Wilson, Jets Struggle to Find Groove Against Saints

SAINTS 30 - JETS 9

When it comes to teams that are trying to rebuild, the month of December is very important. Yes, playoffs aren't at stake, but playing well, showing progress, and setting the standards for the next season are at stake.

And if Sunday's 30-9 loss to a New Orleans Saints team with fleeting playoff hopes is any indication, the Jets rebuild is taking on water.

Sure the Jets have injuries. They were without wide receivers Elijah Moore and Corey Davis, both of whom are on injured reserve, and running backs Tevin Coleman and Michael Carter were out.  But the Saints had injuries too.

Defensive end Cam Jordan is out with COVID, and the Saints are rolling with Taysum Hill at quarterback. So what is the real excuse?

Zach Wilson had a bad Sunday. He was 19-of-42 for 202 yards. A lot of it wasn't his fault. Ty Johnson had multiple drops; Keelan Cole had a couple of make-able catches fall in and out of his hands.  But Wilson was also inaccurate. A number of throws were either under-thrown (like a critical screen pass to Braxton Berrios in the second quarter that Wilson grounded into the dirt).

He also overthrew receivers, and even had a bad intentional grounding penalty when he threw away in total desperation. In short, Wilson looked lost, and clearly took steps backwards from his encouraging efforts against the Eagles a week prior.

Defensively, the Jets had the same issues. They surrendered 30 or more points for the sixth time in the last eight games. And for the second consecutive game they were beaten by a back-up quarterback.

While Taysum Hill wasn't as much on point as Gardner Minshew was a week earlier for Philadelphia, he was effective. He moved the football, completing 15-of-21 for 175 yards, and even ran for a 44-yard touchdown at the end of the game.

The biggest problem for the Jets, predictably, was stopping running back Alvin Kamara. In his first game back from the IR, Kamara had 120 yards on 27 carries with a touchdown. His 16-yard score in the second quarter gave New Orleans a 10-3, all but ending the competitive nature of the game.

The Jets were never really in this contest, and that has to be most concerning. With four games left in the season, the Jets are running out of time to showcase some form of competency in 2021. If they fail to do so, it will only leave question marks about this latest Jets rebuild going into 2022.