On Wednesday morning, the New York Jets informed their second-year quarterback Zach Wilson that he will be benched for the team’s Week 12 game against the Chicago Bears. The decision came after Wilson didn’t take responsibility for the team’s offensive struggles in a Week 11 loss to the New England Patriots.
Hours after the Jets’ decision was announced, Trevor Lawrence — who was picked one selection before Wilson in the 2021 NFL Draft — was asked about accountability.
“Whether you win, lose, play well, or don’t play well, it’s never all about me, so that’s the main thing I try to keep in mind,” Lawrence said Wednesday. “Always, I’ve tried to just put everything on me, I’d rather take too much of the blame than not, so even if a receiver drops the ball or it’s a play someone’s got to catch or it’s a running back or whatever it is, I always try to just, it’s starts with, ‘Hey, my bad. Let’s talk through it, figure it out,’ whatever it is.
“That’s just on the field. When it comes to coming up here after a game where I don’t play well or whatever it is where we lose, at the end of the day, even if I do play well, and we lose, we still didn’t get it done. There’s always things that you can do better.”
Lawrence finished his rookie year with 12 touchdowns and an NFL-most 17 interceptions, while Wilson had nine touchdowns and 11 interceptions in New York. In year two, Lawrence has taken a significant step forward with 13 touchdowns and six interceptions through 10 games. Wilson’s numbers have stayed stagnant with four touchdowns and five interceptions in seven games.