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Zach Wilson faces the toughest of tasks for a rookie QB going against Bill Belichick’s Patriots defense in Week 2

dj bien-aime ii, new york daily news
·5 min read

When the Jets and Patriots battle on Sunday, the spotlight is on first-round quarterbacks Zach Wilson and Mac Jones. But the real battle is Wilson versus Bill Belichick’s defense.

In Week 2, Wilson is David and Belichick is Goliath.

Wilson faces a tall task. How tall? The difference between 280 career regular season wins and zero.

That’s how tall the task is.

But Wilson is ready to pilot this flight against Belichick’s defense.

“I’m excited for it. I think it’s going to be a good challenge for me, tons of great learning,” Wilson said this week. “There’s nothing better when you go out there against the Patriots and they maybe smack you in the mouth on one [drive] then you stand up and you hit a big throw down the field...That’s the fun part of the game. You never know what you’re going to get.”

Wilson doesn’t know what Belichick is going to throw at him, but the six-time Super Bowl champion coach knows the type of talent his defense is going to face.

“He’s a very athletic player. He had a lot of production in college. The play is kind of never over when he’s got the ball in his hands,” Belichick said during Monday’s appearance on WEEI’s “The Greg Hill Show.” “He can get out of trouble, run. He can make all the throws, got a really good arm.”

Nice try, Bill.

How rare is it for a rookie quarterback to defeat the Patriots under Belichick? Only six have come out victorious in 27 attempts.

But what should give Gang Green’s fan base some hope is that two former Jets quarterbacks — Geno Smith in 2013 and Mark Sanchez in 2009 — were able to defeat the Patriots as rookies. Both won at home.

Can Wilson become the third Jets rookie QB to slay a Belichick team?

Two words: Good luck.

It’s always an uphill battle going against a team coached by arguably the best to ever do it, especially with a young kid under center.

Here’s a look at how some former Pro Bowl quarterbacks fared against Belichick as a rookie:

  • Colts QB Andrew Luck in 2012: 334 yards passing with two touchdowns and three interceptions — two returned for TDs — and he was sacked five times. Patriots 59, Colts 24.

  • Ryan Tannehill as a Dolphin in 2012: 235 yards passing with an interception and was sacked seven times. Patriots 28, Dolphins 0.

  • Raiders’ Derek Carr in 2014: 174 yards passing with an interception. Patriots 16, Raiders 9.

  • Rams’ Jared Goff in 2016: 161 yards passing, with a touchdown and two interceptions. He was sacked four times. Patriots 26, Rams 10.

  • Bills’ Josh Allen in 2018: 217 yards passing with a touchdown and two interceptions. Patriots 24, Bills 12.

  • Chargers’ Justin Herbert in 2020: the rookie of the year threw for a measly 209 yards with two interceptions and was sacked three times. Patriots 45, Chargers 0.

It’s fair to note, all but one of these games had Tom Brady quarterbacking the Patriots. But even in Herbert’s obliteration, Cam Newton was the quarterback and Newton only threw for 69 yards with one touchdown.

All of those quarterbacks have gone on to have tremendous success in the NFL. But against Belichick as a rookie, they were doomed from the start.

So what was Robert Saleh’s advice to Wilson going into Sunday’s home opener at MetLife Stadium against a team that has won 10 straight games in this AFC East rivalry?

Don’t try to do too much against “The Hoodie.”

“He’s just got to be great in studying film and just finding indicators and find the things that they may or may not give on tape,” Saleh — a rookie head coach also in his first showdown against Belichick — said. “Stay within the system, don’t think you have to do everything. Just stay within yourself, stay within the scheme and just trust your teammates to do their job.”

There’s various reasons why rookies struggle against the Patriots. Sometimes the team surrounding the young signal caller isn’t equipped to match up. Other times the Patriots simply overwhelm the rookie with different looks on defense.

Anticipate the Patriots trying to exploit the Jets offensive line issues that lead to Wilson being sacked six times against the Panthers. Gang Green had too many communication issues up front in Week 1′s 19-14 loss that led to a beating in the pocket for the No. 2 overall pick.

Also, expect the Patriots to throw different coverages and defensive fronts at Wilson to disrupt his timing and make him hesitate.

It’s a difficult challenge for Gang Green, but the way to help keep Wilson out of trouble starts on the ground. The rushing attack is the staple of offensive coordinator Mike LaFleur’s offense.

That explains why the Jets were in 12 personnel (one running back, two tight ends, two receivers) or 21 (two running backs, one tight end, two wide receivers) personnel for 45% of their snaps against the Panthers, according to sharpfootballstats.com

If they can control the line of scrimmage and move the ball on the ground, it’ll open up the playbook with play action. That’ll allow Wilson to have easier reads and catch the Patriots defense off guard. And with a full-strength receiver corps featuring Corey Davis, Elijah Moore, Keelan Cole, Jamison Crowder and Braxton Berriors, that’ll equal the potential for dynamic plays.

A strong running game starts with the offensive line. The unit — already without stud left tackle Mekhi Becton — has to create running lanes and hold up in pass protection. That’s the only way Wilson has any shot of leading the Jets to a victory over the Patriots.

The former BYU quarterback wants to become No. 7, not No. 22.