After suffering a 16-12 loss to the Raiders in Week 10, the New York Jets‘ season is looking even more grim. Zach Wilson continues to struggle, and it is shaping up to be a rough slate ahead for the Jets.
Zach Wilson, New York Jets Continue To Struggle
The Jets now sit at 4-5 after the loss, and Wilson has failed to improve as the weeks have gone by. Through this season, Wilson has completed 59.9% of his pass attempts for 1,600 yards, five touchdowns, and five interceptions.
While a Hail Mary pass seemed as if it might fall into the hands of Garrett Wilson for a fleeting moment, the game ended up being another disappointing loss for New York.
The Jets have only scored three touchdowns in their last five games and currently sit third in the AFC East, only ahead of the 2-8 Patriots. At the top of the division are the 6-3 Miami Dolphins and 5-4 Buffalo Bills — the two teams that the Jets will face next.
In the loss to the Raiders, Wilson threw a game-ending interception as he completed 59% of his passes for 263 yards and no touchdowns.
“I thought he did alright,” Jets coach Robert Saleh said of Wilson’s performance postgame. “There was obviously a couple of plays that I’m sure he wants back … I thought he moved around the pocket well. I thought he picked up some good yards with his legs.
“We were converting third downs at, I think, what was the best rate we’ve been converting them. To give a full assessment on Zach, I think it’d be fair to ask for everyone around him to play a little bit better, especially with the penalties, but overall, I thought he did a decent job.”
Is an Aaron Rodgers Return Possible?
In his fourth play with the Jets, Rodgers had what should have been a season-ending injury as he suffered an Achilles tear. Rodgers has been showing signs of a miraculous recovery as he was recently seen doing three-step drops ahead of a Monday Night Football matchup against the Chargers.
On Sunday, Rodgers gave an update on the timeline of his return, saying that he plans to return in mid-December. “I know it sounds insane,” Rodgers said.
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Rodgers had surgery two days after the injury and reportedly had a “speed bridge” procedure that is designed to speed up the rehab process. As things are looking so far, it appears the surgery was wildly successful.
“If the doctors clear him, then we’ll clear him,” Robert Saleh said about Aaron Rodgers returning in mid-December.
While returning from an Achilles tear just four months after the injury would be unprecedented, would he make it back in time to save the Jets’ playoff chances? Most likely not.
If Rodgers were to return in mid-December, he would have four to five games left to play with the Jets. Even if in a miraculous return he led the Jets to win out the rest of the season, it is likely they would have already dug themselves too deep of a hole to be contenders.
Regardless, the odds of Rodgers coming back and turning around the season are very, very slim, given the timeline. According to ESPN, the team now has just a 3% chance of making the playoffs.
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