Why was Zach Wilson benched? What did he say in the Week 11 postgame conference?

Zach Wilson was the starting quarterback for the New York Jets for seven games this season. He led the team to five wins, including a Week 9, 20-17 win against the Buffalo Bills. Under his leadership, the Jets lost two games, both of which were against the New England Patriots.

Wilson had a poor performance in the Week 11 defeat to their AFC East rival, and followed it up with a disastrous press conference. As a result, head coach Robert Saleh announced he was benching Wilson in favor of Mike White.

Wilson was roundly criticized for his refusal to take accountability for a poor offensive display, while the Jets defense limited the Patriots to three points all game. New England won the game 10-3 in the final seconds on a punt return touchdown.

In the postgame interview, a reporter asked Wilson if he felt he had let the defense down. His response was simple:

"No."

Watch the video below, as it was as much his body language as what he said:

So was it entirely that comment that led to his benching, or was there more to the story?

Zach Wilson's 2022 NFL season stats and Week 12 performance

Zach Wilson - New York Jets v Carolina Panthers

The Jets have been impressive this season, but Wilson can't take too much credit for their change in fortunes. Although they were winning games, they were looking stagnant on offense and some of the issues had to be shouldered by Zach Wilson. It's important to note that a season-ending injury to Breece Hall was a major factor in their offensive downturn, but Wilson really didn't help himself either.

The Jets entered the regular season with Joe Flacco under center as Wilson suffered a knee injury in the preseason matchup with the Philadelphia Eagles. Flacco went 1-2 before Wilson was ready to play against the Pittsburgh Steelers in Week 4.

Wilson brought the Jets into the limelight as they won their next four games. However, in Week 8, the Patriots defeated the Jets 22-17. Zach Wilson completed only 20 of the 41 passes he attempted. He threw for 355 yards and had two touchdown passes and three interceptions. Those turnovers proved too much for the Jets to overcome.

Following a narrow win over the Buffalo Bills and a bye week, the Jets fell to a disappointing 3-10 loss against the Patriots in Week 11. Wilson completed 9 of 22 passes for 77 yards and the offense gained just two yards after halftime. It was the worst performance of his career and this, along with his postgame comments, caused him to be benched for Week 12 against the Chicago Bears.

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This season, Zach Wilson has thrown for 1,279 yards, four touchdowns and five interceptions. As the Jets believe they can compete with the best of teams this year, they felt a change was required to push them forward.

Zach Wilson apologized for his Week 11 comments

Wilson later apologized for his comments, saying:

“I wanted the opportunity to talk to those guys, really make it from the heart... It's deserved (the criticism), the way that I handled the situation wasn't right and I've got to be a better football player and I've got to be a better leader for these guys..."

Wilson spoke to the entire team on Wednesday, admitting his poor performance in the game. He also said that he is not here to play as a backup quarterback and will do whatever he can to re-claim the starting job for the team.

Meanwhile, Mike White started Sunday's game against the Chicago Bears and led the team to a 31-10 victory. White impressed everyone with his game by completing 22 of 28 for 315 yards and throwing three touchdown passes.

The question remains as to whether the will Jets give Zach Wilson another chance to prove himself.

If you use any of the above quotes, please credit Newyorkjets.com and H/T Sportskeeda.