Best Game As A Jet For Wilson
Photo: Michael Henriquez NY Beacon/MetLife Stadium
By Shara Talia Taylor
Jets D Has Been Solid All Year
Photo: Michael Henriquez NY Beacon/MetLife Stadium
The New York Jets looked like a new team in the second half of their 30-6 win over the Houston Texans Sunday at MetLife Stadium.
The Jets ended a five-game losing streak with the turnaround performance led by Zach Wilson. It was a slow start during a rainy afternoon with some good moments, but New York returned after halftime, took off and soared to victory with scoring and defense.
“The second half, I thought Zach probably played the best game of his career,” Coach Robert Saleh said. “Just the off-schedule stuff, the timing and rhythm and getting the ball out to where it needed to get to.”
Wilson completed 27 of 36 passes for 301 yards. Houston QB C.J. Stroud completed 10 of 23 attempted passes for 91-yards. He left the game in the fourth quarter to be evaluated for a concussion after being injured on a play.
“I thought everyone did a great job of coming together,” said Wilson when asked if the outcome was as he expected. “I thought everyone battled.”
He said he focused on being “aggressively smart” when asked about his own performance. “It’s taking shots when you feel like there’s an opportunity there and when there’s not how can you protect the ball and check it down,” Wilson said.
It was a scoreless first half. The Texans received the ball first. New York had successful moments in their opening drive as Wilson evaded defenders and linked up with Garrett Wilson for 16 yards and with Tyler Conklin for 20 yards. New York was unable to convert these and other opportunities onto the scoreboard. The Jets defense kept Houston from scoring with a sack by Bryce Huff in the first quarter and a sack by Solomon Thomas in the second quarter.
The Jets were first to score as Wilson connected with Randall Cobb for 15-yards with 11:11 minutes remaining in the third quarter. Greg Zuerlein’s converted the extra point. Wilson worked the ball down the field on their next possession with impressive catches by Jeremy Ruckert and Conklin. Wilson next handed off to Xavier Gipson who ran for nine yards for the touchdown.
Stroud Gets Knocked Out By Jets Defense
Photo: Michael Henriquez NY Beacon/MetLife Stadium
Stroud handed the ball to running back Devin Singletary who ran for a touchdown to end the third quarter. The attempt at the extra point was not good. Jets led 14-6 at the start of the fourth quarter.
Wilson sent a short 3-yd pass to Breece Hall for his second touchdown pass of the game. Zuerlein’s extra point attempt was good. Zuerlein kicked three field goal to bring the score to 30-6.
The Jets take on the Dolphins (9-4) in Miami Sunday afternoon. The Fish, currently in first place, dropped their Monday night contest to the Tennessee Titans (5-8) 28-27 in front of their home crowd. They will not be happy when they play their second straight home game against their division rival.
“We just saw them a couple of weeks ago, so there’s a lot of things to learn off of, but at the same time it has to be about us, ”Coach Saleh said about game preparation. “Just finding ways to improve especially on what we did today.”
New York looks to get revenge after the 34-13 loss to Miami November 24th at MetLife Stadium.
Sports Editor Andrew Rosario contributed to this article.
