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EAST RUTHERFORD, NJ — New York Jets coach Robert Saleh walked to the lectern Sunday night and grabbed it so hard it must have snapped it in half. There are moments when Saleh doesn’t talk much, but his hands. His right fist was clenched, and he would knock on the lectern, as if everything he wanted to say, to shout, was just below. He tried to stay calm.
At the end of Sunday’s game at the Kansas City Chiefs, a 23-20 loss, Saleh was flagged for unsportsmanlike conduct for ripping a referee after the Jets were called for a penalty that could have changed the outcome of a game that far. closer than anyone expected. The Jets selected Patrick Mahomes in the third round, only to have it called back on a questionable defensive holding penaltyagainst cornerback Sauce Gardner.
“I’m not going to comment on that,” Saleh said.
A few plays ago, defensive end Jermaine Johnson was performed by a Chiefs offensive lineman as Mahomes scrambled 25 yards on third-and-23, but there was no flag. When reporters approached Johnson in the locker room, he looked ready to explode, staring at the ground, furious. He was told to take a shower before answering any questions, to cool off.
Anger.
The Jets are angry. This is a game they can win, should win, against the defending Super Bowl champions. Zach Wilson passed Mahomes — yes, he really did. The way Wilson played, especially towards the end of the first half, was enough to inspire for the rest of the season. That, maybe, Wilson could be good enough to keep the Jets afloat while they wait for Aaron Rodgers to return, whether it’s this year (a pipe dream) or next. But a season is full of moments that can change its trajectory.
Robert Saleh was called for unsportsmanlike conduct late in Sunday’s game. (Elsa/Getty Images)
The Jets are 1-3 after four weeks. Any goodwill gained from Wilson’s performance against the Chiefs — and he deserves credit for it — will quickly disappear if he can’t get it done against the Broncos in Denver next week. The Jets’ season has reached a critical moment, and Sunday night’s loss didn’t help.
Perhaps the penalty called on Gardner — or the one not called on Johnson — would have changed the outcome if either had gone the other way, but there were other moments, too. As the defense quickly put the Jets in a 17-0 deficit, a first-quarter performance filled with miscommunications and missed tackles, like Isiah Pacheco’s 48-yard touchdown run. Or when Saleh opted to kick a 52-yard field goal on fourth-and-1 at the end of the first half, and Greg Zuerlein missed.
In the third quarter, with the Jets taking the lead, Wilson completed a 15-yard pass to CJ Uzomah, but it was called back by a penalty on center Connor McGovern. The drive stalled, and they let it go. The defense forced a three-and-out, and then the Jets went three-and-out. The Chiefs scored a field goal on their next drive, and then Wilson made his biggest mistake of the season.
He took a snap from McGovern, couldn’t hang onto the ball and dropped it to the turf, which the Chiefs recovered, a brutal turnover at a critical moment. That was his last play.
Wilson blamed the loss on himself.
“It’s mine,” Wilson said. “Critical situation, I can’t have a play like that. I can’t let go of the ball. This team sacrificed a lot. Boys make plays. The defense makes plays. Protects the O-line. Receivers make plays. To drive there, to drop a snap, I can’t do that. I lost that game and I can’t do that.”
“That’s mine… I lost that game.”
– Jets QB Zach Wilson on his fumbled snap pic.twitter.com/ZFjwLUF1ue
— NFL on CBS 🏈 (@NFLonCBS) October 2, 2023
On the sidelines, Wilson blamed himself, but his teammates wouldn’t let him. He tried again in the locker room, said wide receiver Allen Lazard, speaking to the team after Saleh spoke, with the same message.
Wilson is “just trying to blame everybody and that’s the only competitor he has,” Lazard said. “I was just consoling him, saying: We all made a mistake today. It’s not just you. Obviously, that one was more highlighted because it was later in the game, but he played fantastic.
That’s a level of accountability that Wilson didn’t show last year. He also showed some things as a quarterback, which he hasn’t really shown before. For three weeks, offensive coordinator Nathaniel Hackett was calling plays that made it clear the Jets were scared about Wilson’s mistakes. And so, Wilson plays like someone who is afraid to make a mistake.
This week, the plan changed. The message: Let it rip.
“They told us, we’re going to come here to win this game,” McGovern said. “We’re not going in to not lose.”
Hackett worked more play action into the script — taking Wilson out of the pocket — and it worked. He completed seven of eight passes in play action, according to TruMedia, after going 8 of 15 in the first three games. He had five pass attempts that traveled more than 20 yards through the air and completed three of them. He was 1 for 6 in the first three games. His best pass was a 10-yard touchdown to Lazard, thrown into tight coverage, where only Lazard could catch it.
.@ZachWilson here throwing DOTS.
TIE BALLGAME.#KCvsNYJ on NBC pic.twitter.com/xn9FQUmCEl
— New York Jets (@nyjets) October 2, 2023
Wilson set a career high in completions (28) and finished with 245 passing yards, two touchdowns and no interceptions.
“He had some opportunities tonight and they paid off,” wide receiver Randall Cobb said. “He’s been wanting to make those throws but he’s been so worried about mistakes, turnovers, and he has the ability. He showed it tonight.”
Anyone who has followed the Jets for the past decade (or longer) is tired of hearing about morale victories. But once the Jets were left dead, they nearly drove the Chiefs away. The defense got off to a slow start, but gave up just three points after the first quarter and sacked Mahomes twice. Travis Kelce, in front of Taylor Swift, did not make a significant impact. Hackett made touches for playmakers who hadn’t caught the ball before, like Xavier Gipson and Garrett Wilson, who were targeted 14 times. The offensive line remained intact.
And Wilson, finally, looks like an NFL-caliber starting quarterback. The Jets are one more failure from a season that’s going off the rails, but right now, it’s fair to say that this team is close — but only if Wilson can do that.
And again.
And again.
There are 14 weeks left in the season. A moral victory in Week 4 won’t mean much if the Jets lose again in Week 5.
But if Wilson can play well the rest of the way? Chiefs defensive tackle Chris Jones said it simply.
“They can be special,” he said.
(Top photo: Dustin Satloff / Getty Images)
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