Zach Wilson should never start again after Mike White leads the Jets to victory

The New York Jets looked ready to implode just a week ago after an embarrassing 10-3 loss against the New England Patriots. The team entered the day with a 6-3 record and was coming off a bye. Yet somehow, Zach Wilson looked worse than ever.

He finished with a subpar 9/22 for 77 yards. Things were so ugly that the coaching staff decided to bench him in favor of backup Mike White.

So how did that turn out? Well, it looks like White has earned the job for the remainder of the season. That is if the Jets are serious about making the postseason.

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Mike White got the Jets back on track

White and the Jets were given a break when the Chicago Bears ruled Justin Fields out with an injury. That left Trevor Siemian as the starter. But White still had to take it to the Chicago defense, which he did with ease.

He finished 22/28 for 315 yards and three touchdowns. He carved up the Chicago defense and made it clear that this Jets team is capable of great things if they have competent play at quarterback. For reference, Wilson, a former No. 2 overall pick, has four passing touchdowns all season.

Fans in New York will remember that White has shown his abilities before, most notably in 2021 when he threw for 405 yards in a shocking win over the Cincinnati Bengals. Yet his chance ended a few weeks later when he tossed four interceptions against the Buffalo Bills.

Any quarterback is capable of lighting it up one week, only to engineer an epic collapse the next. Yet one thing remains true: the team cannot go back to Wilson, even if that means inserting Joe Flacco if things go south for White.

This is an awkward situation as the team drafted Wilson at No. 2 overall in 2021. But his performance against the Patriots was simply too demoralizing. White stepped in a week later and suddenly, the offense was thriving. Both Garrett Wilson and Elijah Moore looked like stars, combining for three touchdowns against the Bears.

Wilson is far too limited, at least at this point in time, to lead a team into the postseason. That means the Jets must be smart and acknowledge the obvious for the remainder of the year, even if that means giving up on a former top pick.