Jets Fans Lament 'Excruciating' Zach Wilson in Week 3 Loss to Mac Jones, Patriots

How much longer will the New York Jets stick with Zach Wilson?

That was the general sentiment after the team suffered a 15-10 loss against the New England Patriots on Sunday, a game that saw Wilson finish just 18-of-36 for 157 yards, no touchdowns and no interceptions while taking three sacks.

The New York offense was hapless, finishing with just 171 yards from scrimmage and 12 first downs, and it started with the team's quarterback.

Unsurprisingly, the NFL community didn't hold back when discussing Wilson's performance:

Sunday was a rough day at MetLife Stadium.

Jets' fans booed Wilson and the offense after more than one failed drive. Announcers Jim Nance and Tony Romo discussed on the CBS broadcast whether the team should consider benching Wilson in favor of Tim Boyle. Yes, Tim Boyle now feels like a better alternative than Wilson. And the tweets selected above were far, far kinder than some of the others that appeared online regarding the third-year quarterback.

There was a moment of brief hope in New York. Wilson led the Jets on a huge fourth-quarter touchdown drive, the defense got a stop and the Jets got the ball back with just under three minutes remaining, down 13-10, and the chance to either tie or win the game.

And on 3rd-and-15, Wilson took a safety. Brutal.

But the Jets defense got yet another stop, and Wilson got the ball back on his own 45-yard-line with a minute and 43 seconds remaining and two timeouts.

He promptly threw three straight incompletions and a two-yard completion on 4th-and-10. Brutal, brutal, brutal.

Since Aaron Rodgers was lost for the season with a ruptured Achilles, the question has been whether the Jets would consider adding a veteran option at quarterback. Thus far, they've abstained, despite reports that players like Matt Ryan and Carson Wentz have reached out.

It's getting harder and harder to defend the Jets' bullishness on Wilson. He was outplayed by Mac Jones (15-of-29 for 201 yards, a touchdown and no X interceptions or sacks taken) on Sunday, a sentence that is never written in a complimentary way.

And so the question that started this article continues to be the most pressing one of New York's season: How much longer will this team, armed with an excellent defense and exciting playmakers on offense, stand by as Wilson continues to drop the bucket while water surges throughout a sinking ship?

The Jets are an overtime punt return for a touchdown in Week 1 away from being 0-3. The season started with fans in the Big Apple talking Super Bowl. Three weeks later, all optimism has been extinguished, and Wilson's play has been the primary catalyst for that despair.