Zach Wilson threw four interceptions, more than he had in the entire 2020 season with BYU, as Bill Belichick moved to 22-6 against rookie quarterbacks since being appointed as New England Patriots head coach in 2000.
Monday 20 September 2021 10:41, UK
Zach Wilson shouldered the blame and head coach Robert Saleh noted the value of "boring" football after the rookie quarterback threw four interceptions as the New York Jets fell to their 11th straight defeat to the New England Patriots on Sunday.
The No 2 overall pick was intercepted on each of his first two pass attempts in the game before the MetLife crowd lost its patience in the fourth quarter as boos were heard in reaction to Wilson overthrowing his receiver.
Wilson finished 19 of 33 for 210 yards and four picks on a day that saw him fighting desperately to make amends from his very first drive when he might have been better served sacrificing some deep shots in favour of a more conservative approach at times.
"They should be booing, right?" Wilson said. "We didn't play well on offense. Our defense gave us a good chance to win. We didn't execute, we didn't move the ball well and we didn't score any points. We've got to do a better job there.
"It's on my shoulders. I've got to do better."
Wilson, who had completed just three passes by half-time, is the third rookie quarterback in the past 40 years to have registered four interceptions in his first 10 attempts.
His four interceptions against the Patriots were also more than he had across his entire 2020 campaign with BYU, during which he was picked off just three times.
"Yeah, this is what we sign up for, right?," he added. "And there are going to be games like this and the ups and downs. We saw it last week in the first half as well.
"We just keep getting reminded how long this season is and how we can just get back and keep getting better and everything, and so I just have to remember the situation that I'm in and I'm an important piece in this whole thing and how can I just keep learning and getting better? You've got to keep that swag and that mojo every single week."
Wilson's fourth interception was perhaps the most obvious sign of him forcing it when his deep ball sailed beyond any Jets receiver and into the hands of safety Devin McCourty.
During training camp he had explained his effort to understand what kind of throws he could 'get away with' against NFL-calibre defenses having been known to take risks with his off-the-cuff and off-platform adeptness in an exceptional 2020 season.
Head coach Saleh deemed lapses in his decision-making on Sunday as yet another valuable learning curve.
"Those are things that we're going to have to go look at," said Saleh. "When you have a rookie quarterback - and they have a rookie quarterback, too - it's just having the confidence to know that it's OK to play a boring game of football.
"That's really it. (Wilson) is an electric dude. He's competitive as c**p and wants to win so bad. Sometimes, it's OK to be boring. That's probably the biggest lesson that we can take out of this one."
The victory saw Belichick extended his dominant record against rookie quarterbacks to 22-6 since taking over as Patriots coach in 2000.
While his own first-year play-caller Mac Jones logged another error-free game, Belichick vouched for the talent of Wilson despite his tough afternoon.
"(Zach) Wilson made some pretty impressive throws," Belichik told reporters. "The kid's going to be a good player. He is a good player. Had a couple of big plays offensively."
Jones, who finished 22 of 30 for 186 yards, echoed his head coach's praise for his fellow rookie with first-hand knowledge of what it's like to face a Belichick defense early on in his transition to the NFL.
"I think Zach's a really good player, and as rookie quarterbacks - it's what I told him after the game, we have to just continue to get better," he said. "It's just part of the game. Our defense is really good, it's a tough defense to go against.
"I've gone against them in practice and probably thrown a lot of picks too, so, it sucks. Zach's going to be a great player and he's a really hard worker and he kept his head up and we just had some brief words there. I don't know him that well personally, but he's definitely going to continue to grow just like I will too."
For the latest news, features and interviews, stay across skysports.com/nfl and on follow us on Twitter @SkySportsNFL.
