It’s the glimpses of greatness that tease you.
Even after 59 minutes and 36 seconds of utterly disgusting offensive football and questionable quarterbacking, Zach Wilson showed you glimpses on Sunday at MetLife Stadium that it’s in there somewhere.
Those glimpses show you what it’s supposed to look like, what the Jets saw in Wilson and why they drafted him second overall three years ago.
It’s just that the Jets cannot survive on mere glimpses of the Wilson who stood under center at his own 25-yard-line with 24 seconds remaining and no timeouts trailing the Giants 10-7 and led them to force overtime and eventually win 13-10.
Wilson completed two passes for 29 yards each to Garrett Wilson and Allen Lazard and spiked the ball on Giants’ 17-yard line with one second remaining in regulation to set up a 35-yard game-tying field goal by Greg Zuerlein.
Wilson and the Jets were left for dead and suddenly they were alive.
Zach Wilson completed two passes for 29 yards on the Jets’ final drive to set up their game-tying field goal.Charles Wenzelberg
Aaron Rodgers, who was supposed to be quarterbacking the Jets to the 4-3 record they own at the moment but had his season cut short with that torn Achilles in Week 1, was on the sideline Sunday urging the offense on after Giants kicker Graham Gano missed a 35-yard field-goal try that would have put the game away but gave Wilson the ball at the 25 with those 24 seconds of hope remaining.
“Let’s get our minds right and get ready to win this game,” Rodgers told Wilson and the offensive players around him, Jets left guard Laken Tomlinson told The Post.
And damned if Wilson didn’t go out and channel his inner Aaron Rodgers on that improbable game-tying drive.
“Want to know what I think?” Tomlinson said. “Well, Aaron Rodgers was here, so …”
When approached by The Post after the game, Rodgers politely declined to answer questions about Wilson, saying he won’t do interviews until he’s playing again.
“I played against Aaron Rodgers a lot, and when it comes to that kind of situation, he’s been pretty successful and has a good track record,” Tomlinson said. “I saw Zach come out there with his positive attitude in the huddle and I just knew. Manifestation.”
Zach Wilson, pictured against the Giants, showed a “glimmer of Aaron Rodgers,” according to wide receiver Allen Lazard.Charles Wenzelberg
Aaron Rodgers was on the sideline for the Jets’ win over the Giants on Sunday.Robert Sabo for NY Post
Lazard, who caught the 29-yard pass from Wilson that got the Jets to the Giants’ 17, caught a lot of those clutch passes from Rodgers in his career, playing with him for five seasons in Green Bay before signing with the Jets this past offseason.
“I think Zach showed a glimmer of Aaron Rodgers in what he was able to do in those last 24 seconds,” Lazard told The Post. “He just gave us a chance, and that’s all we can ask for.”
It would be folly to celebrate Wilson (17 of 36 for 240 yards, one TD and no INTs) for being the reason the Jets won this game. Their offense, until that game-tying drive, was putrid.
The Jets were about to lose the game to a Giants team that had minus-9 yards passing. They were 0-for-12 on third-down conversions before they finally converted for the first time in the closing moments of the game and finished 2 of 15.
The Jets’ defense, their punter Thomas Morstead and Zuerlein won this game.
But it wouldn’t be fair to dismiss what Wilson did with those 24 seconds remaining in regulation, either.
“The kid’s got a lot of resilience,” Jets coach Robert Saleh said. “I mean, he’s going to stay in it. He’s got a lot of confidence in himself. There’s things he knows that he’s got to clean up.”
Tight end Tyler Conklin called Wilson’s late performance “incredible,” adding, “Zach found a way to will us to a win right there. That just goes with his resilience and how his confidence has been developing every game. When we had to make some big plays, he made it happen. It was huge for him.”
Zach Wilson struggled for most of their victory against the Giants, and the Jets converted just two third downs.Charles Wenzelberg
Huge for the Jets, who are in the thick of the AFC playoff race without Aaron Rodgers.
Asked what he saw in Wilson on that game-tying drive, Garrett Wilson said, “Just that his head’s always in the right place. Just being his best when we needed it most. That’s all you can ask.”
As the euphoria of his victory wears off and they watch the film, the Jets know what took place offensively on Sunday isn’t sustainable. As good as their defense is, they will not make the playoffs with Wilson and the offense functioning the way they did for those first 59-plus minutes.
“It’s situations exactly like the one we just went through as to why you have to remain confident,” Wilson said. “All it takes is a play. Really, all it took was two plays. We got in field-goal range. We had no doubt going into overtime that we were going to win that game.”
Wilson and the Jets got away with one Sunday. They know it. They also know that, going forward, they cannot survive on mere glimpses of greatness from their quarterback.
