Zach Wilson benched: Jets dump QB after terrible outing

Zach Wilson had the chance to get back his starting spot against the Jacksonville Jaguars. He was playing having regained the starting spot after Mike White sat out with a rib injury. However, he was extremely poor and failed to pick up multiple blitzes and led the Jets to only three points in a half and some more. The boos were ringing out loudly and there was no way forward for him.

Robert Saleh then made the decision to bench him midway through the game and brought in Chris Streveler as the quarterback instead. He was fourth on the depth chart behind Wilson, Mike White and Joe Flacco. He is a journeyman who has played across many teams, starting as a backup quarterback of the Winnipeg Bombers in the CFL. Yet, despite his previous shortcomings, he was playing way better in the game than Wilson could. It is hard to see how Zach Wilson returns from this ignominy.

Has Zach Wilson been benched before in the regular season?

It is always bad when a starting quarterback gets benched mid-season. However, what makes this particularly painful for Zach Wilson is that this is the second time this season that he has been benched.

During a particularly painful outing against the Patriots a few weeks ago, he threw for 77 yards and no touchdowns. It was such a poor performance that despite the defense limiting New England to just 10 points, they lost having scored just three. His passer rating was just 50.8.

It was kind of similar to his performance in this game where he threw for 92 yards before being taken off. Worse still, he threw an interception and no touchdowns in this game and left with a passer rating of 41.9.

After his performance against the Patriots, Zach Wilson also alienated his teammates by saying he bore no responsiblity for the poor performance in that game. It really upset a lot of people and he was replaced by Mike White as the starter.

Wilson only got a chance to return last week after White suffered a rib injury. He was even backed by head coach Robert Saleh to come good by saying he is a serious quarterback who is being judged too harshly. Everything was falling in place for him, but Zach Wilson seems to have blown his chances spectacularly.

Never mind the teammates or the fans, he could not even keep the coach supporting him on his side. It is hard not to think that this is the last of Wilson we have seen with the New Jets.