With the Jets looking to snap a five-game losing skid, WR Garrett Wilson delivered with 2 spectacular one-handed touchdown grabs that sparked the Green & White's 21-13, victory over the Houston Texans at MetLife Stadium on Thursday night.
"We needed to, and we really wanted to, get in the win column," Wilson said. "Losing that many games in a row, it felt exactly how you'd expect it to feel. We are better than we have played and tonight was the time to go prove it. It is a good win because it gets us started on what we have been preaching and talking about within the facility."
The Jets were held scoreless in the first half as Wilson was limited to 2 receptions for 9 yards. On the first drive of the second half he hauled, he broke the seal, hauling in a 21-yard touchdown. The PAT tied the game, 7-7.
On second-and-12 from the Houston 21-yard-line, QB Aaron Rodgers, standing in against pressure, put the ball out in front of Wilson and he snagged it with one-hand at the 15-yard line before running it into the endzone.
"It was a drag route against man coverage," Wilson said. "And even thought I was dragging across the field, Aaron threw it out vertically to me at the last second. He threw a great ball to get it around the safety and I went up and made a play and then turned and there was no one in front of me. It worked in my favor."
Rodgers completed 4-of-5 pass attempts on the 11-play, 70-yard scoring drive, including 2 to Wilson, for 31 yards.
"We went in at halftime and we just recognized that some adversity was going to come up," Wilson said. "And the adversity was us having a scoreless first half like that. We felt like we were playing good football, but nothing was going our way. In the second half we found a way."
On the Jets' next offensive possession, following a field goal by Houston that gave the Texans a 10-7 lead, Wilson outdid his earlier grab. On third-and-19 from the Texans 26-yard line, Rodgers dropped back and flipped a pass to Wilson who was streaking toward the endzone. Wilson leaped up and snatched the ball with his right hand and came down near the backline of the endzone.
Wilson was originally ruled out of bounds. But after a challenge by interim HC Jeff Ulbrich, and a review, the ruling on the field was overturned when it was determined that Wilson's shin landed inbounds and it was a 26-yard touchdown.
"Before the snap, I knew it was third and extra-long," Rodgers said. "I was looking at the weak-side safety and thought, if he drops down at all, screw it, I am going to throw it up to G. I thought I threw it in a pretty good spot, but when it comes to it, I didn't do a whole lot. He went up there and made an unbelievable play. A game-changing play."
Ulbrich added: "I was talking to the ref while they were reviewing and just thought, just for the sake of posterity you have to say that it is in so that it goes down in history. That grab could rival the Odell [Beckham Jr.] catch. It was amazing. I thought because of his shin, it was close enough to challenge and thankfully they got it right."
Wilson caught 3 passes for 40 yards on the 12-play, 75-yard scoring drive, which gave the Jets a 14-10 lead. The second touchdown grab was Wilson's fifth on the year, surpassing his previous career-high of 4 from his rookie season (2022). The score also gave him his first multi-touchdown game since Week 12 of 2022 versus Chicago.
The Jets scored on their first three offensive possessions in the second half, with the final score being a 37-yard strike to WR Davante Adams to put New York up, 21-10. Wilson helped set up the score with 2 receptions for 16 yards, including a leaping 9-yard grab for a first down on third-and-long.
"To go out in the second half and go 3-for-3 on TD drives, that is what it is all about," Wilson said. "You have got to have a good response to these events that happen and winning is eventually going to be the outcome. That is what we have been talking about all week, we really took it to heart, and I think the way we game out in the second half really proved that."
Wilson finished Thursday night with 9 receptions for 90 yards. The game is Wilson's fourth with 90-plus yards and third with 8 or more receptions in the last five weeks.
