Peyton Manning doesn’t seem to be a fan of Zach Wilson. During the ManningCast of the New York Jets vs. Buffalo Bills Monday Night Football game, Peyton Manning and Eli Manning were talking about Wilson who took over as quarterback for the Jets after Aaron Rodgers went down with an injury. During the third quarter, Eli asked Peyton how many times Wilson would throw the ball for the rest of the game, and Peyton said only three and Eli started laughing. And when they watched Wilson go back for a pass and run away from defenders, Peyton sarcastically said “Just run backward!” Peyton also said that Wilson looked like Kurt Russell, but didn’t finish the sentence as the clip ended. It’s likely he could be talking about the 1986 film The Best of Times when Russell played former high school quarterback Reno Hightower.
Despite the bad play from Wilson, he did enough to lead the Jets to a 22-16 overtime victory over the Bills. “It was crazy,” Wilson said after the game, per the Jets’ official website. “First, I’ve so much love for him [Rodgers], my heart goes out. I know he’ll find a way to get back. It’s tough, it hurts us as a team. But my job was to step up and be as efficient as I can. There were a lot of emotions, Week 1, opening day. I’ve tried to learn from this guy but be ready to go. Stay calm and perform.”
Videos by PopCulture.com
Jets head coach Robert Saleh praised Wilson for his work after Rodgers went down with a torn Achilles tendon. “I thought he was awesome,” he said. “He had a couple of big third-down throws to extend drives and score points. Good command of the huddle, lots of gritty scrambles. He had an interception and bounced back and didn’t let it snowball. We still have a lot of faith in him and proved it by keeping him here [after acquiring Rodgers] and continuing to invest in him.
“He still has a long way to go in terms of growth, but what I love is his mental makeup and the confidence he has in himself. Today was a good example of what we think of him and how he can play. He’s going to be great.”
