Bill Belichick’s New England Patriots will seek their first win of the season when facing Zach Wilson and the New York Jets.
Rather than Aaron Rodgers, Belichick will prepare his defense for another encounter with the former No. 2 pick. When running down the Jets roster during Wednesday’s press conference, via the Boston Herald‘s Andrew Callahan, the head coach called Wilson a “pretty athletic” quarterback.
Belichick on Zach Wilson: “Pretty athletic quarterback. We’ve seen him before.”
— Andrew Callahan (@_AndrewCallahan) September 20, 2023
As Belichick noted, this isn’t New England’s first encounter with Wilson. The others haven’t gone well for Gang Green.
The Patriots welcomed Wilson to the NFL with four interceptions in the second start of his career. He came off the bench in a 54-13 loss later in his rookie season.
Wilson registered a career-high 355 passing yards when hosting New England last season. However, he also threw three interceptions in a 22-17 loss. The Jets reached their breaking point in the next matchup.
In a game with pivotal playoff implications, Wilson went a dismal 9-of-22 for 77 yards and four sacks. The game was tied at 3-3 until New England’s Marcus Jones returned a punt for an 84-yard touchdown with five seconds remaining.
New York benched Wilson after that performance.
While leading an overtime victory over the Buffalo Bills off the bench in Week 1, Wilson threw three interceptions in Sunday’s 20-10 loss to the Dallas Cowboys. He has more picks (22) than passing touchdowns (17) with just a 55.1 completion percentage in 24 career games.
The Jets will need a better showing from Wilson to defeat the Patriots this Sunday. The AFC East showdown starts at 1 p.m. ET.