Of all the reasons that Garrett Wilson is frustrated, the lack of a second productive Jets wide receiver to take some weight off of his shoulders isn’t one.
One week after a despondent Wilson was searching for answers following a loss to the Dolphins, he wasn’t about to blame the other receivers for collectively failing to match his 64 catches for 695 yards on the season. Allen Lazard, Randall Cobb, Xavier Gipson, Jason Brownlee, Malik Taylor and Irv Charles have combined for 34 catches and 425 yards.
“I feel pressure for a lot of reasons,” Wilson said. “I wouldn’t say for that reason. Just because of the lack of production on offense we’ve had. When you are in Week [13] and you haven’t scored as many points, every rep seems so magnified. Every target you get seems like the one.”
The Jets’ four straight losses match the total number of defeats that Wilson experienced over three years at Ohio State. So, how long does it take for him to shake off a loss?
“I’m still not over it. I’m not going to fake it. I hate losing,” Wilson said. “As far as what I can give and how I go about my business, it’s not like I can think about it too much.
“But I like to resort back to that to figure out why we lost because it will show up again, and I don’t want to be a repeat offender of mistakes I’ve made. You can’t lose sight of it, but you have to be able to bounce back. Having that taste in your mouth and reminding yourself of it will hopefully catapult us this week.”
Any path to beating the Falcons on Sunday to keep playoff hopes alive and fuel a possible Aaron Rodgers return from injury likely revolves around a big game from Wilson. But it won’t be easy against cornerbacks Jeff Okudah — Wilson’s former Ohio State teammate — and A.J. Terrell.
“Probably the most aggressive corners I have seen all year,” offensive coordinator Nathaniel Hackett said. “They are press, up in your face … so I think that is going to be a great challenge for our wide receivers to have to go against man coverage.”
Wilson described the Falcons defense as adjusting “different looks based on what they fear in your team.” It’s not difficult to figure out what scares Jets’ opponents, especially with running back Breece Hall in a slump, so Lazard (who was a healthy scratch last week) or another No. 2 option needs to emerge.
“It’s big,” head coach Robert Saleh said, “but the No. 2 can come in many forms. It can come in the form of the run game, it can come in the form of the tight ends, backs in the pass game. We’ve got guys here that we think are capable of it.”
Wilson and quarterback Tim Boyle — a third-stringer at the start of the season — didn’t spend much time developing a rapport in the offseason but are hoping to build off their late touchdown connection against the Dolphins.
“It felt good to get in the end zone,” Wilson said. “It kind of reminded me how sacred it is to get in there. I’m going to be hungry for it the whole game. I feel like we built on something. Having another week of practice to get to know each other will help.”
Wilson is No. 6 in the NFL in targets (113) but No. 15 in receptions — a sign of inconsistent quarterback play. The Jets rank No. 30 in points per game.
“You put everything into your product and you don’t get the result you want, you aren’t going to be discouraged? You probably would be,” Wilson said. “That’s the boat we are in. But we have to keep rolling.”
Saleh interprets Wilson’s frustration as caring about success.
“In Garrett’s world, he can run the greatest routes, he can be blocking his tail off and end up with a couple of targets and no catches,” Saleh said. “It can be frustrating — not because they are not out there dominating what they have control over. It is because they are not able to gain control over the things that they don’t.
“But if you put your best foot forward … especially with a guy like Garrett, more often than not, he is going to have the production of a No. 1 receiver that we all know that he is.”
Finding a No. 2 that allows Wilson more opportunity to thrive is less of a certainty.