Jets rookie quarterback Zach Wilson, who was the second player taken in the NFL draft behind Trevor Lawrence, is coming off his first NFL victory.
Like Lawrence (Jacksonville), Trey Lance (San Francisco), Justin Fields (Chicago) and Mac Jones (New England), Wilson has had a bumpy start to the season. He has a passer rating of 62.8 and has thrown eight interceptions.
“The NFL is a tough transition,” said Falcons coach Arthur Smith, whose team will play the Jets at 9:30 a.m. ET Sunday at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in London.
The days of letting rookies watch and learn are over, even though Kansas City sat Patrick Mahomes for most of his rookie season in 2017. The future Super Bowl winner and league MVP played in one game as a rookie.
Wilson, with the Jets perpetually rebuilding, will not be afforded that luxury.
“He’s got incredible arm strength,” Smith said. “When you go back, you look at the Titans game, when he got outside the pocket, he made them pay. He’s deadly accurate off-schedule. We know it’s going to be a tremendous challenge, and that’s an area where we have to improve.”
Smith noted that Peyton Manning struggled as a rookie.
Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan led the team to the playoffs as a rookie, but his two running backs, Michael Turner (1,699 yards rushing) and Jerious Norwood (489), combined for more than 2,000 yards rushing.
“I was fortunate I played on a team that ran the ball really well,” Ryan said. “That helps quite a bit when you’re coming into league and you can turn around hand off to Mike Turner and he was as effective as he was that year. There were ups and downs, for sure, my rookie year, but I think having that running game certainly helped me out.”
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Falcons’ 2021 schedule features trip to London, January trip to Buffalo
Atlanta Falcons Schedule
Washington FT 34, Falcons 30
New York Jets vs. Falcons in London, Oct. 10 at 9:30 a.m.
Bye Week
Falcons at Miami Dolphins, Oct. 24 at 1 p.m.
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