New York Jets Week 4 Recap
date
Oct 4, 2023
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On the first of October, the Jets squared off against the Chiefs as the marquee Sunday night game of the week. From the lens of training camp, the week four contest was bound to be a barnburner and everyone had it marked on their calendar, including Aaron Rodgers, who’s never went head to head with Mahomes in his career…
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Post
On the first of October, the Jets squared off against the Chiefs as the marquee Sunday night game of the week. From the lens of training camp, the week four contest was bound to be a barnburner and everyone had it marked on their calendar, including Aaron Rodgers, who’s never went head to head with Mahomes in his career. They nearly met in 2018, but Mahomes was nursing a knee injury and sat out, and a 2021 matchup was also thwarted due to Rodgers testing positive for Covid-19. The future hall of fame quarterbacks met again on Sunday night, however one of the two was propped on a pair of crutches.
Although we weren’t quite getting the QB dual we anticipated, there was still a significant amount of buzz surrounding the advent of Taylor Swift and her relationship with Chiefs pro bowl tight end; Travis Kelce. Furthermore, Aaron hinted at his first reconciliation with the team since his injury while on the Pat McAfee Show earlier in the week. His calming presence would be crucial to a locker room, and a young quarterback, currently wavering in the wake of two straight tough losses.
As much praise as guys like Aaron and Mahomes have gotten for their success, on the other hand, the fall guy for all struggles is always the quarterback, and the play hasn’t been great from Zach Wilson at the position. The noise was being fired from all angles leading up to Sunday, even Jets legend Joe Namath made some overtly critical comments on the state of Zach’s recent performance and was begging for an overhaul on every level. It’s the nature of the league unfortunately, especially in a media market like New York, infamously known for overreaction and pointing fingers.
Can Zach be effective? Can he handle the criticism, the drama, the responsibility? Nobody can answer that but himself. However, I can say over the course of the week, I saw Zach take the judgement in stride, not hiding from the fact that what he’s shown hasn’t been enough, harboring responsibility. Knowing how he has reacted to past interviews questioning his impact on the team, this was a sign of immense growth. A young man with nobody, ostensibly, on his side, still had the will to fight and prove the naysayers wrong. As the wise James Baldwin once said; “ The most dangerous creation of any society is a man who has nothing to lose”.
The game started as most probably predicted, the Chiefs hopped out to an early lead and the crowd was growing restless as the offense only earned two first downs on three drives. In the second quarter the score was 17–0, but following a fantastic punt from Thomas Morstead and a flag that worked in the Jets favor, the Chiefs were pinned deep inside the five yard line. Kansas City then gifted the Jets a safety by committing a personal foul in the endzone and from then on, the game got interesting.
After the Free Kick, Zach would lead the offense down to KC’s fifteeen yard line on the back of a couple very nice throws, one being a bomb to Allen Lazard for thirty-nine yards, but they would settle for a field goal. The defense got a quick interception the subsequent drive on a rare Mahomes miscalculation. Starting just inside Chiefs territory The Jets, in seven plays, would finally score their first touchdown. Zach, displaying Rodger’s esc patience one yard from the end zone with a sleek play action fake, hit C.J Uzomah on a well run fade route in the back corner of the end zone.
The tally at halftime was 20–12 Chiefs, and the Jets were now very much in this game.
The third quarter began in immaculate fashion for Wilson going 5–5 for seventy yards on the first drive of the half. The sequence was capped off by a ten yard Allen Lazard TD reception put on a tight rope between multiple defenders. A tie game was now suddenly upon us as Zach lept over the plane on a broken down scramble to score the two point conversion, Metlife was roaring.
Punts were exchanged on a couple drives as the defenses were picking up tendencies, slowing the scoring until Mahomes dinked and dunked his way eighty yards on fourteen plays inside the redzone, but the Jets Defense held strong only allowing a field goal.
Fourth Quarter. 23–20.
The field goal meant Zach and the Jets had to take as much time as possible off the clock and at least kick a field goal. Easier said than done. The Jets picked up a big third down conversion to Garrett Wilson and another completion to Tyler Conklin which brought them to midfield. On 2nd and 9, Wilson then made the only mistake we’d see from him the entire game. In shotgun, Zach glanced upfield a bit before the snap got to him and let it trickle through his hands to the turf, where chiefs defensive tackle Tershawn Wharton, was quick to pounce.
No matter the flags thrown or not thrown during the Chiefs winning drive, ultimately, the mistake from Zach was a crucial one and allowed Kansas City the opportunity to bleed the game away, something they do very well.
A dark moment in an otherwise flawless performance from Wilson muddles a valiant comeback from the Jets. Some could say there are no moral victories in losing any matchup in the NFL, but given the circumstances, I’d say the Jets have plenty of bright spots to recognize, and as for Zach Wilson, I’m sure he will only get more comfortable with a game like that under his belt. The Jets need a leader more than ever and don’t count out the man who has nothing to lose.