Patriots

‘Wrong direction Zach!’: Joe Namath was live-tweeting Zach Wilson’s struggles against the Patriots

"I’m starting to wonder if Zach’s playing like he’s being coached," Namath wrote. "He’s making choices that are not intuitive to the quarterback position."

By Khari Thompson

updated on September 24, 2023

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On Sunday afternoon, Joe Namath offered some quarterback-to-quarterback advice for Zach Wilson.

“WRONG DIRECTION ZACH! Step UP into that pocket!,” Namath tweeted, referencing Wilson’s discomfort with the ball in his hands in the first half of Sunday’s eventual Patriots win over the Jets.

The 80-year-old Jets legend spent much of Sunday afternoon weighing in on the Jets’ performance on Twitter. He wasn’t impressed.

“Our pass patterns, receiver routes seem to be predictable,” Namath wrote.

Weather conditions at MetLife Stadium were not good, and many players slipped on the turf. It’s not an excuse for the Jets, though, Namath wrote.

“If the ground is slippery it’s like that for both teams,” said Namath. “It’s disgusting to see us throw short of the first down marker on 3rd if the receiver isn’t running vertically.”

Wilson went 5-of-10 for 29 yards in the first half. He lost 19 yards while being sacked twice. While Wilson led a 4th quarter drive to keep the Jets alive in the game, it ultimately wasn’t enough.

“I’m starting to wonder if Zach’s playing like he’s being coached,” Namath wrote. “He’s making choices that are not intuitive to the quarterback position.”

Wilson, who was the No. 2 overall pick in the 2021 NFL Draft, has not enjoyed much success against the Patriots so far in his professional career.

He threw four interceptions in his first start against the Patriots in 2021. He went 9-for-22 for 77 yards and no touchdowns in the game that Marcus Jones saved with a punt-return for touchdown last year at Gillette Stadium.

His best performance against New England came at MetLife Stadium last year, when he went 20-of-41 for 355 yards with a pair of touchdowns against three interceptions.

Wilson has yet to beat the Patriots. The Jets haven’t beaten New England since 2015.

Namath, a former first-round pick who led the Jets to their only Super Bowl win in 1969, knows what it’s like playing quarterback in New York.

It appears that he’s less than thrilled with how Wilson is performing at his old job.