Zach Wilson's Future With Jets in Doubt After Embarrassing Loss to Jaguars

With the loss, the Jets will likely miss the playoffs for a 12th straight season.

The Jets have been striving to play meaningful games in December for a very long time. 

On Thursday night, fighting for their playoff life with an opportunity to make a statement on the national stage, New York put together an embarrassing performance. 

New York was incompetent on both sides of the ball for the vast majority of the game against the Jaguars, a 19-3 loss to drop to 7-8 on the season. It's the first time New York has been below .500 since Week 3, a loss that makes a postseason bid extremely unlikely for the team that holds the longest playoff drought in the NFL.

Zach Wilson had another miserable day under center, struggling mightily throughout the first half while Jaguars QB Trevor Lawrence marched all over the Jets' elite defense. Right before the halftime buzzer, Wilson lobbed an interception and New York was booed off the field, returning to the locker room down 13-3.

At the half, the Jets had 66 total yards with more penalties (4) than first downs (3). New York had four total rushing yards, unable to stop Jacksonville's surging offense—Lawrence had led the Jaguars to 251 yards of offense at that point, finishing the day with 229 passing yards.

Boos continued to rain down until third-string quarterback Chris Streveler replaced Wilson in the third quarter, a move that immediately sparked New York's offense in unprecedented fashion. 

Streveler led the Jets on a 16-play, 73-yard drive, taking New York deep into Jacksonville territory as the fourth quarter began. The signal-caller's impact was fun while it lasted, but it didn't result in points. The Jets turned the ball over on downs to cap off that remarkable drive, failing to convert on fourth down. Then, after getting the ball back a few minutes later, rookie receiver Garrett Wilson fumbled after snagging a pass from Streveler, effectively ending the game with 4:20 to play.

Streveler finished with a team-high 54 rushing yards and 90 passing yards, completing 10 of 15 pass attempts. Wilson was 9-for-18 with 92 passing yards and a pick, taking three sacks and hearing quite a few boos. 

It's another performance that makes you wonder if the former No. 2 overall pick has any sort of future in green and white as he continues to fail at the helm of this offense. In fact, it's hard to imagine Wilson playing again this season with only two games left to play and another postseason on the couch looming.

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Max Goodman
MAX GOODMAN

Max Goodman covers the New York Jets for Sports Illustrated and FanNation. He also covers the New York Yankees, publisher  of Sports Illustrated and FanNation's Yankees site, Inside The Pinstripes. Before starting out with SI, Goodman attended Northwestern University and the Medill School of Journalism. He earned his Bachelor’s Degree in Broadcast Journalism and Master’s Degree in Sports Media, graduating in 2019. While at school, Goodman gathered valuable experience as an anchor and reporter on NNN SportsNight and played on the club baseball team. Goodman previously interned at MLB.com as an associate reporter covering the Miami Marlins. He also interned with ESPN, working as an associate reporter on Mike Greenberg's Get Up. Goodman is from New York City. He grew up in Hell's Kitchen. Follow Goodman on Twitter @MaxTGoodman and connect with him via email by reaching out at maxgoodmansports@gmail.com.