During the third quarter in Jacksonville, Jets WR Garrett Wilson was captured on camera with a spirited sideline reaction that spurred stories and comments on mainstream and social media over the next several days.
Wilson went before the locker room cameras Thursday to say that appearances in this case were deceiving, at least as to his being an example of the current mood of his team rather than reacting to a potential TD drive that turned into a field goal.
"We're just trying to find what we can do to win a game," Wilson said. "Nothing serious to bounce back from. I may speak my feelings a little differently than most. That's all that was. ... I should probably chill out."
Was he surprised at the extended online reaction in some Green & White quarters?
"Yeah ... but no," he said. "I know how it is around here. I've got to bite my tongue at times, remember people are watching and we can always score on the next drive."
Even though "G" started strong with back-to-back 19- and 22-yard receptions from Aaron Rodgers, the latter scoring the Jets' first opening-drive touchdown since last season, he cooled off after that with only three more targets and one more catch for 15 yards for the rest of the game.
Still, he's in the closing stages of another outstanding season of play-making. He leads the Jets with 84 catches, 933 receiving yards and six touchdowns. He's already the first Jet with 80-plus receptions in his first three seasons with the team, and with 67 yards this season, perhaps as soon as all at once against the Los Angeles Rams at MetLife Stadium on Sunday, he will become the first Jet and the fifth NFL receiver to start a career with three consecutive 80-catch, 1,000-yard seasons.
"It's just about the game, trying to win the game, trying to finish the right way," Wilson expanded on the theme of the day. "We've had a rough go here and we want to finish the right way, winning the three games we've got left. Last week, that game [at the Jaguars], the biggest obstacle was winning that game .That's how I see it."
Wilson was asked how he sees his future unfolding should a new Jets football management team decides either to start or not start negotiations on his second pro contract. He was all for staying put at One Jets Drive but said that's not his focus at the moment.
"I love the Jets," he said, adding that he "doesn't need to see anything" about who his next head coach and general manager will be before potentially re-upping with the team: "The Jets are the team that believed in me. I just want to be where my feet are. The last three games, I want to win, finish out this season and feel good about it going into the offseason. That's where my focus is at."
Besides, the next game, not the next offseason, is foremost for No. 5, for a couple of reasons. One is that the Rams are next on the schedule. The other is that Mike LaFleur, LA's offensive coordinator and Wilson's first OC in his '22 rookie season with the Jets, is coming back to his former Meadowlands home office.
"I've got to worry about the Rams, and about my dawg, Coach LaFleur, coming in here," he said. "I'm excited to chop it up with him, and hopefully we give him hell."
