Zach Wilson vs Patriots: A Breakdown

To think that 15 short days ago, Aaron Rodgers was this team's QB and most of us had playoffs and/or Super Bowl aspirations. My how things have changed.

Sunday was pathetic and I didn't really get on here yesterday (other than a short time to fulfill some mod duties, aka make sure you all were playing somewhat nice) for 2 reasons, I was travelling back from Charleston, SC (fiancée's friend's wedding, had a wonderful time, Charleston is super nice and would highly recommend it to those who haven't been) and I honestly couldn't believe what I saw on Sunday and needed some time to digest everything and try to make sense of what I saw. What I saw is the end of Zach Wilson's career as a Jet. He'll get to play out a few more games, maybe even to the end of the season, we'll have to see how stubborn Saleh and JD are going to continue to be on this, but it's over for him here. I genuinely hope he can go somewhere else and find success, but I've got a better chance of supplanting Travis Kelce as Taylor Swift's boyfriend than Zach does of becoming an actual NFL QB (don't tell me fiancée I made that joke!).

Anyway, let's get into it... (link to every throw by Zach here)

1st Quarter:
15:00, 1st & 10: I was actually blown away that this was the first play call of the game. It's what I, and many others on here, had been clamoring for all week. A quick jailbreak screen to GW on the right side of the formation working out of a bunch trips look. Might have even been an RPO, not totally sure though as it could've just been a PA screen. Either way, good play call and good pass by Zach. Sucks that GW got tripped up by the turf monster but oh well. (1-1, 1 yard)

13:34, 3rd & 15: Watching this play in real time, I thought, "hey, not a bad play Zach". Becton allowed pressured fairly quickly, so Zach tried to scramble out and make something happen but ultimately just dirted the ball at MCs feet. Haven't been able to see the All-22 version of it yet so won't say he missed a read but it's possible. (1-2, 1 yard)

10:08, 2nd & 7: PA pass out of a 12 personnel look. Again, thought Zach played this about as well as possible. Stood in a collapsing pocket, again Becton got beat inside, and tried to make a throw to GW who was open. (1-3, 1 yard)

9:59, 3rd & 7: Great throw by Zach here. Lazard runs an out about 5 yards past the sticks. Great stuff all around. (2-4, 13 yards)

8:07, 3rd & 7: Idk what this is. Again, without the All-22, can't tell if Zach misses someone or what but the OL does a good enough job of creating a pocket for Zach (hell of a pick-up by MC on this play) but Zach doesn't see a throw he likes and then sees Judon flash in his face at the end and falls down. (2-4, 13 yards)

3:42, 3rd & 6: Verticals play based out of 11 personnel. I've seen the All-22 angle on this and it's clear that he "misses" GW on his vertical down the near sideline (from the broadcast angle). Something to be mindful of is that we don't know how Zach is being taught to go through his progressions on this play. Regardless, the fact that Zach doesn't even look GW's way on this play is upsetting. Zach takes his check down in MC for a gain of 3. All-22 look at the play here. (3-5, 16 yards)

2nd Quarter
14:51, 1st & 10: PA pass out of 12 personnel. OL holds up well, gives Zach 4-5 seconds to make his reads. Still takes a sack. No All-22 angle here so again, no way to see if anyone is open. (3-5, 16 yards)

14:10, 2nd & 22: Sort of a "levels" concept I think where Zach's tasked with reading the underneath zone defender and decide between Conklin and GW. Defender goes deep to take away GW so good decision by Zach to just try to get something back on 2nd & 22. However, ball slips out of his hands as he goes to throw. Classic. (3-6, 16 yards)

14:02, 3rd & 22: Seems like it's a screen pass to Cook. All the WRs attempt to stock block out of the gate. Pats diagnose it and shut it down. Good decision by Zach to dirt it. (3-7, 16 yards)

10:59, 2nd & 12: Seems like another verticals concept. Hard to tell if anyone is open from this angle but Zach hits his checkdown in Breece who beats his man on the out route our of the backfield for 9 yards. Good throw by Zach, again stood in the pocket and made the throw with Tomlinson and his man in his lap. (4-8, 25 yards)

10:12, 3rd & 3: Bad play design by Hackett here. Seems like this is an "all curls" concept and no one is open. Another solid display of pass pro by the OL and another great pick-up by MC (I'd start giving MC Cook's snaps, I think Cook may be toast). Zach has 4-5 seconds before he's even pressured and then for some reason steps up in the pocket/into the pressure and then scrambles out to his left before throwing the ball away. I'm not going to beat Zach up too much about this because it seems like GW is probably Zach's final read on this play but like, just look at him man. He's far and away the best WR you have. Had he done that, there's probably a tight window where you could try to get it to GW but again, bad play design by Hackett. (4-9, 25 yards)

2:00, 3rd & 6: Here's an All-22 angle where it shows Zach misses Cobb on a slant for a probable 1st down but I'm assuming GW is Zach's primary read on this play. Maybe GW is supposed to run this route at the sticks and GW shortens it up for some reason but I'm speculating. Solid throw and good catch by GW for a 4 yard gain. Short of the sticks. (5-10, 29 yards)

 

3rd Quarter
9:46, 2nd & 8: PA boot to the left. Good play call and Zach makes a good throw to Uzomah for the 1st. Gain of 9. (6-11, 38 yards)

8:22, 2nd & 6: Like the play call by Hackett, we should've been doing this all game. Quick screen-ish pass to Cook in the flat. Surprise, Randall Cobb (sorry Cobby) gets blown up by Jabril Peppers who tackles Cook short of the sticks, gain of 3. (7-12, 41 yards)

7:44, 3rd & 3: This is why Zach Wilson can't be a starting right now and maybe never. Again, good play call by Hackett. Jets run a mesh concept on this play out of 11 personnel. Lazard runs a drag from the right side of the formation after going in motion and is breaking wide open. Can't even fault the OL here. They allow pressure but it's after 3-4 seconds. Zach has got to stand strong in the collapsing pocket and hit a wide-open Lazard for a 1st, and probably much more as there was no one between him and the end zone (Lazard probably doesn't score but it's a massive gain). But Zach is broken and doesn't even give this play a chance as he scrambles at the first sign of pressure and then throws the ball away to the right sideline. Pathetic. (7-13, 41 yards)

3:56, 2nd & 13: Zach never looks away from his primary read (Lazard) and tries to throw a tight-window ball to him on a curl route, incomplete. Not a bad throw but just again shows how broken Zach is. Hard to complete a pass against an NFL defense when you stare down your WR for 4 seconds. Lazard probably should've still caught this ball, this is why you sign a 6'5" lumbering WR, to make contested catches. Bad all around. (7-14, 41 yards)

3:49, 3rd & 13: Again, without the All-22, hard to tell if this is the correct decision or not. However, I'll give him the benefit of the doubt for now because the Pats dropped 7 and only brought 4 on the rush so it's likely everyone was covered up. Zach hits Conklin in the flat who gets 6. (8-15, 47 yards)

0:07, 1st & 10: I think Zach's first read here is GW but he's covered up on the hitch. Zach hits Cook in the flat for no gain. (9-16, 47 yards)

 

4th Quarter
15:00, 2nd & 10: Cobb is Zach's first read, he's wide open, smart decision to hit him and try to make it manageable 3rd down. Cobb drops it. Why is Cobb in over Hardman, again? (9-17, 47 yards)

14:58, 3rd & 10: No All-22 here so idk if anyone is open or not. Zach's gets some pressure up the A gap and scrambles out to his right. Gets tripped up at the LOS trying to make a play. (9-17, 47 yards)

10:46, 1st & 10: Gonna give Zach the benefit of the doubt and assume no one else was open so Zach hits his checkdown in GW in the flat. GW makes a few guys miss for a gain of 5. Good play by both guys on 1st down. (10-18, 52 yards)

10:09, 2nd & 5: Just another example of Zach being broken. He locks in on Lazard, for some reason. Lazard's man is playing outside technique, essentially to shut this route concept down. Zach looks nowhere else and then tries to force a tight-window throw to Lazard. Some credit to Zach, this is a good ball, one that Lazard should've came down with. However, a good QB probably realizes Lazard's route is doomed from the start and tried to go through their reads to get a higher % throw. If he did, he would've seen a wide-open GW on the opposite side of the field because GW is GW and put his defender in a blender on his route. There's no need to force this ball either, OL did their job and gave Zach a great pocket to work with. All-22 look here. (10-19, 52 yards)

10:04, 3rd & 5: Good play overall by the O. OL does their job, good play call by Hackett, good route by Conklin, and good throw by Zach. Jets run another mesh concept out of 11 personnel, neither of the drag routes are open so Zach goes to Conklin who ran a deep in and beat his man. One nitpicky thing is Zach still abandons an open pocket too early but he still makes a good throw for a gain of 18 so whatever. (11-20, 70 yards)

9:25, 1st & 10: PA pass, Zach hits Cook on the checkdown. Cook gains 8 yards. Solid. (12-21, 78 yards)

8:26, 1st & 10: Another good play call by Hackett but I wished we had more of these plays in general. Little PA bubble screen (potential RPO look?) to the trips side of the formation to GW who does GW things and gains 9. (13-22, 87 yards)

7:20, 1st & 10: Maybe Zach's best throw of the day. Verticals concept, Zach wisely keeps his eyes in the center of the field to keep the safety from drifting over and snaps his eyes over to Lazard after he clears the flat defender. Throws a seed to Lazard for a gain of 21 yards. (14-23, 108 yards)

6:46, 1st & 10: Another good throw by Zach. Hits Lazard on a curl route short of the sticks for a gain of 6. (15-24, 114 yards)

6:16, 2nd & 4: Good play and read by Zach. Sees Cobby break open early in the flat, hits him and lets him make a play. Well done overall again by everyone. Cobb makes his guy miss and goes for a gain of 12. (16-25, 126 yards)

5:46, 1st & Goal: Bad play overall. Zach locks in on GW who runs a zig route but his man is all over him. Zach tried to make the throw anyway but the ball gets batted down at the line. (16-26, 126 yards)

5:39, 2nd & Goal: Misfire by Zach. GW has a step on his man but Zach misses the mark and leads GW too much to the inside. Incomplete. GW scores a TD on a good ball there. Zach got pressured but stand strong and make a good throw. (16-27, 126 yards)

5:35, 3rd & Goal: Zach breaks a clean pocket early and almost runs into Judon. Credit to Zach and Cobb here, Zach makes a solid throw to Cobb and Cobb sells the PI call to the official well enough to get the flag. (16-27, 126 yards)

2:43, 1st & 10: Seems to be another verticals concept, hard to know for sure from the broadcast angle though. Zach gets some pressure and retreats into the end zone and throws the ball away. Lucky he didn't get an intentional grounding call here. (16-28, 126 yards)

2:38, 2nd &10: Even from the broadcast angle here, I can see Lazard breaking open on a slant route that probably gets 5-6 yards. Zach checks the ball down to Breece. Not a bad throw but not an overly accurate one either. Regardless, it hits Breece in the hands and he drops it. Breece probably gets smacked in the mouth by the flat defender if he makes the catch though. Again, Zach is broken. (16-29, 126 yards)

2:27, 3rd & 15: Lots of bad here by everyone but this play like everything else begins with Zach. GW is open immediately and even Breece is open as his checkdown. Zach is just broken and has no concept of progressions or time allowed in the pocket as he takes a sack for a safety. (16-29, 126 yards)

1:43, 1st & 10: Say it with me everyone, Zach Wilson is broken. Lazard is wide open on a deep in here. All-22 look at the play here. Idk what else to say. Most QBs in the NFL hit this pass and move the chains. Zach either doesn't see him or doesn't have the confidence to make the throw. Either way, he scrambles out of a semi-clean pocket and throws the ball away. (16-30, 126 yards)

1:35, 2nd & 10: This is a tough throw but again from a clean pocket, most NFL QBs make this throw. Conklin breaks open on a corner route and Zach misses him. All-22 look here. Again, this is a tough throw so I'm not gonna drag him too much for this one but it is what it is. He's gotta make a better throw here. (16-31, 126 yards)

1:31, 3rd & 10: I don't know what else Hackett, GW, or the OL can do. GW is WIDE OPEN on a drag immediately. Even if you're concerned with not getting the 1st down here, who cares?? It's 4-down territory at this point in the game. Hit GW on this and see if he can make a big play, worst case it's a gain of 5-6 and you're looking at 4th and 4/5 but no, Zach holds the ball, steps up into pressure and then sees GW at the last second and tries to throw the ball to him as he gets hit and the pass falls incomplete. Pathetic. (16-32, 126 yards)

1:26, 4th & 10: One of the most egregious 4th down attempts I've ever seen. Considering the game situation here, I'm surprised Lazard was even able to provide Zach a good throwing window but against all odds, he does. The issue is, of course, Zach has been locked in on GW the entire time so he doesn't even know Lazard is open here but instead of trying to throw for a first, Zach hits his checkdown who is 9 yards short of the first down marker. Zach should've been off of GW as soon as he saw Peppers drop back into his cloud zone. Had he done that and gone through his progressions, this is a 10-15 yard gain to Lazard and we've got 1st & 10 from the 35-40 yard line. Again, pathetic. (17-33, 128 yards)

0:16, 1st & 10: Good ball from Zach and an even better catch from GW. GW knows he's gonna get popped and still holds on. GW deserves so much better. Gain of 29. (18-34, 157 yards)

0:01, 1st & 10: Hail Mary attempt. Solid throw from Zach who shows off his arm strength here. I was surprised watching this in real time that it made it to the EZ. Ball gets batted around, Cobb almost makes an improbable catch to win the game but it falls incomplete. Ball game. (18-35, 157 yards)

Half by half stat break down:

1st Half:
5-10, 29 yards

2nd Half:
13-25, 128 yards

Total:
18-35, 157 yards (ESPN stats have Zach at 18-36, so I'm guessing they included the pass to Cobb in the EZ that got the PI)

 

TLDR; Zach Wilson is unplayable at this moment. Watching this game live, I thought Hackett was awful but after reviewing the tape, Hackett was ok and made good calls more often than not. However, it doesn't matter what calls you make if your QB is incapable of making basic reads or going through his progressions. Hackett may have a little skin in this but this loss is 95-99% on Zach Wilson. A semi-competent QB gets us the win on Sunday.

I don't know what else needs to be said. We all saw the game and we've seen the clips after the game. Zach Wilson is broken and it sucks because I wanted so badly for this kid to pan out and had such high hopes for him but it's over. He'll probably get a few more games because even if we sign another QB, it'll take them a week or two to get really comfortable with the playbook but it seems like Saleh and JD are content to continue to ride this Zach Wilson ride until the end. The longer they let this play out, the less sure I'm convinced they're the right guys for the job. I'm not faulting them for drafting Zach or trying to make it work with Zach over the last 2+ years, every GM and HC eventually takes a shot on a rookie QB. It's just so blatantly obvious that Zach can't do it now. I honestly have no idea how Saleh watched that tape and then came back and said what he said yesterday in his presser. Zach had 1 good drive the entire game but otherwise looked like someone who's in way over his head.

If this team doesn't make a move for a QB within the next week or two, they are essentially punting on the season. We'll be lucky to get to 4-5 wins with Zach Wilson as our starting QB.