possible for any of you to have had the worst rookie performance against a Belichick defense. Zach Wilson has taken that award for himself.