It’s all up to Zach Wilson.
What better time to establish himself as the Jets’ franchise quarterback — something he’s largely failed to do in his first 21 NFL starts — than Thursday night against the Jaguars and Trevor Lawrence, the one player who was chosen before him in last year’s draft?
The 22-year-old Jets quarterback cannot ask for a better opportunity. For Thursday. For the rest of this season and beyond.
Having been banished to the bench three weeks ago for a “reset’’ (head coach Robert Saleh’s term), Wilson was in danger of not starting another game this season before backup Mike White suffered cracked ribs in the loss to the Bills.
So, now — at least for Thursday — the team is his.
Whether White will be medically cleared to play in the next game, Jan. 1 at Seattle, is not known. But a strong (read: winning) Wilson performance against the Jaguars and it won’t matter.
Wilson has a chance to cement himself as the starter not only for New Year’s Day but for the rest of this season and beyond. But it’s going to take him adding consistency to the big-play ability he flashed in Sunday’s loss to the Lions.
Wilson and Lawrence will both be on display in an NFL stand-alone prime-time game for all to measure and judge on Thursday night.
The two met last season, a 26-21 Jets win in which Wilson got the better of Lawrence — albeit not by much.
Wilson completed 14 of 22 passes for 102 yards and one touchdown (to offensive lineman Conor McDermott) and he rushed for a career-high 91 yards, including a 51-yard scoring run. Lawrence completed 26 of 39 for 280 yards with no touchdowns or interceptions.
For the 2021 season, Lawrence finished 359 of 602 for 3,641 yards, 12 TDs and an NFL-high 17 INTs and with a 3-14 record as the starter. Wilson was 213 of 383 for 2,334 yards with nine TDs and 11 INTs and a 3-10 record.
This season, though, Lawrence has shown much more radical progress, leaving Wilson in his wake. He’s completed 330 of 500 (66 percent) for 3,520 yards, 24 TDs and seven INTs while Wilson is a pedestrian 123 of 224 (54.9 percent) for 1,596 yards, six TDs and six INTs.
“He looks very comfortable right now,’’ Saleh said of Lawrence. “He’s playing at a very high level. He’s playing fearless in the pocket, standing tall. He’s scrambling when he has to. He’s delivering very accurate, in rhythm and within timing, footballs. He’s doing a really nice job just playing fast, getting the ball where it needs to.’’
Everything Saleh said about Lawrence, who put the Jaguars on his back and led them to a stirring overtime upset win over the Cowboys on Sunday, is what he’s looking for in Wilson.
“I played football my entire life for the fun of it and sometimes, ‘Mo’ money, mo’ problems,’ right?’’ Wilson said with a smile on Tuesday. “I think in my first year and a half, I just realized how much of a business this really is. For me, it’s a how can I just bring that fun back? How can I just enjoy being here?’’
Jets left tackle Duane Brown said he noticed a less tight and more “carefree’’ Wilson on the field Sunday.
On Monday, Saleh lamented the “instant-coffee’’ sports age we live in today where patience is as prevalent as peaceful political coexistence in our country. It’s become quite clear the Lawrence has made the kind of Year 2 jump the Jets desperately wanted Wilson to make but are still waiting to witness.
“There’s quarterbacks through the history of time that needed just a little bit longer to find their groove,’’ Saleh reasoned. “So, when you see Zach, he’s got a lot of things that you just can’t teach. When he is in rhythm and he is hitting on all cylinders, it’s pretty cool to watch.’’
It was, indeed, cool to watch Wilson roll left, set himself and rip that 40-yard touchdown pass down the right side of the field to tight end C.J. Uzomah. Those are the plays that tease Saleh and the Jets coaches, make them believe that the use of that No. 2 overall pick was the right thing to do.
But it’s not cool to watch his inability to take some mustard off some of his shorter passes and show some touch so his receivers can catch them, whistling passes over their heads.
Saleh swears it’s coming for Wilson. He spoke on Tuesday of Wilson’s confidence growing. So, too, did Jets linebacker C.J. Mosley, a team captain.
“He was meant to be here for a reason,’’ Mosley said. “He believes that he’s a quality starter. You can see it in his eyes. I hope he keeps believing in himself and everybody here keeps believing in him. We can all believe in him, but if he doesn’t believe he can do it, it won’t be done.
“So, it all starts with him.’’
