Zach Wilson feels ‘a little whiplash’ after his NFL debut

After the 19-14 loss to the Panthers on Sunday, Jets head coach Robert Saleh praised rookie quarterback Zach Wilson after seeing him take six sacks and 10 hits during his debut in the NFL.

Wilson struggled early, but threw two touchdowns in the second half to give the Jets some hope of returning. The second of those scores came a few games after he received a massive blow from Panthers defensive lineman Derrick Brown that made him feel like he had “been hit by a truck for a second.”

The feeling he survived a car crash didn’t go away after the game, but Wilson said it was part of a rookie quarterback’s learning process.

“Yes, the neck is a little sore,” Wilson said, via Andy Vasquez of USAToday.com. “A little boost. But I’m fine. . . . It’s hard but it’s part of the job, right? This is why we are signing up to play the quarterback. I feel like I’m improving, that I have things in my head, you have to be able to play. You can’t just say, “Uh, there’s pressure, I can’t do my job.” This is why the quarterback is a difficult position to find. So it’s good for me and I will continue to improve in this area.

Wilson may have learned some lessons from the game, but getting beaten up like this every week won’t be a plus for his development. This makes improving protection a clear priority for the Jets as they move forward this season.