After their final home game of the 2022 season, Jet fans have all the ammunition and data to evoke the 20-game quarterback evaluation rule. The evaluation rule is simple: Allow a young, highly valued draft pick to start and finish twenty games before deciding on his future. Don’t get too high or too low—stay the course and be completely objective before making a final decision. Let the 20 games speak for themselves.
The Jets have used the 20-game rule before (it seems like they have been using the rule for the last 20-plus years), so this isn’t a new concept. Sam Darnold, their first-round pick in 2018, started 26 games after two seasons, winning 11 and losing 15. He threw 36 touchdown passes, 28 interceptions, and averaged 6.9 yards per attempt. He led the Jets on three fourth-quarter comebacks and four game-winning drives. In addition, he had two different coordinators. By year three, the verdict came in, and Darnold was traded to Carolina, allowing Zach Wilson, another second-overall pick to take over.
Last night in an almost must-win game for the Jets to keep their playoff hopes alive, Wilson started his 21st game. Wilson has won eight of those games, lost 13, completed 55% of his passes thrown for 15 touchdowns and 17 interceptions, averaging 6.5 yards per attempt, and he has two fourth-quarter comebacks and three game-winning drives. Not good on paper, and it looks worse when watching him play.
The most alarming aspect of Wilson’s performance to date is his lack of overall improvement in any area. In fact, he is getting worse with each game. Last night, he was benched again, surely ending his 2022 season and perhaps his career as a Jet. If you didn’t think things could get worse for Wilson after the New England game in Foxboro, then you were wrong. Last night was rock bottom. Against one of the worse secondaries and pass-defending teams by almost every metric, Wilson could not make the simple plays. He couldn’t throw an accurate ball on a hitch or any quick throws. When you examine his 21 starts, Wilson has only two games throwing above a 65% completion percentage, which is the norm for the NFL. Wilson’s completion numbers look like he played in the 60s when the short passing game didn’t exist, and the rules favored the defense. For an NFL starting quarterback to not complete over 63% of his pa sses, something is badly wrong, and we don’t have to remind Jet fans of how wrong.