Bill Belichick had some nice things to say about Zach Wilson, but not too many.
Wilson has been receiving harsh criticism since Sunday’s 30-10 loss to the Dallas Cowboys, with the Jets now 1-1.
On Wednesday, Belichick, the longtime New England head coach, was asked about the challenges facing the Jets in Week 3. at the beginning of his press conference.
Belichick heaped praise on return man Xavier Gipson and his “disruptive” defense, citing CJ Mosley and Sauce Gardner in particular.
He also praised punter Thomas Morstead’s command ability.
He then had a word or two about Wilson, who has returned as the starting quarterback while Aaron Rodgers is likely out for the season with a torn Achilles tendon.
“Quite an athletic quarterback. We’ve seen him before,” Belichick said.
While the first half of this statement is debatable, the second half certainly is not. Wilson has faced the Patriots four times in his young NFL career.twice in 2021 and twice last year.
In those games, Wilson has thrown a total of two touchdowns and seven interceptions, and has been sacked 11 times.
He completed just 50.9 percent of his passes against New England and had a QB rating of 50.6 against the Patriots.
Wilson’s worst performance against the Patriots came in Week 11 last year, a game the Jets lost 10-3.
Wilson completed just 9 of 22 passes for 77 yards, but when asked after the game if he had loosened up his defense, he answered sharply, “No.”
He was then benched and apologized to the team for his behavior.
Belichick deflected questions about Rodgers, saying he wished he had a chance to plot against Rodgers, but was instead concerned about “who’s out there.”
The Patriots fell to 0-2 with narrow losses to the Philadelphia Eagles and Miami Dolphins.
