Jets’ Robert Saleh seeing positive signs, trait he loves from Zach Wilson

Jets rookie quarterback Zach Wilson was critical of himself after Sunday’s 21-14 win over the Texans.

In Wilson’s first game back after a four-game absence due to a knee injury, the No. 2-overall pick struggled. It took him about 1 ¹/₂ quarters before he got into any rhythm, and he threw his 10th interception of the season.

Jets coach Robert Saleh said Monday that he saw some good things from Wilson as the game went on, and he appreciates Wilson being so critical of himself.

“I love that he’s hard on himself. His desire to get better is up there with anybody,” Saleh said. “He works his tail off at it. At the same time, coaches are hard on themselves, too. It’s our job to help him get better and do everything we can for him. Was it his best game? No. Did he do a lot of things? Did he get comfortable as the game went on? Absolutely. … He orchestrated three pretty long drives and did enough to win the football game, and that’s what’s most important.”

Wilson was 14 of 24 for 145 yards with the interception and a rushing touchdown in the win in Houston. The 22-year-old looked like he was rushing early before making some good throws at the start of the second half.

Slow starts have been a problem for Wilson in his rookie season. He has zero touchdown passes and seven interceptions in the first half of games this season. He has four touchdown passes and three interceptions in the second half. It is something Saleh said will come with experience.

“He’s got to get comfortable in this thing, and it’s going to take reps and time,” Saleh said.

On Sunday, Wilson opened the game 1-for-6 with an interception. Offensive coordinator Mike LaFleur helped Wilson get into a rhythm in the middle of the second quarter with some short throws. Wilson led touchdown drives before and after the half as the Jets took the lead.

The Jets too often have had to dig out of holes this season, though, because of the slow starts.

“When you are young, it’s one thing to see tape, it’s another thing to go out there and practice. It’s a whole other thing for it to come at you a hundred miles an hour with the body language of different players and the way they play their position,” Saleh said. “There’s a trust factor, right? It’s there. You know it’s there, but you’re just not ready to pull the trigger. But you see him pulling the trigger when the second quarter hits, the third quarter, the more looks he gets, the faster he starts going. That’s part of being young. He’s seeing the right things. He’s sending the ball where it needs to go. He’s going through the right reads. It’s a tick late or early and it catches up as the game goes on. That comes back to trust.”

Wilson’s knee bothered him early in the fourth quarter on Sunday. After he scrambled out of bounds, he was limping. The Jets medical team looked at him on the bench, but Wilson did not miss a snap. After the game, Wilson said the knee was not fully healed and he expected to deal with issues with the knee. Saleh said Wilson’s play should not be affected by the injury.

“There’s no limitations to what he’s going to be able to do in regards to running, dropping back, boots, all that stuff,” Saleh said. “Obviously, he took a pretty good hit on the sideline and he felt it. When he got to the sideline there was, from my understanding, a little bit of pain. The pain went away, felt good, he wanted to get back on the field. We got him back on the field and he helped us win a football game.”