Zach Wilson Called Out by NFL Twitter as Jets Lose to Lions with Mike White Injured

Zach Wilson's short NFL career has been a siren song for the New York Jets. It's hard to ignore the tantalizing upside and ability, but behind that facade awaits a rocky shore.

Sunday was the latest wreck. Wilson's struggles contributed to New York's 20-17 loss to the Detroit Lions, although the defense's inability to protect a late lead didn't help.

Still, Wilson and the Jets had 1:49 left on the clock late in the fourth quarter and all three timeouts, only needing to get into field-goal range to force overtime. Instead, he took two sacks on the final drive and could only get the Jets to the Detroit 40-yard line, setting up a 58-yard field-goal attempt for Greg Zuerlein that was missed short.

On the day, Wilson finished 18-of-35 for 317 yards, two touchdowns and an interception, taking four sacks.

While there was plenty of blame to go around in the loss, NFL Twitter honed in on the second-year quarterback:

The Jets are floundering. Sunday's loss was their fifth in the past seven games, dropping them to 7-7 on the season. Their odds of reaching the postseason are fading, and fast. Contrast that to the Lions (7-7), who have won six of their last seven and suddenly are firmly in the NFC playoff mix.

Some of the Jets' turbulence comes from the all-or-nothing play of Wilson, who can absolutely take your breath away on consecutive plays for completely different reasons. Sunday was the perfect microcosm of his career in that regard:

Wilson undoubtedly has more talent than Mike White, who missed Sunday's game with fractured ribs. But there was a reason the Jets turned to White as the starter and moved Wilson to the third-stringer or inactive role for the past three games.

The Jets seemed to have more stability on offense with White under center. Wilson offers far more chaos.

On Sunday, a steady hand may have been enough to earn a win. But it's hard to know where Wilson will steer the ship on a weekly basis, and this latest game wasn't the exception.