It’s a good time to be Zach Wilson right now – even if that hasn’t always been the case in 2023.
The starting quarterback for the New York Jets was named AFC Offensive Player of the Week for his 301-yard, two-touchdown performance in Gang Green’s 30-6 victory over the Houston Texans last week. In the win, Wilson set a career-high completion percentage (75%), leading the Jets to their highest point total this season.
“He was awesome,” Jets head coach Robert Saleh said of Wilson. “I felt like he was extremely decisive. He played fast. There were a lot of ‘oh crap’ moments where he stayed within the moment, and he made things work. He made a lot of things happen on his own.”
Making his performance even more impressive was the fact that Wilson’s start against Houston came after a two-week benching with the offense struggling to score touchdowns. His ability to rise above the problems of the past year has been a calling card for the BYU product.
“I couldn’t be happier for him,” tight end Tyler Conklin said. “After everything he has been through and then to go out here and do what he just did, throw for 300 yards, put up 30 points in the second half, whatever his QB rating was, I am sure it was pretty damn good. I am just really happy for him. He said he was going to come out there and have fun and just enjoy playing football and I feel like he did that.”
This is not the first time that the Jets have had a player win a weekly award this season.
Wilson joined LB Quincy Williams and rookie WR Xavier Gipson as award winners this season. Williams earned AFC Defensive Player of the Month for October and Gipson received Pepsi Zero Sugar Rookie of the Week for Week 1.
