NFL Week 2 Loser: Zach Wilson and his no good, horrible, very bad day
If you though Zach Wilson had a dubious start to his Jets career in Week 1, the Patriots just made things worse.
Bill Belichick did nothing to dispel the narrative that he feasts on rookie quarterbacks as Wilson went just 19-of-33 for 210 yards with four interceptions. And even that yardage total is inflated by garbage time stats as he was shut down and seemingly out of his depth for the entire game.
The talent remains clear with Wilson. He has the arm to make NFL throws on any play and legitimately could be a special player as he moves on. But the learning curve for a quarterback out of BYU was always going to be steep and we’re seeing that in real time. It’s on Wilson to take these tough outings and grow from them, speeding up his clock and being smarter with the football.
NFL Week 2 Winner: The Sam Darnold Redemption Arc
From the current Jets quarterback to the former Jets quarterback, how can you not be impressed with Sam Darnold through two games with the Carolina Panthers? Do you think that having a legitimate cast of weapons, an offensive guru in Joe Brady calling plays, and simply getting a fresh start has helped the former USC Trojans star put the pieces together?
Darnold hasn’t been perfect. In each of Carolina’s two wins to open the season, he’s made some head-scratching plays that are clearly from his New York scars. But all told, this is a guy many left for dead who now has thrown for 279 and 305 yards, respectively, in two games with the Panthers and has three touchdowns to one interception for a 2-0 team.
Cue “Redemption Song” by Bob Marley.