Jets confident rookie QB Zach Wilson can bounce back after disaster against Pats

There's no way to say it nicely. New York Jets rookie quarterback Zach Wilson was the biggest reason his team got blown out Sunday against the Patriots. His bad decisions and inaccurate throws led to four interceptions on his first 10 passes, and the Jets never recovered on the way to a 25-6 loss.

Everyone in the building and with a TV screen could see Wilson was way off. And it had to feel like a bad dream for the No. 2 overall pick, who evoked a huge pregame roar from the nearly 80,000 fans at MetLife Stadium when he was introduced, only to get booed loudly after missing a throw badly a couple of hours later.

Up close, Wilson's teammates and coaches saw the same thing as everyone else. But they didn't see their 22-year-old quarterback looking rattled or agitated. They saw a young player who was trying to figure out what went wrong and fix it.

And that's why they're confident he's going to play better, starting Sunday when the Jets play the Broncos in Denver.

"I know he's going to bounce back," Jets linebacker C.J. Mosley said. 

All things Jets: Latest New York Jets news, schedule, roster, stats, injury updates and more.

"He's such a resilient young man," Jets coach Robert Saleh said. "He could probably recite every single play that happened and he’s going to want to talk about it and go through it and learn from it. I know he’s going to get better from this. He’s in a good place."

But should they be confident that Wilson will bounce back from a historically bad performance?

Well, it depends on how you look at it.

NFL PICKS:Do Rams hand Tom Brady's Buccaneers first loss of 2021?

POWER RANKINGS:Raiders, Ravens rocket into top 10

BEST, WORST BACKUPS:Ranking all NFL teams' backup quarterback situations

Take a deep breath

Here's one thing we know for sure: Those declaring Wilson a "bust" after two games are not being rational.

Sunday's performance was bad and concerning. But it is not career-defining. In the second half against the Panthers, Wilson proved that he can make things happen at the NFL level. On Sunday, he came back to earth in a big way.

This is what life is like with a rookie quarterback on a rebuilding team. And it's what has been expected by the Jets from the beginning.

"I’ve said ... there’s going to be some hair-pulling moments, there’s going to be unbelievable moments," Saleh said on Monday. "[Sunday] was a rough one, but that doesn’t mean that’s the trend. He’s going to get better from this and he’s going to have moments when it’s like, ‘Holy cow, is he special!’ When we get to those moments, we take them in stride because we have to get better from all of it."

Wilson is hardly the only young quarterback who has had a terrible game early in his career.

For some context, take a look at Peyton Manning's numbers for the first two games of his career: He completed 42-of-70 passes (60 percent) for 490 yards, two touchdowns and six interceptions. That's right, Manning threw three picks in each of his first two games.

Let's compare Wilson's numbers through two games: 39-of-70 (55.7 percent) for 468 yards, two touchdowns and five interceptions. This similar start doesn't mean Wilson is destined to have a Manning-like career. They are different quarterbacks, with few similar strengths and weaknesses, playing a generation apart. It's just way too early to make a definitive judgment.

It goes both ways

Here's another thing we know for sure: Those saying after two games that Wilson is going to be fine and will eventually realize his massive potential are not being rational.

Yes, the Manning example provides a reason to hope that Wilson can turn it around. But there are also some realities about Wilson's Week 2 performance that should be disconcerting.

Wilson is only the 15th player since 1970 to throw at least four interceptions in one of his first two career games according to Stathead.com. And Wilson is one of only four to throw at least four picks in one of his first two starts after being the Week 1 starter.

None of the previous 14 have made it to the Hall of Fame. Only one has made multiple Pro Bowls: Randall Cunningham, who threw four picks in his second career start for the Eagles. And only a few others have gone on to have respectable careers: Jake Delhomme, Jake Plummer, Jeff George and Bert Jones are the names that stand out on that list.

Only one quarterback since 1970 has thrown at least four interceptions in his first five career games and gone on to the Hall of Fame: Dan Fouts, who threw four picks in his third career game for the Chargers.

It doesn't mean that Wilson can't figure it out and be a great quarterback. 

The only thing that matters right now for Wilson is to prove his coach right – that this isn't a trend. 

Andy Vasquez is the Jets beat writer for NorthJersey.com. Twitter: @andy_vasquez