Robert Griffin III truly had a lot to say about Zach Wilson in the wake of him getting benched.
The former NFL quarterback posted a nine-tweet thread on Wednesday where he wanted to highlight the narratives that exists between Zach Wilson and Taylor Heinicke. Griffin noted that the Washington QB has posted similar statistics but has been receiving “adoration” instead of criticism like Wilson has. Heinicke has completed 90 of 148 pass attempts for five touchdowns and four interceptions. In five games, he’s led the team to a 4–1 record.
Griffin noted that the main difference is that Wilson was the second overall pick in last year’s draft, so there’s more pressure on him to perform well while Heinicke was undrafted and is free to make mistakes since he has zero expectations to be good.
“While [coach Robert] Saleh is benching Wilson for poor play, [coach] Ron Rivera said Heinicke doesn’t have to play good to keep the job because the whole team plays better when he starts even if he isn’t,” Griffin said. “YOU NEVER HEAR THAT IN THE NFL. Only Winning matters for Heinicke but not Wilson.
“Wilson gets no credit from Saleh for the play of the Jet’s defense but Heinicke gets credit from Rivera for the play of the entire Washington team,” Griffin continued. “Rivera says, ‘There is just something special about Taylor Heinicke’ and everyone else says, ‘What’s wrong with Zach Wilson?’”
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Griffin them provided stats to show how the two quarterbacks aren’t performing all that different, but the narratives are a machine that will not stop.
“Heinicke is given credit for beating the Eagles despite completing 58.6% of his passes with an int[erception] and a 66.9 QB rating,” Griffin wrote. “You can dislike Wilson’s play and his post game comments and still understand the discrepancy in the reaction to a QB with similar results.
“High Draft picks get more scrutiny, that’s just the reality,” Griffin continued. “Whether you think this discrepancy is justified or not is up to you. I would argue Wilson should be given more time to figure it out because he was a high draft pick and is 5-2 as the starter.”
Second-year quarterback Zach Wilson has lost his job as the starting quarterback of the New York Jets following an atrocious performance against the New England Patriots where he threw for just 77 yards. He made the situation worse with his press conference that raised more than a few eyebrows. The second-overall pick of the 2021 NFL Draft will now be watching from the sidelines for New York’s Week 12 game against the Chicago Bears.
Wilson, who is 5-2 as a starter for the 6-4 Jets, has struggled to get the passing game going since returning from a preseason injury, throwing four touchdowns and five interceptions in his seven starts.
The Jets’ defense held the Patriots to just three points, but the team’s last punt of the game got returned 84 yards for the game-winning touchdown.
The Jets are hoping to break an 11-year playoff drought this season.
