The New England Patriots' MVP on Sunday may have been Zach Wilson.
The Patriots didn't play a particularly clean game against the New York Jets. They committed six penalties for 54 yards, mustered just 288 yards of total offense and allowed Mac Jones to be sacked six times.
Fortunately for New England, Wilson gifted the defense three interceptions, two of which were absolutely egregious decisions by the second-year quarterback. The Jets likely would have moved to 6-2 if it wasn't for Wilson's mistakes, and the following morning, ESPN's Dan Orlovsky lit into the young QB for the carelessness he showed with the football.
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"If I was in Zach Wilson's quarterback room right now, this is what I would say to him: 'It's time to grow the fudge up, dude. Time to grow up, dude. You're not in the Mountain West anymore, OK?'"
Orlovsky's overall take was that Wilson doesn't value the football enough -- a point that was driven home to Orlovsky early in his career as an NFL quarterback.
"Gary Kubiak called me over as a young quarterback one time and said, 'You've got to understand that when you have that ball in your hands, you have everybody else's job in our building (in your hands),'" Orlovsky said. "There's a difference between carelessness and aggression. There's a difference between confidence and ego. Right now you play with such ego, such carelessness, such recklessness with the football."
"These decisions are unbelievably reckless. You don't have to do this anymore, Zach. ... This means you have to grow up. Because right now, you're holding your football team and certainly your offense back."
Orlovsky is right: Wilson has incredible arm talent that led the Jets to draft him second overall out of BYU in 2021. But at least two of his three interceptions Sunday were completely preventable, including one second-half pick in which Wilson tried to throw the ball out of bounds but carelessly fluttered it Devin McCourty on the sideline.
There's been plenty of consternation about Mac Jones' play in New England -- some of which is deserved, as Jones is up to 20 interceptions in 22 career games. But Wilson is right on his heels with 16 picks in 18 career games, and if he continues to play with such reckless abandon, the Jets don't have much hope of making noise in the AFC.