Sunday’s game might end up being a battle between two backup quarterbacks.
Jets coach Robert Saleh told reporters Monday evening that he was “keeping everything on the table” when it comes to deciding whether or not to replace Zach Wilson for Sunday’s game against the Bears.
Saleh wouldn’t say who could take the second-year quarterback’s place. Mike White, who made three starts last year, is the Jets’ second-stringer. Third-stringer Joe Flacco, though, started the first three games of their season.
“We’ve all got to be able to sit back and look at what’s best for this organization and this team,” he said.
Wilson is coming off a disastrous showing in a 10-3 loss to the Patriots on Sunday. He went 9-for-22 for 77 yards, four sacks and a 50.8 passer rating. His postgame performance was almost as bad; he seemed to shirk responsibility by saying that he didn’t feel like he let down a Jets defense that allowed only three points.
“I don’t think it’s indicative of how he feels about his team or teammates,” Saleh said. “I don’t think he’s na?ve to the fact that the offense didn’t play to the best of their ability.”
The Jets totaled seven yards in the second half and averaged 2.1 yards per play on the game. They lost on a last-second punt return touchdown.
Wilson was the No. 2 pick of the 2021 draft in which Justin Fields was drafted 11th.
Another late hit
The Bears plan to submit film of Falcons defensive lineman Grady Jarrett making contact with Fields after he slid on second-and-9 with 1:42 to play Sunday. There was no flag for a late hit.
“I think we’ve got to look at it,” Eberflus said. “I think that we’ve got to protect these quarterbacks — and that’s including our quarterback. We have to do a better job in the league, the total league has to do a good job of that. Again, these guys are special. All these quarterbacks are special. We’ve got to do a great job of protecting them when they are on the sideline and when they are in the open field.”
The Bears have been submitting one or two hits on Fields for league review every week, Eberflus said. But they were particularly perturbed with the non-call Sunday.
“We’re not supposed to say anything about it, you know?” defensive lineman Justin Jones said. “But it’s tough, bro. It’s tough.”
This and that
o Eberflus clarified that the Bears were forced to take a timeout after Fields was tackled out of bounds with 1:47 to play because officials stopped play due to the quarterback’s injury. Had they not taken a timeout, backup Trevor Siemian would have been forced to play one snap.
o Receiver Chase Claypool played 42 percent of the Bears’ snaps on Sunday, which ranked him third among receivers behind Darnell Mooney (81 percent) and Equanimeous St. Brown (72 percent). He had two catches on three targets for 11 yards.
o Trestan Ebner played 22 percent of the snaps in relief of the injured Khalil Herbert, while fellow running back Darrynton Evans played 3 percent of them
