The New York Jets tried to shake off the ghosts from their miserable past by having yet another revamp before the 2021 NFL season.
Robert Saleh replaced Adam Gase as head coach, and the latter’s coaching staff did not survive the purge.
They also changed quarterbacks by trading Sam Darnold for three draft picks covering the 2021 and 2022 drafts.
Around three weeks after the trade, the Jets used their second overall pick for BYU quarterback Zach Wilson, who eventually replaced Darnold as the team’s starting quarterback.
Zach Wilson’s NFL career so far pic.twitter.com/D9MeJOMW4P
— Barstool Sports (@barstoolsports) September 19, 2021
The rookie showed promise during the preseason, especially in their game against the Green Bay Packers, wherein he threw for 128 yards and two touchdowns.
They won or tied in those preseason games.
However, those victories mean nothing once the regular season starts.
Sadly, the Jets cannot get lift-off three weeks into their campaign.
Wilson was immediately tested against his predecessor in Week 1 and had a solid stat line of 258 yards and two touchdown passes to Corey Davis.
Unfortunately, one of those scores came late in the fourth quarter, and they ran out of timeouts.
As a result, the Carolina Panthers milked the remaining two minutes of the game clock to secure a 19-14 victory.
Darnold had the last laugh by completing 20 passes for 279 yards and a touchdown for Carolina.
The Jets can still draw optimism from a game they lost by just five points.
But the New England Patriots killed those hopes during their Week 2 clash.
The first NFL meeting between these two first-round draft picks:
Mac Jones:
◻️ 22/30, 186 yards, 0 TDs, 0 INTs, 89.0 ratingZach Wilson:
◻️ 19/33, 210 yards, 0 TDs, 4 INTs, 37.0 rating pic.twitter.com/EgyirwBdQb— The Athletic (@TheAthletic) September 19, 2021
Two Matt Ammendola field goals saved them from a shutout.
Worse, Wilson threw three interceptions in the first half alone and four for the entire game.
The Patriots defense trapped him into making throws that they could convert into easy pick-offs.
The Dark Cloud Above Stays
In contrast, Wilson got outplayed by fellow rookie quarterback Mac Jones who finished with 22 completions for 186 yards.
New England won convincingly even if New York had the advantage in both passing and rushing yards.
The Jets also converted 38 percent of their third-down tries while the Patriots were at 25 percent.
But the gauntlet for the Jets was not yet over as they faced the Denver Broncos in Week 3.
Pitched a shutout. 😎 pic.twitter.com/jJdKIvRXgM
— Denver Broncos (@Broncos) September 26, 2021
The Broncos defense took no prisoners and shutout the Jets.
On the other hand, Denver scored 26 points, including rushing touchdowns from Melvin Gordon III and Javonte Williams.
Meanwhile, Wilson threw two more interceptions and absorbed five sacks all day.
He became the only Jets quarterback to absorb at least four sacks in his first three career games.
The Jets’ September losing streak also stretched to 12 games, making it the longest active streak in the NFL.
Being on the wrong side of history points out that there are many holes left to address.
Sadly, their schedule does not help because waiting in the wings are the Tennessee Titans with reigning Offensive Player of the Year Derrick Henry.
Derrick Henry is just not fair 🤯
(via @Titans)pic.twitter.com/FGDYzo5pj4
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) September 26, 2021
In the next three weeks, the Jets then get the Atlanta Falcons, the Patriots again, and the Cincinnati Bengals.
The storm continues for the Jets with no end in sight.
Therefore, Wilson must weather through the escalating adversities if he wants to lead the Jets to victory.
NEXT: Jets In For A Long And Painful 2021 Campaign
