HOUSTON — The Jets got Zach Wilson back Sunday and returned to the win column, although one did not exactly lead to the other.
Wilson did not play great in his return from a knee injury, but the Jets’ defense dominated the Texans after some early struggles and the offense did just enough to get a 21-14 win at NRG Stadium.
The win moves the Jets to 3-8 this season and the Texans dropped to 2-9 in this battle of NFL cellar-dwellers.
“I wasn’t happy with how I performed, just the ups and downs of it all. I’ve got to just keep going and, you know, it’s all part of the process,” Wilson said. “I’m going to keep getting better, but it feels really good to go home having a win. That’s the goal, to win games.”
Wilson finished the game 14 of 24 for 145 yards with one interception and a rushing touchdown. It was Wilson’s first game in a month after he suffered a knee injury on Oct. 24. The offense did not look as efficient with Wilson back in control as it had with Mike White, Josh Johnson or Joe Flacco. The Jets managed 266 total yards, their lowest total since the loss to the Falcons six weeks ago, Wilson’s last full game.
The Jets had a season-low 109 passing yards. Wilson did make a few nice throws in the second half and gave the Jets the lead in the third quarter with a 4-yard touchdown run, but there is no denying the offense functioned better with three other quarterbacks.
“Obviously, there’s a little rust there after a month,” Jets coach Robert Saleh said. “But I thought he managed the game well.”
The Jets did not draft Wilson No. 2 overall to be a game manager. But you could tell there were times where the Jets were afraid to ask him to do too much. Mike LaFleur called a number of short passes and Wilson’s longest completion was a 22-yard pass to Elijah Moore on the first drive of the third quarter. Braxton Berrios had a 46-yard reception, but it was a short pass that he turned into a big play.
“I’m just as frustrated with myself as to why I’m not just letting it rip and playing efficiently like I have my whole entire life,” Wilson said. “I’ve just got to tell myself it’s part of the process, get back to work and keep getting better and just understanding there’s a lot of work to do.”
Wilson got bailed out by a good rushing attack (season-high 157 yards) and a defense that shut the Texans down for the final 2 ½ quarters.
John Franklin-Myers led the defense with an interception and two sacks. The defensive line was swarming all day and sacked Texans quarterback Tyrod Taylor five times.
The Texans had 157 yards in the first half and just 45 in the second half as the Jets’ defense stiffened. Houston failed to score on its final seven possessions, punting four times, missing a field goal, turning it over on downs and then the game ending.
“I feel it was probably the best game that we’ve played as far as being on the same page and communicating,” linebacker C.J. Mosley said. “When we communicate and have everybody on the same page and anticipate, we can be a dangerous defense.”
The Jets overcame an 11-point deficit to take an 18-14 lead in the third quarter. They stretched the lead to 21-14 on a 37-yard field goal from Matt Ammendola with 3:34 left in the game. The field goal came after two fourth-down conversions, one on a 13-yard pass from Wilson to Keelan Cole and the other on a 7-yard run by Elijah Moore on a jet sweep.
The Texans jumped out to a 14-3 lead after Taylor turned a Wilson interception into a touchdown and then hit Brandin Cooks for a 40-yard touchdown with 10:29 left in the second quarter. The Jets’ defense did not allow another point.
The Jets cut the score to 14-11 with an Austin Walter touchdown and Josh Johnson two-point conversion before halftime. Then, Wilson’s run put the Jets up for good in the third quarter. The win snapped a three-game losing skid.
The key for the Jets in the final stretch of the season is not really wins and losses, though. It is about feeling good about Wilson entering the offseason. On Sunday, Wilson started off terribly. He went 1-for-6 with an interception to open the game. LaFleur did a good job settling him down with a series of short throws on the touchdown drive before halftime.
“The objective was to try to get him comfortable earlier,” Saleh said. “I felt like we were finally able to do that midway through the second quarter on that first touchdown drive we had. That’s just going to be his growing pains, in terms of being able to recognize things, trust your week’s worth of preparation.”
Wilson’s worst play of the day came with 2:14 left in the first quarter. On third-and-17, he looked like he was going to run when no one was open. But he then chose to flip the ball to Ty Johnson, who had turned his back to block. The ball bounced off Johnson’s shoulder and Tavierre Thomas intercepted it at the 24 for the Texans.
Wilson was hard on himself after the game and acknowledged the offense played well while he was out and he needs to play better, especially early in games.
“I’ve got to get that going,” Wilson said. “These guys have shown that they can do it. It’s me. I’ve got to hold myself accountable for the way I start and get those guys going from the beginning.”